Dakar is preparing to welcome, from August 19 to 26, 2025, a technical team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a so-called “staff-visit” that is expected to be decisive. All eyes are on this mission, as it could mark a turning point in the sometimes tense relationship between Senegal and the IMF, especially in light of the crisis stemming from the discovery of the country’s “hidden debt”.
According to the Ministry of Finance and Budget, the IMF delegation will come to provide technical follow-up on ongoing files and strengthen exchanges with Senegalese authorities. The discussions will mainly focus on the 2025 budget execution, the preparation of the Initial Budget Law (LFI) for 2026, and the reforms envisaged to consolidate the national economic situation. At the end of this visit, the IMF and the Senegalese government are expected to release a statement to inform the public about the conclusions and perspectives reached. As Aïssata Tall points out in Le Soleil, this technical meeting is much more than a simple exchange: it is an opportunity to restore trust between Senegal and its international financial partners.
The issue of hidden debt, revealed in 2024, continues to loom as a major challenge for the country. Audits conducted by the Court of Auditors and the Forvis Mazars firm have uncovered opaque financial practices under the administration of former President Macky Sall. The results are revealing: the actual public debt at the end of 2023 amounted to approximately 18,558 billion CFA francs, nearly 100% of GDP, while official figures reported 74.41%. This debt includes 11,864 billion CFA francs of external debts and 6,694 billion CFA francs of undeclared domestic debts, with a real budget deficit estimated at 12.3% of GDP compared to the declared 6%.
The IMF has confirmed these discrepancies and denounced a deliberate underestimation of the debt, suspending planned disbursements under a program with Senegal. This situation has weakened the country’s credibility in financial markets and led to a downgrade of its sovereign rating (Agence Ecofin, Rewmi.com). To restore investor confidence, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has launched a thorough audit of public finances and an economic recovery plan aiming to reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2027, including fiscal measures and better control of public spending.
The IMF visit will therefore be closely watched. If it definitively clarifies the extent of hidden debt and aligns accounts with international standards, it could pave the way for the resumption of suspended funding and a renewed confidence from donors. But the road ahead remains narrow: reforms must be implemented rigorously, and financial transparency maintained in the long term.
Ultimately, this staff-visit could be the first concrete step towards unraveling the story of Senegal’s hidden debt, which has been feared since 2024. Authorities and the IMF would come out of it with a clear roadmap, provided that technical discussions lead to a solid and verifiable agreement. The stakes go beyond numbers: it is about restoring the country’s financial credibility on the international stage and ensuring a more stable economic future for the Senegalese people.
