Senegal's New Government Tackles High Living Costs with Price Reductions on Essentials

In order to address concerns about the cost of life in the face of rising unemployment and inflation, the new Senegalese administration has announced plans to lower the price of bread, rice, oil, and other necessities.

The development was verified by Cheikh Diba, the nation's minister of budget. Remember that the nation of West Africa, which is heavily dependent on imports, has high living expenses. During the campaign, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who won the March election, made a commitment to address these issues.

The government announced the new measures at a press conference, Agence France-Presse reports. A kilogramme (2.2 pounds) of the most popular type of rice will cost 40 CFA ($0.065, 0.061 euros) less. A baguette will cost 15 CFA (0.023 euros) less.

The reductions will go into effect in the coming days, government Secretary General Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo said reporters. The reductions also apply to fertiliser and cement.

Half of a Senegalese household's budget goes towards food, according to Lo, who also claimed that more oversight would be done to make sure dealers adhere to the new prices.

The government would forgo taxes and customs fees imposed on importers to subsidise the price reductions, according to Budget Minister Cheikh Diba.

According to Diba, the measures will cost 53.3 billion CFA, or more than 81 million euros or $87 million.

This follows Senegal's announcement this week that it has entered the club of nations that produce oil, following the announcement by Australian company Woodside Energy that production had begun on the nation's first offshore project.

Faye promised that the nation's oil and gas resources will be "well managed" for profit.