Senegal reshuffled its cabinet late last week to create “a government of commitment and combat,” Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said.
Yassine Fall, a Sonko ally who had been the foreign minister since last year, was moved to the position of justice minister. She will be replaced by Cheikh Niang, a career diplomat who was Senegal’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Sonko’s lawyer, Bamba Cissé, will become interior minister.
A power struggle has been playing out this year between Sonko and President Bassirou Diomaye Faye against the backdrop of major economic challenges, with central government debt at 118.8% of gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Senegal is seeking assistance from the IMF but misreporting of debt under the previous Macky Sall administration has put talks on hold. The lender has said it “stands ready to assist Senegal in designing an ambitious reform agenda.”