
03 Apr MESSAGE TO THE NATION FROM HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT MACKY SALL ON THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE 61ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF SENEGAL
Republic of Senegal
One People – One Goal – One Faith
MESSAGE TO THE NATION
OF HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT MACKY SALL
***
ON THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE 61ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF SENEGAL
Palace of the Republic, April 3, 2021
My dear compatriots,
I am happy to address you, on the occasion of the celebration, tomorrow, April 4, 2021, of the 61st anniversary of the independence of our country.
To each and every one of you, I extend my warmest congratulations.
In this Holy Week marking the end of Lent, I wish Happy Easter to our Christian brothers and sisters.
Like last year, the COVID-19 pandemic will not allow us to hold the traditional parade. I will therefore preside at the Palace of the Republic at a ceremony to raise the colors, in the presence of the Presidents of the Constitutional Institutions and members of the government.
The disease is still there, indeed. The battle is not yet won, even if our results are appreciable thanks to our joint efforts. So let’s not relax. Let’s continue to wear our masks and respect all health recommendations against the spread of the virus.
I reiterate, once again, our gratitude to our medical and paramedical staff, as well as to the support staff, for their dedication in the fight against the pandemic and the smooth running of the vaccination campaign; as evidenced by the massive support of the population.
The government remains actively engaged in the acquisition of vaccines, to maintain the momentum of the campaign.
My dear compatriots,
On behalf of the Nation, I reiterate to our veterans our feelings of respect and affection. Models of courage and dignity, their immense sacrifices, in dark hours of humanity, remind us of the chance we have to live free, in peace, and the duty incumbent on us to preserve the peaceful coexistence which cements our nation .
This feast is also that of the Army and the youth.
To you, officers, non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned soldiers, I express my pride and my confidence in your commitment to serving the Nation and peace in the world.
I salute the memory of our fallen soldiers and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded. To all of them, I repeat the gratitude of the Nation and the support of the State to their families.
Thus, the criteria for access to the mixed pension will be relaxed to allow the greatest number of people to benefit from it.
The theme of this year’s National Day is Defense and Security Forces and Border Protection. It conveniently recalls the first sovereign task of the State: that of ensuring the security, safety and peace of mind of all those who live within its borders, nationals and foreigners alike.
While borders always remain relevant in the land , sea and air sense , the threats are constantly changing. They have become more diffuse, more complex, more difficult to prevent and combat.
In short, it is the world that has become more dangerous in the face of perils of all kinds: terrorism, cybercrime, cross-border crimes, environmental and health challenges.
This is why we must constantly adjust our tools for monitoring, preventing and dealing with threats.
Consequently, as I indicated on Armed Forces Day last November, in addition to the significant efforts already made, we are continuing to modernize the means of our Defense and Security Forces in all their components.
The same applies to the readjustment of the training set-up system, through the deployment of new land units within the framework of the Staffing Table and allocations for the horizon 2025 .
I also want the constant improvement of the living and working conditions of the personnel, because an Army is forged first of all in the development of the men and women who compose it.
Finally, our Defense and Security Forces will continue to watch over our borders while remaining faithful to our traditions of good neighbourliness. For us, the border is a link and a space of conviviality between peoples.
My dear compatriots,
The National Day brings us together more than any other. Beyond our diversities, it embodies and exalts the living together inherited from our ancestors, and which we must pass on to our children and to future generations.
This evening, before you, I solemnly reaffirm that Senegal is a united and indivisible nation, and will remain so; a country of inclusive pluralism; a country of peace and conviviality between all its components; a country of teranga , which welcomes and protects all its guests without exception.
Together, let’s preserve this Senegalese art of living. Certainly, it is this Senegal that makes us happy, our honor and our pride. It is this Senegal that is known and appreciated throughout the world.
In this Senegal that we love, there can be no room for particularism, whatever it may be.
The springs of the Senegalese nation are solid. They inspire confidence and continue to play their regulatory role.
Let’s keep in mind what might weaken them. Let’s avoid any remarks and any behavior that could weaken them.
I invite you to examine your conscience and call on you to strengthen the social contract that binds us to each other and nourishes our common desire for a common life.
I call for an urgent revitalization of the values ??of citizenship, civility and peaceful coexistence.
I call for respect for the institutions and principles that govern our democracy, the rule of law and the Republic.
These values ??commit us and protect us jointly. They constitute our individual and collective safety valve, the foundation on which the Senegalese nation rests. No one has the power or the right to jeopardize them.
In this spirit, I will always remain open to dialogue and consultation to advance our common causes.
At the same time, I will relentlessly pursue the implementation of my vision of A Senegal for all, through inclusive and united development, territorial equity and social justice; in a word, social protection for all.
This is also the construction of national unity, through initiatives and programs for community development, modernization of cities and border territories, family security grants, universal health coverage and support for rapid entrepreneurship. women and young people.
These initiatives and programs will continue to go hand in hand with Senegal as a whole.
More than ever, I remain attentive to the deep impulses of the country; listening to the Senegal of the cities, the suburbs and the countryside.
I will continue to meet the needs for access to infrastructure, water, electricity, education, health care, housing, employment and income-generating activities.
We have done this in Saré-Liou , Ngayenne Sabakh , Darou Ndiaye , Thioubalel Nabadji , Toumania , Nouma, Barocuonda , Madina Wandifa, Djinany, Diembéring and so many other localities benefiting from territorial equity and social justice policies.
We will do this in Boli Ndaw , Fafacourou, Darou Ndiaye, Diallocounda, Diakhaling , Sinthiou Amadou Salam, Bokiladji, Brin, Bassoul and Keur Dabo , among other targets of Phase II of the PUDC, including the important electrification component of 2000 villages started on March 27.
We will go even further in the development of the rural economy, with this phase II of the PUDC which will mobilize 63 companies and generate 11,200 direct jobs and more than 30,000 indirect jobs.
I am also happy to announce that the 3 rd water plant of Keur Momar Sarr will be commissioned next May.
This large-scale work, with a 216 km water pipeline and a capacity of 100,000 m3 per day, for its first phase, out of a total of 200,000 m3 , will contribute to substantially improving the supply of water for Dakar, Thiès and other localities.
Other works are underway in Louga, Kaffrine, Matam, Tambacounda, Kédougou, Kolda, Sédhiou and Ziguinchor .
They will be followed by the construction and repair of works in Thiès, Tivaouane, Diourbel, Mbacké, Kaffrine, Fatick and Kaolack, in addition to the national program of 80,000 social connections entirely subsidized by the State.
My dear compatriots,
Independence Day is also and above all that of youth, whose ambition, strength and vitality carry our hopes for a better tomorrow.
This celebration, young people of Senegal, is especially dedicated to you.
I want it to be the starting point for new responses to your needs in education, training, jobs, project financing and support for entrepreneurship.
In recent years, by investing massively in the construction of heavy infrastructure, the State has also devoted a great deal of effort and resources to job creation and support for training, entrepreneurship and income-generating activities. income for young people.
But the fight against youth unemployment today requires a new impetus, due to the unprecedented economic crisis affecting all countries, developed and developing.
This is why, dear young people, as I announced to you in my message of March 8, I decided to reorient budgetary allocations to the tune of at least 450 billion FCFA, over three years, of which 150 billion for this year.
These resources will be used to finance the emergency program for the employment and socio-economic integration of young people which will come out of the Presidential Council that I will chair on Thursday 22 April.
I wanted the work of this Council to be based on the realities of our regions, in an inclusive format involving young workers, craftsmen, farmers, entrepreneurs, sportsmen, artists, the informal sector, urban cultures and leisure.
This is the purpose of the preparatory consultations carried out in our 14 regions, thanks to the support of the territorial and local administration, to establish the updated state of their potentialities and constraints.
I would like to thank the administrative and local authorities, as well as all the actors who took part in the consultations.
I also express my gratitude to the many people of goodwill who have sent me their contributions in a great civic spirit.
The government will take all of these contributions into account as part of the formulation of a coherent strategy for the territorialization of policies and the pooling of instruments for promoting employment, entrepreneurship and the integration of young people.
These instruments will be strengthened in resources, as well as in their governance and decision-making process.
For the sake of territorial equity and simplification of procedures, a one-stop shop will be set up in each of our 45 Departments.
Called Pôle-Emploi et Entrepreneurship for Young People and Women , it will serve as a framework for welcoming , advising and financing project leaders.
The DER/FJ, ANPEJ, ADPME and FONGIP, among others, will be represented in each one-stop shop in order to provide the projects with the necessary expertise, financing and monitoring.
In the immediate future, in support of employment and households, I have decided to allocate, as of May, 80 billion FCFA to the recruitment of 65,000 young people, throughout the national territory, in the education, reforestation, reforestation, public hygiene, security, road maintenance and town paving activities, among others.
A special quota will be reserved for the recruitment of 5,000 teachers for preschool, primary, middle and secondary, including modern Daaras and Arabic education.
I appeal to the private sector to join this national dynamic. Thus, the government will propose the extension of the State-Employers Agreement to the agriculture and agro-business sector, for an objective of 15,000 jobs to be created, in order to support our efforts for food self-sufficiency and transformation. local products.
To this end, the State’s allocation to the Convention will increase from one billion to fifteen billion FCFA.
I am also delighted to announce that I will proceed in May with the inauguration of the Diamniadio Data Center.
This is a great revolution for the digital sovereignty of our country, which will have its own digital data storage structure for the first time.
Among other features, the Data Center will allow you to:
generalize very high speed throughout the national territory;
meet, at affordable costs, the demands of the administration and the private sector for the hosting and operation of IT platforms and data;
and facilitate the dematerialization of procedures, for the rapid and transparent delivery of administrative services and documents, including civil status documents.
In addition, the Center will promote the emergence in the digital economy of more than 4,600 companies, and the generation of more than 15,700 jobs, including 720 direct.
This ecosystem will be reinforced by the Diamnadio Digital Technologies Park, work on which will be completed this year.
In addition, the Special Integrated Economic Zone of Diass will host, in October, a logistics and transport platform including:
a Logistics and Goods Transport Services Center;
a training academy for transport professions;
and a dry port, to serve the Blaise Diagne International Airport, the surrounding industrial zones and the seaports of Bargny and Sendou.
My dear compatriots,
April 4 celebrates our regained freedom. It also reminds us of our responsibility as a free people: that of consolidating our independence by achieving our economic sovereignty through our own forces and our combined intelligence.
Alone in the face of our destiny, we will manage to remain free by working together, united and united, as our national anthem invites us to do: “shoulder to shoulder” upright, solid and united as a single block.
Long live Senegal!
Long live the Republic !
Good evening and Happy Independence Day.