DOCSLIB.ORG

Illicit Drug Trading in Dakar Dimensions and Intersections with Governance Boubacar Diarisso and Charles Goredema

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Illicit Drug Trading in Dakar Dimensions and Intersections with Governance Boubacar Diarisso and Charles Goredema ISS PAPER 260 | AUGUST 2014 Illicit drug trading in Dakar Dimensions and intersections with governance Boubacar Diarisso and Charles Goredema Summary The authors provide a thorough analysis of the situation with regard to illegal drugs in Senegal’s capital, Dakar. The paper focuses on cannabis, cocaine and heroine, as well as counterfeit pharmaceutical products. It discusses the extent of cultivation, patterns of consumption, international trafficking methods and routes, the role of women, police action and the impact of trafficking on governance. It is concluded that while there is no evidence that hard drugs are manufactured in Dakar and there are insufficient indicators for Dakar being a drug trafficking hub, it is evident that crime networks are interested in exploiting the city for the channelling of drugs to other parts of the world. ONCE THE CAPITAL OF French West During the 18th century Dakar was as a crucial link in international relations Africa during the colonial period from nothing more than a village. The name and affairs.5 1902 to 1958, and then of the short- reportedly featured on a map for the Dakar boasts a telecommunications and lived Mali Federation in 1959, the city of first time in 1750.3 The first buildings infrastructure network that makes the Dakar became the political and economic appeared in 1857 in the wake of the city a favourite destination for cultural, capital of the newly independent state construction of a French fort. This political and economic events of an of Senegal in 1960. As one of the was followed by the design of an initial international nature. The metropolis few countries in Africa that has never cadastral plan, according to which covers an area of 547 km² and 4 experienced a military coup d’état, development began in 1858. The city constitutes 0,3 per cent of Senegal’s total Senegal is considered politically stable. was built to meet certain strategic and size of 196 712 km². The establishment It is situated to the south of the Sahara administrative needs of the French in Dakar of large industrial plants for the desert, at the westernmost end of the colonial empire and it thus became a production of export-oriented goods and African continent, 6 132 km from New symbol and crucial pillar of the French the re-packaging of imported products York, 4 371 km from London, 4 202 km imperial project in Africa. It served as the for the local Senegalese market have from Paris, 6 619 km from Cape Town starting point for conceptualising and turned the city into an industrial hub of and 5 036 km from Rio de Janeiro.1 Its fine-tuning France’s political dominance the region. Dakar has become Senegal’s airport was designated as a major stop- over West Africa in particular. Given leading centre since the country’s key over from the early days of commercial its advantageous location, and its economic activities rely on services air transport.2 cosmopolitan population, Dakar serves provided by the city. It has also become a 8396 ISS Paper 260.indd 1 2014/08/14 9:47 AM PAPER focal point for domestic and cross-border Much of the cannabis found in Dakar • The south, especially in the migration. is cultivated on farms in the region. Département de Bignona It is often grown on small patches of A breakdown by age group in 2008 • The Kolda region close to the border land in the fertile market-garden region indicated that Dakar’s population was with Guinea Bissau of Niayes, an area of about 100 km2 essentially very young, with 44,7 per along the coast extending almost up The Casamance region in the southern cent being under the age of 20 years to Saint-Louis in the north-west of the part of Senegal, is considered to be and more than 70 per cent being below country. The plants are hidden among Senegal’s largest cannabis cultivation the age of 35.6 The over 60 age-group normal crops. Small cannabis farms, area. Criminality in the region is worsened constituted slightly more than five per often managed by women, yield a good by the insecurity that has prevailed there cent of the population. In 2007, average income. For example, the price paid to a for three decades. The Niayes (Dakar- life expectance was estimated at 59,8 farmer for 5 kg of cannabis, the proceeds Gandiol-Saint-Louis corridor) supports years, though it is higher amongst from three or four plants, is equivalent women at 61,3 years.7 vast cannabis distribution and trading to the income obtained from 2 ha of networks. In the past few years, there Cannabis is the drug most commonly potatoes. However, because the land have been reports of bartering with used in Dakar and in Senegal. Because available for farming is shrinking under cattle owners exchanging their livestock, it is readily available and comparatively the pressure of land required for housing, stock-feed and even staple food stocks cheap, cannabis is by far the most as well as energetic law enforcement for cannabis. It is as difficult to estimate popular drug and is used by people activities, the cultivation of cannabis is the amount of cannabis produced in across the social strata. During a debate declining in the Niayes region. Dakar’s this region as it is to mount eradication on ’the security of citizens and their cannabis supply is becoming more and campaigns there. property’ in the National Assembly on more dependent on certain Senegalese 4 June 2013, the Minister of Interior, farmers who, in their quest for larger According to data provided by the General Pathé Seck, announced incomes, are abandoning subsistence drug squad of the Senegalese police, that in 2012 about 1,5 t of cannabis, crops in favour of cannabis cultivation. cannabis is encountered in several 12,45 kg of cocaine and 36 g of heroin Traffickers are prepared to pay the varieties, including verte de Mboro, had been seized by the Senegalese police. Trafficking of drugs in Senegal is A sharp increase in the abuse of cannabis in Dakar dominated by Dakar, closely followed by has been noted Kaolack, a gateway city with connections to Mali and The Gambia.8 The following farmers a high price, often in advance which is a locally improved variety; areas of Dakar are known for the of delivery. This applies to the Karones Green Makut, a variety from the Gambia; storage and concealment of cannabis in islands, and Blouff and Sine Saloum in Lopito or Lops from Ghana; Bouddha, 11 particular: particular. A large proportion of the an ’improved’ variety from Casamance; cannabis supply to the Dakar market Ganila from Mali;13 and the Salsa or • Keur Mbaye Fall (suburbs) comes from farms in the hinterland.12 ’Colombian’ variety introduced in 1996. • Mbao Protected Forest It should be noted that cannabis A sharp increase in the abuse of cannabis • Mbeubeusse (a household waste cultivation has spread from the Grande in Dakar has been noted. This can be dumping site)9 Zone des Niayes to other parts of attributed to its availability, but also to Senegal. Today, areas that can and are recreational smoking by unemployed • Boune (Pikine)10 being used for cannabis cultivation are youth. The average age of users is quite Cannabis is readily obtained in the Dakar scattered across the country, as follows: low, with first-time users being as young suburbs of Pikine, Guédiawaye, Parcelles as 12 or 13 years old.14 Cannabis is • The Gandiol-Saint-Louis region of Assainies, Thiaroye, Yeumbeul and Keur known to be used at academic institutions the Niayes Massar, as well as in Rufisque, 25 km such as the University of Dakar and Dakar from Dakar. The Dakar neighbourhoods • Along the Senegal River up to La high schools. are home to the urban poor who Pointe de Sangomar migrated from rural areas in search of a Cannabis trafficking in Dakar • Along the tributary of Sine Saloum better life. Some of them are involved in We draw a distinction between dealers the trafficking of cannabis. • The Saloum islands and traffickers on the basis of the scale of 2 ILLICIT DRUG TRADING IN DAKAR 8396 ISS Paper 260.indd 2 2014/08/14 9:47 AM their trade. The money generated by the vehicles as they wait for customers. More Trafficking of hard drugs cannabis trade has attracted both small serious traffickers have transport of some No hard drugs are produced in Dakar. dealers and ’major traffickers’. While sort. Currently, motorbikes are the most Yet, it is evident that cocaine and heroin the trade affects many neighbourhoods, common. Indeed, a motorbike is a good are trafficked in the city. Cases heard by it is mainly in the more populous hiding place for the average dealer as it the Assize Court since 2008 show that neighbourhoods that trading is most allows the unobtrusive transport of 2 kg cocaine trafficking is on the increase. The frequent and open. The most notorious to 3 kg of cannabis. Bigger traffickers use matter of the State versus Franck Koma, areas are Niary-Tally, Grand-Dakar and motor vehicles and canoes to carry drugs a Nigerian national, involved 10 packets Yoff, and the suburbs of Thiaroye, Pikine to Dakar, especially onto and from the containing a total of 5 kg of cocaine and Guédiawaye. beaches in Bargy and Sendou. Cannabis mixed with 10 kg of white powder.18 The is often landed along Senegal’s 118 km Despite the authorities’ efforts, these accused was also found in possession long coast.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Poetics of Relationality: Mobility, Naming, and Sociability in Southeastern Senegal by Nikolas Sweet a Dissertation Submitte
    The Poetics of Relationality: Mobility, Naming, and Sociability in Southeastern Senegal By Nikolas Sweet A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in the University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee Professor Judith Irvine, chair Associate Professor Michael Lempert Professor Mike McGovern Professor Barbra Meek Professor Derek Peterson Nikolas Sweet [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3957-2888 © 2019 Nikolas Sweet This dissertation is dedicated to Doba and to the people of Taabe. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The field work conducted for this dissertation was made possible with generous support from the National Science Foundation’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, the Wenner-Gren Foundation’s Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program, and the University of Michigan Rackham International Research Award. Many thanks also to the financial support from the following centers and institutes at the University of Michigan: The African Studies Center, the Department of Anthropology, Rackham Graduate School, the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies, the Mellon Institute, and the International Institute. I wish to thank Senegal’s Ministère de l'Education et de la Recherche for authorizing my research in Kédougou. I am deeply grateful to the West African Research Center (WARC) for hosting me as a scholar and providing me a welcoming center in Dakar. I would like to thank Mariane Wade, in particular, for her warmth and support during my intermittent stays in Dakar. This research can be seen as a decades-long interest in West Africa that began in the Peace Corps in 2006-2009.
    [Show full text]
  • “Dangerous Vagabonds”: Resistance to Slave
    “DANGEROUS VAGABONDS”: RESISTANCE TO SLAVE EMANCIPATION AND THE COLONY OF SENEGAL by Robin Aspasia Hardy A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY Bozeman, Montana April 2016 ©COPYRIGHT by Robin Aspasia Hardy 2016 All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION PAGE For my dear parents. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Historiography and Methodology .............................................................................. 4 Sources ..................................................................................................................... 18 Chapter Overview .................................................................................................... 20 2. SENEGAL ON THE FRINGE OF EMPIRE.......................................................... 23 Senegal, Early French Presence, and Slavery ......................................................... 24 The Role of Slavery in the French Conquest of Senegal’s Interior ......................... 39 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 51 3. RACE, RESISTANCE, AND PUISSANCE ........................................................... 54 Sex, Trade and Race in Senegal ............................................................................... 55 Slave Emancipation and the Perpetuation of a Mixed-Race
    [Show full text]
  • Road Travel Report: Senegal
    ROAD TRAVEL REPORT: SENEGAL KNOW BEFORE YOU GO… Road crashes are the greatest danger to travelers in Dakar, especially at night. Traffic seems chaotic to many U.S. drivers, especially in Dakar. Driving defensively is strongly recommended. Be alert for cyclists, motorcyclists, pedestrians, livestock and animal-drawn carts in both urban and rural areas. The government is gradually upgrading existing roads and constructing new roads. Road crashes are one of the leading causes of injury and An average of 9,600 road crashes involving injury to death in Senegal. persons occur annually, almost half of which take place in urban areas. There are 42.7 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles in Senegal, compared to 1.9 in the United States and 1.4 in the United Kingdom. ROAD REALITIES DRIVER BEHAVIORS There are 15,000 km of roads in Senegal, of which 4, Drivers often drive aggressively, speed, tailgate, make 555 km are paved. About 28% of paved roads are in fair unexpected maneuvers, disregard road markings and to good condition. pass recklessly even in the face of oncoming traffic. Most roads are two-lane, narrow and lack shoulders. Many drivers do not obey road signs, traffic signals, or Paved roads linking major cities are generally in fair to other traffic rules. good condition for daytime travel. Night travel is risky Drivers commonly try to fit two or more lanes of traffic due to inadequate lighting, variable road conditions and into one lane. the many pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles sharing the roads. Drivers commonly drive on wider sidewalks. Be alert for motorcyclists and moped riders on narrow Secondary roads may be in poor condition, especially sidewalks.
    [Show full text]
  • MYSTIC LEADER ©Christian Bobst Village of Keur Ndiaye Lo
    SENEGAL MYSTIC LEADER ©Christian Bobst Village of Keur Ndiaye Lo. Disciples of the Baye Fall Dahira of Cheikh Seye Baye perform a religious ceremony, drumming, dancing and singing prayers. While in other countries fundamentalists may prohibit music, it is an integral part of the religious practice in Sufism. Sufism is a form of Islam practiced by the majority of the population of Senegal, where 95% of the country’s inhabitants are Muslim Based on the teachings of religious leader Amadou Bamba, who lived from the mid 19th century to the early 20th, Sufism preaches pacifism and the goal of attaining unity with God According to analysts of international politics, Sufism’s pacifist tradition is a factor that has helped Senegal avoid becoming a theatre of Islamist terror attacks Sufism also teaches tolerance. The role of women is valued, so much so that within a confraternity it is possible for a woman to become a spiritual leader, with the title of Muqaddam Sufism is not without its critics, who in the past have accused the Marabouts of taking advantage of their followers and of mafia-like practices, in addition to being responsible for the backwardness of the Senegalese economy In the courtyard of Cheikh Abdou Karim Mbacké’s palace, many expensive cars are parked. They are said to be gifts of his followers, among whom there are many rich Senegalese businessmen who live abroad. The Marabouts rank among the most influential men in Senegal: their followers see the wealth of thei religious leaders as a proof of their power and of their proximity to God.
    [Show full text]
  • Gorée: Island of Memories
    GOREE ISLAND OF MEMORIES GOREE ISLAND OF MEMORIES Unesco The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of Unesco concerning the legal status of any country territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Published in 1985 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris Printed by L. Vanmelle, Ghent, Belgium ISBN 92-3-102348-9 French edition 92-3-202348-2 © Unesco 1985 Printed in Belgium PREFACE Scarely have the lights of Dakar dimmed on the horizon than the launch puts in at the little harbour of Gorée. Half an hour has passed, just long enough for the sea-breeze to smooth away, as if by magic, the lines of fatigue from the faces of travellers Gorée, island of serenity, awaits us. And yet Gorée holds memories of the infamous trade that once condemned thousands of the sons and daughters of Africa if not to death, then to an exile from which none returned. The rays of the morning sun turn the facades to bronze. Each has its story to tell, confusing all sense of where we are ; in a single narrow street we pass a building, a courtyard, a stairway, a door or a set of architectural features that remind us of Amsterdam, Oporto, Seville, Saint Tropez, New Orleans, Nantes, Brooklyn and perhaps even Damascus. But if Gorée were merely a succession of architectural images, it would be but a stage set.
    [Show full text]
  • Water Woes in Senegal's Holy City
    News Water woes in Senegal’s holy city With the annual festival of the Great Magal just weeks away, administrators in Touba – Senegal’s second city – are gearing up for a massive influx of people and the disease they may bring with them. Felicity Thompson reports. You can be too popular. The residents Touba because the founder and saint, without sanitation or water systems,” of the west-central Senegalese city of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, owned the he says. “Women walk at least one kilo- Touba, situated some 200 km from land and founded his holy city,” ex- metre to find water.” Meanwhile septic the capital Dakar, know all about that plains Dr Masserigne Ndiaye, Medical tanks are a rarity. “They are too costly problem, having seen their “village” Director of the Diourbel region, where for most people,” Faye says. “It costs swell from 5000 people in the mid- Touba is located. The water is free for about US$ 340 (150 000 FCFA) for a 1960s to around 700 000 today. Indeed the same reason. septic tank and about US$ 115 (50 000 officially Touba is still a “village”, under It was the free land and water FCFA) for a toilet.” the management of a rural department, part of the package that got the Even in the heart of the city, waste but in reality it is a major conurbation attention of 24-year-old Ali Nguer disposal is a huge issue. “There is no with some big city problems. who now lives with his family in the sewage system,” says Ndiaye, explain- Touba was founded by Cheikh Omoul Khoura neighbourhood about ing the basic problem.
    [Show full text]
  • Mapping the Supply Chain Catering to the Base of The
    APPING THE SUPPLY CHAIN CATERING TO M THE BASE OF THE PYRAMID IN SENEGAL FINAL REPORT 12 JULY 2013 Senegal: Mapping the Supply Chain for SLPs Catering to the BOP TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms ..........................................................................................................................................1 Executive summary ............................................................................................................................2 Structure of the report ........................................................................................................................ 5 1. Background and context .............................................................................................................6 Lighting Africa Program context ......................................................................................................... 6 Lighting Africa supply chain study: goals and deliverables ................................................................. 6 Country overview and key challenges ................................................................................................ 7 Access to energy: the potential for solar lighting ............................................................................... 8 Policy and regulations ....................................................................................................................... 10 2. Current supply chain for Solar Portable Lanterns (SPLs) .............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Statue Faidherbe
    Une campagne à l’initiative de l’association Survie Nord à l’occasion du bicentenaire de la naissance de Louis Faidherbe le 3 juin 2018. En partenariat avec le Collectif Afrique, l’Atelier d’Histoire Critique, le Front uni des immigrations et des quartiers populaires (FUIQP), le Collectif sénégalais contre la célébration de Faidherbe . Consultez le site : faidherbedoittomber.org @ Abasfaidherbe Faidherbe doit tomber Faidherbe doit tomber ! Qui veut (encore) célébrer le “père de l’impérialisme français” ? p. 4 Questions - réponses (à ceux qui veulent garder Faidherbe) p. 6 Qui était Louis Faidherbe ? p. 9 Un jeune Lillois sans éclat Un petit soldat de la conquête de l’Algérie Le factotum des affairistes Le « pacificateur » du Sénégal Un technicien du colonialisme Un idéologue raciste Une icône de la République coloniale Faidherbe vu du Sénégal p. 22 Aux origines lointaines de la Françafrique p. 29 Bibliographie p. 34 Faidherbe doit tomber ! Qui veut (encore) célébrer le “ père de l’impérialisme français ” ? Depuis la fin du XIX e siècle, Lille et le nord de la France célèbrent perpétuellement la mémoire du gén éral Louis Faidherbe. Des rues et des lycées portent son nom. Des statues triomphales se dressent en son hommage au cœur de nos villes. Il y a là, pourtant, un scandale insup portable. Car Faidherbe était un colonialiste forcené. Il a massacré des milliers d’Africains au XIX e siècle. Il fut l’acteur clé de la conquête du Sénégal. Il défendit toute sa vie les théories racistes les plus abjectes. Si l’on considère que la colonisa tion est un crime contre l’humanité , il faut alors se rendre à l’évidence : celui que nos villes honorent quotidiennement est un criminel de haut rang.
    [Show full text]
  • ABBOUDI Souheir Niamat ABOUAME Safa ABOUZAHIR Sana
    SECTION A - ANNÉE 2020 PARTIE 01 N° NOM PRENOM SPECIALISATION ADRESSE PROFESSIONNELLE N° TELEPHONE 01 ABBOUDI Souheir Niamat Biologie Hôpital Abass Ndao 66 02 ABOUAME Safa Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 202 03 ABOUZAHIR Sana Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 197 70 717 32 57 04 ABDELOUAFI Sara Radiologie Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 100 05 ABDENNAJI Ramy Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 80 06 ACAKPO Marie Em. Ekwa Médecine Générale Institut Polyclinique Médina 221 07 ACRACHI Keyndou Pédiatrie Etabli Publique Santé 1 Institut d'Hy Sociale (IHS) 1287 08 AGBEZUDO Adzoa Enyonam Médecine Générale Hôpital Fann 57 09 AGBOLAN K. Amha L. Romuald Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 98 10 AGNE Papa S. El Feky Allergologie - Pneumologie Etab Public Santé III centre Hos Univer de Fann 641 338691818 11 AGNE Maïmouna Médecine Générale Hôpital Abass Ndao 3329 12 AGUIDISSOU L. Mah. Arnold Médecine Générale Hôpital Général Idrissa Pouye HOGIP 141 13 AHMED Houra ORL Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Fann 3125 70 488 91 04 14 AÏDARA S. Saadiya Médecine Générale Ministère de la santé et de l'Action sociale 1911 15 AÏDARA Ch. Mohamadou Radiologie Hôpital de la Paix Ziguinchor 3738 16 AÏDARA Mame Jésus Ibaï Médecine Générale Hôpital Principal Dakar 2433 17 AÏDARA DI. Ndéye Khadissa Gynécologie-Obstétrique Centre de santé Annette Mbaye D'Erneville 2005 33 860 65 21 18 AIDIBE Ibrahima Gynécologie Obstétrique Hôpital Aristide le Dantec 1947 19 AITBELLA Younen Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 110 20 AJJOUN Omar Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 2792 21 AKONDE Ma.An. A.F.D.M Médecine Générale Hôpital National de Pikine 3314 22 AKONKWA Yvette Médecine Générale Hôpital Aristide Le Dantec 191 23 AKPO Léra G.
    [Show full text]
  • The Judgement of God. Migration Aspirations and Sufi-Islam in Urban Senegal
    PhiN-Beiheft 18/2019: 284 Sebastian Prothmann (Bamako) Ndogalu Yàlla – The Judgement of God. Migration Aspirations and Sufi-Islam in Urban Senegal Based on ethnographic research in Pikine, an urban area within the Dakar region, I argue that theistic predetermination plays a pivotal role in migration aspirations of young men in urban Senegal. At- tainments within this religious popular belief such as successful migration or material wealth are believed to depend on wërsëg (luck) predetermined by one's fate (Ndogalu Yàlla). Likewise, the phenomenon of irregular migration from Senegal to Europe is similarly perceived: 'Barça wala Bar- sakh' (Barcelona or die) is what young people in coastal Senegal used to call this form of migration. However, I will show that young men handle their fate proactively, as they accept the risks and uncertainties of migration at all costs. With their courageous behaviour and fearless acceptance of even life-threatening obstacles during irregular migration, young men show determination to chal- lenge their destiny while trying to positively define and strengthen both their masculine and their religious identities. Introduction When I visited Pikine and Dakar in 2010 for the first time, I was astonished by the proliferation of religious symbols throughout the public space. Mural paintings and sophisticated colourful glass paintings, so-called suweer, with portraits of famous religious persons, particularly Cheikh Amadou Bamba,1 Cheikh Ibrahima Fall,2 El Hadj Malick Sy,3 Ibrāhīm Niass4 or other important sheikhs, have sprouted all over the town. The noteworthy proliferation of iconic Sufi representations is significant for their status as well as to their infiltration and penetration in urban Senegalese 1 Cheikh Amadou Bamba, often called Sériñ Tuubaa (Cheikh of Touba), was the founder of the Murid brotherhood.
    [Show full text]
  • Market-Oriented Urban Agricultural Production in Dakar
    CITY CASE STUDY DAKAR MARKET-ORIENTED URBAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN DAKAR Alain Mbaye and Paule Moustier 1. Introduction Occupying the Sahelian area of the tropical zone in a wide coastal strip (500 km along the Atlantic Ocean), Senegal covers some 196,192 km2 of gently undulating land. The climate is subtropical, with two seasons: the dry season lasting 9 months, from September to July, and the wet season from July to September. The Senegalese GNP (Gross National Product) of $570 per capita is above average for sub-Saharan Africa ($490). However, the economy is fragile and natural resources are limited. Services represent 60% of the GNP, and the rest is divided among agriculture and industry (World Bank 1996). In 1995, the total population of Senegal rose above 8,300,000 inhabitants. The urbanisation rate stands at 40%. Dakar represents half of the urban population of the region, and more than 20% of the total population. The other main cities are much smaller (Thiès: pop. 231,000; Kaolack: pop. 200000; St. Louis: pop. 160,000). Table 1: Basic facts about Senegal and Dakar Senegal Dakar (Urban Community) Area 196,192 km2 550 km2 Population (1995) 8,300,000 1,940,000 Growth rate 2,9% 4% Source: DPS 1995. The choice of Dakar as Senegal’s capital was due to its strategic location for marine shipping and its vicinity to a fertile agricultural region, the Niayes, so called for its stretches of fertile soil (Niayes), between parallel sand dunes. Since colonial times, the development of infrastructure and economic activity has been concentrated in Dakar and its surroundings.
    [Show full text]
  • Dakar's Municipal Bond Issue: a Tale of Two Cities
    Briefing Note 1603 May 2016 | Edward Paice Dakar’s municipal bond issue: A tale of two cities THE 19 MUNICIPALITIES OF THE CITY OF DAKAR Central and municipal governments are being overwhelmed by the rapid growth Cambérène Parcelles Assainies of Africa’s cities. Strategic planning has been insufficient and the provision of basic services to residents is worsening. Since the 1990s, widespread devolution has substantially shifted responsibility for coping with urbanisation to local Ngor Yoff Patte d’Oie authorities, yet municipal governments across Africa receive a paltry share of Grand-Yoff national income with which to discharge their responsibilities.1 Responsible and SICAP Dieuppeul-Derklé proactive city authorities are examining how to improve revenue generation and Liberté Ouakam HLM diversify their sources of finance. Municipal bonds may be a financing option for Mermoz Biscuiterie Sacré-Cœur Grand-Dakar some capital cities, depending on the legal and regulatory environment, investor appetite, and the creditworthiness of the borrower and proposed investment Fann-Point Hann-Bel-Air E-Amitié projects. This Briefing Note describes an attempt by the city of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, to launch the first municipal bond in the West African Economic and Gueule Tapée Fass-Colobane Monetary Union (WAEMU) area, and considers the ramifications of the central Médina Dakar-Plateau government blocking the initiative. Contested capital Sall also pressed for the adoption of an African Charter on Local Government and the establishment of an During the 2000s President Abdoulaye Wade sought African Union High Council on Local Authorities. For Sall, to establish Dakar as a major investment destination those closest to the people – local government – must and transform it into a “world-class” city.
    [Show full text]