Civil society organizations welcome President Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s decision to publish reports from public expenditure oversight bodies. Since assuming office at the end of March, the new president has ramped up efforts to scrutinize public accounts.
On Wednesday, April 17th, Bassirou Diomaye Faye mandated fresh audits and financial controls at the start of the week, instructing the Court of Auditors, the National Office for the Fight Against Corruption (OFNAC), and the Inspector General of State to release their reports covering the past five years.
Mamadou Mignane Diouf, coordinator of the Social Forum—an organization advocating for greater transparency in public fund management—pledges to sustain pressure for the accessibility of these reports to the general public. He was interviewed by our correspondent in Dakar, Léa-Lisa Westerhoff.
“If these reports are published and made accessible to all Senegalese—broadcasted by media outlets, radios, newspapers, and on the websites of oversight bodies—each individual will be able to see for themselves, even without expertise, instances of embezzlement, misappropriation, and overbilling,” he remarked.
“At this point, the recommendation could be to empower the judiciary once audits and reports are published. It is imperative to exclusively entrust the judiciary with the task of monitoring and determining the need for positive or negative sanctions,” he concluded.