Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

At the closing panel of the International Conference on Senegal’s Debt Crisis, held in Dakar, Senegal, on May 12–13, 2026, Dr. Marième Touré, Senior Program Officer at IDEAS Africa Network, made an important intervention on the nature of Senegal’s debt crisis.

According to Dr. Touré, “Fundamentally, the problem of Senegal’s debt — much like that of other African countries — is not one of excessive public debt stock.”

She argued that the real issue lies not simply in the size of the debt itself, but in the structural conditions surrounding it, including:

• repayment terms,
• exposure to foreign currencies, and
• the question of monetary sovereignty.

Taken together, these factors create serious risks for macroeconomic sustainability and transformative growth.

Please find below her presentation.