The chief of staff to the Minister of Economy, Finance, and Planning announced on Wednesday a significant reduction in the state’s spending ceilings for 2027. This announcement was made during a seminar organised by the Directorate General of the Budget (DGB) to share the circular letter outlining the preparation of the 2027 draft budget law.
Speaking on behalf of Minister Cheikh Diba, he indicated that the international context, marked in particular by the conflict in the Middle East, has led to significant economic and geopolitical uncertainties, resulting in a resurgence of inflationary expectations and a tightening of financing conditions worldwide.
He specified that the Senegalese economy, like that of the rest of the world, is exposed to risks that could affect the stability and sustainability of public finances, citing in particular the slowdown in growth and foreign investment, pressure on public debt, food and energy crises, and the rising cost of living. Added to this, he added, are international and sub-regional security tensions, the effects of climate change on productive sectors and infrastructure, the decline in external financing, and the difficulties related to the optimal mobilisation of domestic revenue. It is within this constrained context that the spending ceilings of the State Financial Operations Table (TOFE) have been revised downwards by nearly 288 billion CFA francs compared to the initial 2026 budget law, a major constraint that weighed heavily on the determination of indicative budgets for 2027. The budget deficit is projected at 4.9% for 2027.
The chief of staff acknowledged that several expenditures deemed priorities and sensitive, constituting commitments of the State, could not be included within this framework, but could be integrated during future budgetary arbitration or a possible upward revision. Faced with this constraint, the government intends to prioritise a more strategic allocation of funds and a better selection of policy levers, rather than a hypothetical increase in expenditures that are already difficult to finance, in accordance with the President of the Republic’s directives aimed at linking economic recovery and the consolidation of public finances.
Dakaractu