Public debt: Cancelling undeclared debts will cost the Senegalese state dearly

In a policy note published by the IDEAS network of economists, Mor Thiam, a public finance lecturer at the University of Poitiers, warns against unilaterally cancelling Senegal’s undeclared debts. He says such a move could trigger legal disputes, interrupt financing, weaken financial stability and damage the state’s credibility with creditors. Since the Court of Accounts’ report was published on February 12, 2025, the debts have been at the centre of public debate; the court put central government debt at 18,558.91 billion CFA francs at the end of 2023, or 99.67% of GDP, compared with the previously reported 74.41%. Thiam recommends institutional regularisation rather than unilateral default.