Friday, June 14, 2024 - The new Senegalese government has unveiled measures to reduce the price of rice, oil, bread, and other basic items to address cost-of-living concerns amid high unemployment and inflation.
The country's budget Minister Cheikh Diba
confirmed the development.
Recall that President Bassirou Diomaye
Faye, who won the March election, vowed during the campaign to address high
living costs in the West African nation that heavily relies on imports.
Under the new measures, the price of a kilo
(2.2 pounds) of the most widely consumed type of rice will be reduced by 40 CFA
($0.065, 0.061 euros), while a baguette will cost 15 CFA (0.023 euros) less,
the government announced at a media conference, Agence France-Presse reports.
The reductions, which also cover cement and
fertiliser, will take effect in the next few days, government Secretary General
Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo told reporters.
Spending on food accounts for half a
Senegalese household’s budget, Lo said, adding checks would be stepped up to
ensure traders respect the new prices.
Budget Minister Cheikh Diba said the
government would forego taxes and customs duties imposed on importers to
subsidise the price cuts.
The measures will cost 53.3 billion CFA
(more than 81 million euros, $87 million), Diba said.
This comes after Senegal joined the club of
oil-producing countries this week as Australian group Woodside Energy announced
that production had started in the country’s first offshore project.
Faye vowed that profits from the country’s
gas and oil resources would be “well managed.”
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