Economist Souleymane Bah highlights flaws in IMF and BCEAO debt oversight amid Senegal's hidden debt crisis

Souleymane Bah, an economist and researcher at IDEAS-Africa Network, has critically assessed international debt surveillance mechanisms, particularly those of the IMF and BCEAO, in light of Senegal's hidden debt crisis. He argues that the crisis underscores the need for shared responsibility between national authorities and international financial institutions to prevent future issues. In a policy brief, Bah states that the crisis reveals limitations in the international sovereign debt surveillance system and proposes four reforms to avert new crises. He contends that the dysfunctions leading to the concealment of billions of CFA francs in debt are not solely attributable to Senegalese authorities. Bah points out structural flaws in the surveillance systems of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Central Bank of West African States BCEAO that require correction. He notes that between 2019 and 2024, Senegal accumulated $13.3 billion approximately 8,100 billion CFA francs in undeclared sovereign debt, representing nearly 25% of its GDP, even while under close IMF surveillance for a $1.8 billion financing program approved in 2023. Bah cites an IMF mission chief who described this as the most significant hidden debt crisis referenced in Africa. While acknowledging deliberate falsifications of debt records by the previous administration, Bah argues for shared responsibility, suggesting the BCEAO failed to reconcile data on CFA franc-denominated bank loans, and