By Biran Gaye
The leader of Pastef, Ousmane Sonko, has pledged to construct a bridge and port facilities in Casamance linking the Northern and Southern parts of Senegal to facilitate the transportation of goods.
The outspoken politician made this commitment at a campaign rally in Ziguinchor on Friday, November 1, 2024, ahead of the legislative elections of November 17, 2024.
This follows a recent standoff between the Gambia and the Senegal caused by the former’s introduction of a tracking device mounted on commercial trucks carrying goods, which attracts a fee of one thousand and six hundred dalasi (D1600).
With the introduction of the device, Senegalese drivers protested against the transport monitoring system, describing it as ‘expensive’ and unsustainable.
In this regard, Mr Sonko announced plans to build a bridge that seeks to facilitate the movement of goods from the Northern part to the Southern part, marking a total shift from the usual Senegambian corridor. Sonko promised to build port facilities in Casamance to facilitate the movement of persons from the Northern part of Senegal to the southern part by sea rather than by land.
He also announced several projects to revive the economy of Casamance region, with a particular focus on the exploitation of zircon in Niafrang to enhance the Casamance economy.
According to him, Ziguinchor suffered from the confrontation between his movement and the Macky Sall regime. The repercussions of this confrontation left deep scars, paralyzing the local economy and putting crucial projects such as the southern agricultural hub on hold.
“One of the few development initiatives of the former regime that I find relevant is the agropoles. But despite a budget of 80 billion, the agropole of the South, although promising, has not advanced due to lack of political will. The regime preferred to attack this region because a political leader, named Ousmane Sonko, comes from there. Worse still, they stopped the boats and closed the airport. That is not politics,” he said.
The former mayor of Ziguinchor argued: “In politics, even if your opponent is the mayor of a city, you give him everything that is intended for his city (…) Because among the inhabitants, some voted for Macky Sall. All these delays are due to these considerations.”
Ousmane Sonko announced his intention to take corrective measures to revitalize the regional economy and overcome the obstacles imposed by the previous government.
In another development, Sonko pledged to crackdown on the illegal timber trade which involves Gambian dealers as several trucks continue to transport the precious rosewood into Gambia.
