Senegal redirects energy subsidies to vulnerable households
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on APS
Senegalese Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo defends continued public coverage of the oil shock and increased social transfers to protect household purchasing power. He says the budget had assumed an oil price of 69 dollars a barrel, compared with more than 100 dollars now, and that the state chose to absorb part of the increase, according to APS.
The supplementary budget bill also provides for an increase in family safety grants: their allocation rose from 35 billion CFA francs to 70 billion in 2026, with a projection of 142 billion in 2027, according to Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô. The Prime Minister presents the increase as a way to extend social coverage and better target assistance.
The government justifies covering part of the oil shock through the budget by pointing to the rise in the price of a barrel, now valued at more than 100 dollars compared with 69 dollars used when the initial budget was drawn up. Ahmadou Al Aminou Lô says the state has thereby limited the impact of the increase on consumers. The National Assembly’s committee rejected the supplementary budget bill.
