Senegal is resisting calls from the International Monetary Fund to restructure its debt, its prime minister said, as the nation grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades. Ousmane Sonko, addressing a rally in Dakar, said such a move would be “a disgrace.”
The IMF froze Senegal’s $1.8 billion program last year after its government disclosed hidden debts shortly after coming to power, blaming the hole in the public purse on the previous administration. The debts have since ballooned to more than $11 billion.
Sonko’s comments came days after the IMF completed a mission to Senegal on Thursday without agreeing a new lending program. The government unveiled an economic recovery plan in August, 90% of which it said would be financed through domestic resources to avoid incurring additional debt. The increasingly parlous state of Francophone West Africa’s second-largest economy led to a credit downgrade by S&P in July which has pushed up borrowing costs.
