VZCZCXRO1027
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0643 1421235
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221235Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2431
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS DAKAR 000643 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KDEM ECON SG
SUBJECT: Senegalese Government Cripples Opposition Mayors 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: On April 28, the Cabinet presented a draft law to 
the National Assembly to amend the Urban Code to allow the State to 
forgo the need to have local mayors countersign construction or 
building projects in their administrative zones.  The Minister of 
Urban Affairs will be given that power.  This law seems to target 
the ambitious Socialist Mayor of Dakar, Khalifa Sall, who said he 
intends to investigate a slew of corrupt construction projects that 
the last administration had been involved in.  End Summary. 
 
GOS takes power back 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The new law will amend Article 68 of the Urban Code that 
was just promulgated in August 2008.  Article 68 states "An 
authorization is required for any construction or renovation of 
buildings located in the administrative territory of local 
governments."  Article 70 of the same Code stipulates that it is the 
Mayors and the Presidents of rural communities, i.e. locally elected 
officials, who have the power to give such authorizations.  Since 
losing a large number of major cities to the opposition in recently 
concluded local elections, the government blatantly wants to limit 
the ability of these mayors to interfere or stop various pet 
government construction projects.  Consequently article 68 of the 
Urban Code will have the following provision added to it, "For 
State, Public Services, those entrusted with the conduct of a public 
service, and all projects considered to be of public utility, the 
compulsory administrative authorization for these works shall be 
given by the Minister in charge of Urban Affairs". 
 
Hostilities begin 
----------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  This change in the law is a clear indication that the 
central government is not going to play nice with the opposition 
mayors.  By including a provision on "projects deemed of public 
utility", the government has an open-ended weapon to employ against 
local officials who rely on central government subsidies to support 
most of their public utility projects.  A ruling party leader, who 
until his party's defeat was Deputy Mayor of Dakar, told Embassy 
that the new Mayor will soon realize that his hands are totally 
tied.  He noted that although the City of Dakar has a projected 
budget of 34 billion CFA (68 million USD), Mayor Sall will be lucky 
if he can get anywhere near that amount because it is the central 
government that collects most of the taxes for the city and they do 
not have enough personnel to do so.  The former Deputy Mayor scoffed 
at a plan by Mayor Sall to give one billion CFA to each of the 19 
local governments under his jurisdiction.  He said with a payroll of 
7 billion CFA plus a grant of 2 billion CFA mandated by law that he 
must distribute to the aforementioned 19 local governments plus 
maintenance costs of about 3 billion CFA plus other operating costs 
such as public lights, Sall will find that he has very little room 
to maneuver.  He further commented that the city of Dakar has about 
3,000 employees, and that Mayor Sall cannot escape the pressure of 
recruiting his political backers who expect jobs from him.  This 
client system explains why there are so many people on the city's 
payroll who have no real duties or responsibilities. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)   This amendment is a step back in Senegal's long drawn 
out decentralization process.  The March 22 local election placed 
many new mayors at the head of Senegal's major cities; new mayors 
who will use their positions to challenge the ruling party for 
political supremacy in the run-up to the 2012 presidential 
elections.  Yet, in the near term, the government's use of strong 
arm tactics such as withholding funds from cities that desperately 
need money just to meet the people's most basic needs means that the 
only people who are really going to suffer as the government and the 
opposition duke it out are the Senegalese people. 
 
Bernicat