Pastef threatens to block Senegal budget with CFA 790.3bn in energy aid
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Senego
Senegalese party Pastef is threatening to block the 2026 supplementary finance bill, which raises energy subsidies to CFA 790.3 billion, from the CFA 250 billion initially planned. The bill also provides for family security grants to double from CFA 35 billion to CFA 70 billion, while the budget deficit is estimated at 7.6% of GDP, according to Senego.
Pastef, the party that controls Senegal’s National Assembly, has threatened to block consideration of the 2026 supplementary finance bill amid a stand-off between President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and his former prime minister Ousmane Sonko, Senego reports. The bill, sent to MPs on 18 September, provides for CFA 790.3 billion in energy subsidies, compared with CFA 250 billion in the initial budget.
The government wants gradually to replace general electricity and fuel subsidies with targeted support for vulnerable households, public transport and certain essential activities. The allocation for family security grants is also set to rise from CFA 35 billion to CFA 70 billion. The budget deficit is expected to reach 7.6% of GDP, amid declining tax revenues and investment.
On Tuesday, Pastef parliamentary group leader Mohamed Ayib Salim Daffé urged Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô to stop “playing hide-and-seek” and to “get off his pedestal”. This was in response to the prime minister’s call on Monday 26 October for Sonko to end the escalation, according to RFI Afrique.
The stand-off comes as the National Assembly examines the 2026 supplementary budget. The energy subsidies, set at CFA 790.3 billion, are also at the centre of debates on the allocation of public spending.
