- IMF Says Senegal Must Deliver Agreed Policies Before Loan Approval
Senegal’s proposed US$2.2 billion lending programme with the International Monetary Fund is still awaiting key steps, as a dispute over the country’s budget process threatens to delay the deal and complicate efforts to restore confidence in public finances.
The IMF says Senegal must complete an agreed budget framework, take corrective measures over previously misreported debt and secure financing assurances from its partners before the Fund’s Executive Board can consider approval. The programme remains at the staff-agreement stage; it is not yet an approved loan.
That procedural distinction has become a central issue for a country seeking support after the discovery of substantial unreported public debt. Senegal’s government uncovered the liabilities in 2024. Analysts have estimated the hidden debt at about US$13 billion, though the exact scale has been subject to differing assessments. The revelations undermined trust in the country’s fiscal data and led to the suspension of earlier IMF support.
The new 36-month Extended Credit Facility arrangement, agreed at staff level in September, is worth about US$2.2 billion. Its approval would provide financing and support the government’s effort to reorganise public finances and address its debt burden.
But the IMF has made clear that an agreement on paper is not enough: Senegal must demonstrate that the programme’s policies can be adopted and implemented through its own legal and institutional system.
The immediate obstacle is political. Senegal’s Finance Ministry said a parliamentary committee had asked it to withdraw the 2027 budget bill. The National Assembly had also rejected an amended 2026 budget. Together, the disputes have left the government without a clear legislative route for the fiscal framework that is central to the proposed IMF programme.
The standoff has sharpened tensions between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, whose PASTEF party holds a majority in the National Assembly.
The IMF has declined to comment on whether the president might seek another route to adopt a budget, stressing that the question belongs to Senegal’s constitutional and political process.
“We are not a party to the discussions between the government and the National Assembly,” IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack said. “What matters for us is that the authorities are committed to the policies that they’ve agreed in the staff-level agreement … and that the authorities are able to implement them, using Senegal’s own legal and institutional framework.”
That position sets out a difficult balance. The IMF is not prescribing how Senegal should resolve its domestic political dispute, but it is insisting that the resulting budget framework must be consistent with the commitments made under the programme.
The Fund’s respect for national sovereignty does not remove the requirement that the policies be credible, approved and capable of execution.
For Senegal, the budget bills are not simply annual spending documents. They are part of the test of whether the government can produce reliable fiscal plans after the hidden-debt disclosures.
An adopted budget would give the IMF and creditors a basis for assessing revenue, spending and borrowing. Prolonged parliamentary conflict leaves uncertainty around those estimates and the government’s ability to deliver its commitments.
The corrective measures on misreporting are equally important. The IMF has said that the programme requires action to address the hidden-debt case and support Senegal’s request for a waiver related to the erroneous statistics.
The issue is not only how much debt was previously omitted. It is also whether the systems for recording, reporting and overseeing public liabilities are now strong enough to prevent a recurrence.
Partner financing assurances form the third part of the approval equation. Senegal’s official creditor committee has not yet been established, according to the IMF. That leaves questions about how official creditors will coordinate and what support they will provide as the country seeks to put its debt on a more sustainable footing.
The stakes extend beyond access to IMF money. A delay could prolong uncertainty for creditors and investors, while leaving the government to manage financing needs without the programme’s backing. Senegal’s debt challenge also affects its ability to fund public services and investment while restoring fiscal credibility.
The IMF says it is engaging with Senegalese authorities and stands ready to explain the programme to stakeholders. But the next steps depend on the government securing a workable budget framework, completing the agreed corrective actions and obtaining the necessary assurances from partners.
Senegal’s challenge, then, is both technical and political. The country must repair the credibility of its fiscal accounts while resolving a dispute over who has the authority and support to pass the budgets that underpin the repair plan.
Until those issues are addressed, the US$2.2 billion programme remains a promise awaiting approval—and Senegal’s path out of its debt crisis remains tied to a budget process that is itself under strain.
