My latest article for RFI:
Senegal's opposition hopes promise of new national currency will win votes
The economy is expected to prove a key issue in Senegal's upcoming presidential election. With campaigning for the 24 March polls in full swing, the opposition coalition says replacing the colonial-era CFA franc with a national currency would be the best way to tackle inequality and boost employment.
Issued on:
The opposition coalition launched its campaign platform on 10 March with a promise to create a new national currency.
Leading opponent Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a key figure in the protests that followed the postponement of the February polls by President Macky Sall, is seen as a strong contender among the 19 candidates for the presidency.
In his 84-page election platform, Faye says Senegal needs to take back control of its economy.
"Convinced that full independence cannot be achieved without controlling the economy, livestock management, fisheries, and agriculture, we are fully committed to achieving food, digital, fiscal, energy and scientific sovereignty," he writes.
Colonial tools
The idea of a new currency is popular among some people in Senegal, who think that the CFA franc, the shared currency inherited from French colonial rule, isn't helping an underdeveloped economy.
The CFA franc was created as an alternative to the dollar and is used in 14 countries in Central and Western Africa.
Development economist Ndongo Samba Sylla told RFI that Senegal would be "better off if it had its own currency system, not one that was designed to serve colonial and external interests".
"All the countries using the CFA franc are still poor," he says.
Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo in particular "should be very rich, like Dubai", because of their vast resources, he claims.
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Read the whole article here: https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240316-senegal-opposition-hopes-promise-of-new-national-currency-will-win-votes
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