Reporting
Presidential election in Senegal: in Mbour, the challenges of a region with strong demographic growth
On February 25, 2024, Senegal will go to the polls to choose a new President of the Republic.
Until then, RFI is traveling the country to make the voices of the Senegalese heard, report on the campaign and see how this election is playing out on the ground.
After Fatick, we are in Mbour, which has become the third most populated department in Senegal.
Listen - 01:31
Fishermen on a beach in Mbour, Senegal.
© Théa Ollivier/RFI
By: Théa Ollivier Follow
Advertisement
Read more
From our special correspondent in Mbour,
The nerve center of the city is here, on the Mbour fishing quay.
Thousands of canoes unload tons of fish every day, then sold on the market located a little further away, on the beach...
Fishing employs nearly 58,000 people in the department alone, for a production of 112,000 tonnes of fishery products in 2021. Mbour is thus the second fishing port in the country.
“
We have all the qualifications we need, but we can’t find work
”
Under a parasol, Déthié Diop, a young 21-year-old fishmonger, tries to sell his sea bream arranged in small piles on his stall.
He laments: activity is in decline.
On good days, he struggles to earn more than 20,000 CFA francs, or 30 euros… But, sometimes, he comes home with empty pockets: “
Work,”
he confides
, “here, it’s very hard.
And I too am a breadwinner.
I'm the one who buys food, clothes, school supplies.
» He tried twice, without success, to reach Spain aboard a canoe.
Here, almost everyone has a loved one who has gone to Europe.
Issa, 32, lost his mother and his little brother who died at sea in 2021. However, he is ready to try to leave: “
We have all the diplomas we need, but we cannot find work.
Even if we find work, we don't get paid.
If we cross, it's to have a better life.
»
The location of Mbour, Senegal.
© FMM Graphic Studio
Unemployment is a particularly strong issue in this department which is experiencing rapid demographic growth, with 937,000 inhabitants in 2023 compared to 787,000 in 2019. The question arises especially for young people while tourism, the other pillar of Mbour's economy , must face difficulties.
Famous for its seaside resorts of Saly, Pointe Sarene, Somone and Joal, the small coast experienced a drop in attendance in 2020 due to the crisis linked to Covid 19.
Stopping migrant departures
At the head of an association helping returning migrants, Mustapha Fall is working on their economic reintegration in Mbour.
He calls on the State.
“
If they truly made a living from their job as fishermen,”
he explains, “
they would have stayed here, next to their families.
At the same time, the industrial sector must also be developed.
Now, it is up to the State of Senegal, to the central State, to facilitate the arrival of foreign and even national investors in this sector
.”
Mustapha Fall hopes that the next President of the Republic will put an end to international fishing agreements which lead to a scarcity of fishing resources.
One of the reasons often given by fishermen to explain their departure.
The authorities, for their part, assure that everything is being done to stop the movement.
Bayati Babou, second deputy mayor and member of the Benno Bokk Yaakar presidential coalition, emphasizes the economic dynamism of Mbour and recalls that the city has made a lot of progress.
Read alsoPresidential election in Senegal: its daily news on RFI
At the department level, infrastructure has also been built over the last twelve years, notably with the toll highway and the Blaise Diagne international airport.
A huge port is now under construction in Ndayane.
A major investment project: more than a billion dollars, thanks to which Senegal will be able to accommodate large-scale ships.
The port will be backed by a special economic zone of 300 hectares.
Commissioning planned for 2026.
For now, in restaurants and on the fishing quays, everyone in Mbour is talking about the different candidates in the next presidential election.
The area is historically rather devoted to the Benno Bokk Yaakaar presidential coalition.
In 2012, residents voted for Macky Sall by more than 72%, and 62% in 2019. But during the last elections in 2022, the ruling camp was put in difficulty by a growing opposition: Benno Bokk Yaakar obtained only 54% of the votes during the legislative elections.
For Bayati Babou, the deputy mayor, Mbour still remains the preserve of the presidential camp: “
We won the municipal and legislative elections, we remain hopeful, because the opposition has disintegrated since the legislative elections.
» The battle is therefore likely to be tough in this heavily populated department, which is a large reservoir of votes.
Read alsoPresidential election in Senegal: Fatick, impregnable stronghold of the majority?
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your inbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Share :
Continue reading on the same themes:
Senegal
Presidential election in Senegal
International Migration
Immigration
Economy
our selection
Social issues
Agriculture and Fishing