Dakar YOG displace artisans as cost of living rises
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Africanews
Preparations for the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic competition held in Africa, have led to artisans being evicted from Medina, including shoemaker Mamadou Wadji, who was displaced to allow a stadium to be expanded. Residents are questioning spending on the Games, which bring together about 2,700 athletes until 13 November, as living costs weigh on households, according to the Associated Press.
Artisans have been moved in Dakar to make way for the expansion of a stadium for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. Mamadou Wadji, a shoemaker in the working-class district of Medina, said he was evicted in September before being rehoused with other artisans in an unfinished school, according to the Associated Press.
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are bringing together around 2,700 athletes in Dakar and nearby cities until 13 November. Senegal has committed 36 billion CFA francs, around $60 million, to organising the event, including 11.3 billion CFA francs for renovating sports facilities, according to Senegalese authorities and Olympic officials.
The cost of the event has drawn criticism in a country facing a debt crisis and rising living costs. Momar Assane Diouf, a 33-year-old Dakar entrepreneur, said the funds could have been used to bring prices down and support purchasing power. Youth unemployment stands at around 23%, while nearly 75% of Senegal’s population is under 35, according to the national statistics agency.
The artisans’ relocation comes as the Dakar 2026 YOG, the first Olympic competition to be held in Africa, continues after opening on 31 October. The opening of the Dakar 2026 YOG launched a competition scheduled to run until 13 November.
