Country Report Senegal February 2009

Outlook for 2009-10

• The political scene in 2009-10 will be dominated by rivalries over who will succeed the elderly president, Abdoulaye Wade, when his term expires in 2012 (or earlier, in the event of his death or incapacitation by illness).
• Tension between the government and the opposition, which was exacerbated by the postponement of local elections due in May 2008, is expected to increase further when the delayed polls take place in March 2009.
• In view of the severe global economic slowdown, real GDP growth is forecast to slow in tandem with foreign investment for infrastructure development, to 3.4% in 2009 and 3.6% in 2010.
• Tight monetary policy will help to contain inflation over the forecast period, although inflation, forecast at 3.5% in 2009 and 4.5% in 2010, will continue to be heavily influenced by world prices and domestic production of food.
• The current-account deficit is expected to widen to 12.6% of GDP in 2009, when the drop in imports will be larger than that in exports, before narrowing to 10.1% of GDP in 2010, when GDP growth will pick up slightly.

Monthly review

• Karim Wade, who is the son of the president, Abdoulaye Wade, has announced his first foray into electoral politics, as a candidate for the ruling Sopi coalition in the municipal elections due on March 22nd.
• Some opposition parties have requested an extension to the deadline given to deposit lists for the local elections in view of alleged last-minute changes to the administrative arrangements in several districts.
• Macky Sall, who is a former prime minister (2004-07) and the recently deposed president of the National Assembly (2007-08), was questioned by police in late January over his alleged involvement in money-laundering.
• The government announced major revisions to the controlled prices of basic necessities in January. Most notably, electricity tariffs were cut by 12%, while the prices of staple foodstuffs were reduced by 22% on average.
• The government imposed a new tax on telecoms services in January. The three companies that currently hold operating licences, Sonatel, Sentel and Sudatel, will collect the 2% levy from consumers on behalf of the state.
• Despite a record groundnut harvest of some 700,000 tonnes, the 2008/09 groundnut marketing season was reportedly in crisis in early February, owing to a lack of finance for distributors and official collections.

Source: Country Report

This report covers the following industry codes:
SIC Code: 82;47;49;1;10;15;60
NAICS Code: 61;48;22;11;212;23;52