Senegal’s UEMOA performance decline in 2025: key factors revealed

Senegal experienced a minor setback in 2025 regarding its implementation of UEMOA’s community reforms, policies, programs, and projects. This decline occurred despite the authorities generally deeming the overall results satisfactory.

The political phase of the 11th Annual Review of UEMOA community initiatives, held in Senegal, officially reported an average implementation rate of 76.45% for 2025. This marks a decrease of 2.14 percentage points from the 78.59% recorded in 2024. This year’s assessment encompassed 145 reforms, an increase from 132 in the previous cycle.

These findings were presented following deliberations involving Senegalese state officials and the UEMOA Commission. The meeting was chaired by Cheikh Diba, the Minister of Finance and Budget, alongside Abdoulaye Diop, the President of the UEMOA Commission.

According to Minister Diba, this downturn is primarily attributable to observed declines in the execution of reforms related to economic governance and convergence, which saw a 1.3 percentage point reduction. Sectoral reforms also registered a significant decrease of 6.03 points. However, this overall underperformance was partially offset by advances in the common market, which improved by 0.91 points.

The Minister further elaborated that the challenges identified in economic governance and convergence were chiefly linked to the delayed submission of the 2024 report from the Single Window for Financial Statement Deposits (GUDEF) to the UEMOA Commission during the technical review phase.

Despite this aggregate regression, several key sectors demonstrated positive growth. Notable progress was achieved in the harmonization of the legal, accounting, and statistical framework for public finances, increasing by 1.83 percentage points. The customs union advanced by 4.55 points, while the agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and environment sectors collectively saw a rise of 2.12 points. Human and social development recorded a substantial gain of 6.58 points, and the energy and mining sectors progressed by 3.33 points.

Cheikh Diba highlighted that the most significant achievements within structural reforms were observed in areas such as culture, tourism, crafts, quality standards, and the overall business climate.

Commitments to realign the trajectory

Minister Diba emphasized that these results necessitate careful attention and immediate corrective actions. The Senegalese government is therefore committed to implementing the necessary measures to consolidate existing achievements, enhance performance, and progressively address the identified shortcomings.

He noted that considerable effort is still required, particularly in finalizing document validation processes, providing essential supporting documentation, and ensuring the effective execution and monitoring of community programs and projects.

The political segment of this review successfully validated the findings from the technical phase and solidified the commitment of the Senegalese administration and its highest authorities to the application of UEMOA community reforms.

Cheikh Diba believes that, despite the remaining room for improvement, these results reflect a broader trend across UEMOA member states, where significant strides have also been made in implementing various reforms.

The Minister reiterated that for Senegal, reinforcing regional integration remains a paramount objective. In this light, the conclusions of this political phase will be presented to Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko during an upcoming audience with the President of the UEMOA Commission.