Theme: Senegal

Pastef lawmakers, whose party holds 130 of the 165 seats in Senegal’s National Assembly, rejected the 2026 revised budget bill three times. Passing the text is a precondition for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) board’s approval of a US$ 2.2 billion loan. To bring the accounts back into balance, the government proposes cutting 555 billion CFA francs (about US$ 949 million) in investment spending in its new budget. Senegal’s public debt equals 130% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to Les Echos.

Moody’s cut Senegal’s foreign-currency debt ratings to “Ca” from “Caa2,” with a stable outlook, in its fifth consecutive downgrade. The new band corresponds to expected losses of 35% to 65% for external private creditors, against 10% to 20% for “Caa2.” Public debt stands at about 97% of GDP after the government disclosed previously unreported liabilities, and Senegal is negotiating a debt restructuring.

Activist Amadou Sarang Diallo, 27, was arrested on Friday after posting a video on TikTok condemning Israel’s participation in the Youth Olympic Games, according to activists. The Games began on October 31 and run until November 13, with nearly 2,700 athletes. It is the first Olympic event of any kind to take place on the African continent.

Senegal’s labour unions have called a 72-hour general strike, from October 21 to 23, 2026, according to AllAfrica. The two texts behind the stoppage were promulgated on September 3, 2026, under laws no. 2026-18 and no. 2026-19, before their publication in the Official Journal on September 18.

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, three junta-ruled Sahel states, on Saturday resumed dialogue with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional bloc they withdrew from more than 18 months ago, according to France 24. The two sides agreed to establish one joint working group that will develop a cooperation framework agreement to guide future relations between ECOWAS and the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), according to the BBC. The first session of the ministerial meeting of the dialogue on cooperation between ECOWAS and the AES Confederation took place in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 October 2026, according to the final communiqué published by the bloc.