Madar (Dakar) - The Finance and Budget Control Committee of Senegal's National Assembly, sitting jointly with the Energy and Mineral Resources Committee, did not adopt on Wednesday 11 November 2026 the 2027 draft budget of the Ministry of Mines and Geology, set at 7,458,600,502 CFA francs, according to the state daily Le Soleil.
Mines and Geology Minister Cheikhou Oumar Seck had defended his department's budget before MPs and presented six priorities which, he said, aim to increase the economic and social benefits of the mining sector, the newspaper reported.
First on the list is better regulation of artisanal gold mining. In the Kedougou and Tambacounda regions, 31,020 artisanal miners have been registered biometrically, and seven pilot corridors are being developed by military engineers at a cost of 488.3 million CFA francs.
The priorities also include access for small businesses and young people to opportunities in the sector: the e-CNSCL Mines platform lists 901 active companies and has published 315 tenders, 247 of which were validated.
In partnership with the state mining company SOMISEN, the ministry plans to set up a national gold trading office and to upgrade and certify the Diamniadio refinery, in order to structure marketing channels and retain more added value in the country.
The plan also includes further geological survey work in Louga, Matam and Tambacounda, 50.06 million CFA francs to rehabilitate abandoned sites, and a support and equalisation fund for local authorities, financed by 20% of mining revenue, although the distribution of its 2024 and 2025 resources has yet to be finalised, the same source said.
The decision adds to other 2027 sector budgets not adopted by the finance committee, which rejected all the budget bills before it on 7 November.
