#Headlines

Senegalese president raises eyebrows over politicians’ involvement in land issues

May 9, 2024, 10:58 AM

During his recent visit to Mbour 4, a week ago, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye expressed his annoyance at discovering that certain politicians were associated with a vast expanse of land, an attribution error which actually occurred in the New Town of Thiès-Fandène-Notto-Keur Mousseu, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Urban Planning and the Directorate of Estates, where land is measured in hectares.

President Faye strongly denounced what he considers to be an attack on social justice and the right to decent housing, making specific reference to a politician from Thiès who owns 13 hectares of land, while the city itself has only three.

Investigations carried out by the daily Bés bi have identified several beneficiaries of these land allocations. Among them, Idrissa Seck owns a 13-hectare plot referenced TFNKM/27 in the Zac zone. Other important political figures were also cited, such as Pape Diop with the 10-hectare TFNKM/26 and Abdou Mbow with the references TFNKM/117 and TFNKM/170, each measuring one hectare.

The newspaper report also mentions other notable figures, including Youssou Ndour, Cheikh Oumar Anne, Arona Dia, Daouda Dia, Kalidou Wagué, Ami Ndiaye Gniby and Antoine Diome, each owning plots of varying sizes up to 17 hectares.

Here is the list of personalities and the corresponding areas of land they hold in the New Town of Thiès-Fandène-Notto-Keur Mousseu:

Idrissa Seck: 13 hectares

Pape Diop: 10 hectares

Arona Dia: 10 hectares

Youssou Ndour: 5 hectares

Antoine Diome: 5 hectares

Augustin Tine: 5 hectares

Jean Paul Diaz: 5 hectares

Cheikh Oumar Anne: 5 hectares

Amy Ndiaye Gniby: 1 hectare

Abdou Mbow: 1 hectare

Kalidou Wagué: 17 hectares

These 11 personalities would therefore have shared no less than 77 hectares. This information reveals the extent of land allocations to political and public figures in this specific area.