Madar (Dakar) - Senegal's junior minister for the budget, Bassirou Sarr, has set out the government's plan to gradually clear domestic arrears of nearly 1,900 billion CFA francs, putting small and medium-sized enterprises first, according to remarks on state broadcaster RTS's evening news reported by Pressafrik on Friday, October 16, 2026.
Sarr said the first category of arrears relates to taxes and duties on public contracts, particularly in construction, which had "built up to hundreds of billions" over the years. He spoke of "transparent budgeting" and said the government hoped to fully clear the 200 billion francs entered in the finance law "by the end of next year".
For the second category, claims accumulated over a decade and audited by the General Finance Inspectorate (IGF), he acknowledged that "the current situation does not actually allow us to repay 1,900 billion". But he said that "with less than 10 billion" the state could pay a very large number of SMEs owed 5, 10 or 15 million francs, and pledged to do so "by the end of the year".
In his general policy statement to the National Assembly in September, the prime minister put payment arrears owed to domestic and foreign companies at 1,956 billion CFA francs, according to the Senegalese Press Agency (APS).
Senegal reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund on September 1, 2026, for a $2.2 billion programme, about 1,243 billion CFA francs, to support fiscal consolidation and debt treatment, APS reported. The IMF and World Bank annual meetings are under way in Bangkok until October 18.
