In Senegal, the government suspends construction on the coast of Dakar for two months

The government has also decided to create a commission responsible for verifying the legality of titles issued for old and new occupations of the maritime public domain, indicates a press release from the office of Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko.

The gendarmerie had already indicated at the end of April that it had received instructions to stop construction sites on the cornices of Dakar, but the suspension had not been the subject of official communication.

The measure taken by the authorities in place since the beginning of April after the inauguration of the new president Bassirou Diomaye Faye caused a lot of noise. AFP journalists noted that many construction sites, including large-scale projects, were effectively at a standstill.

The Dakar coastline is the scene of intensive real estate speculation. Apartment buildings, office buildings and hotels are growing there at high speed. Defenders of the environment or quality of life denounce the privatization of the coastline through violations of the rules of law. Many Dakar residents complain of no longer having free access to the ocean.

The suspension, however, raised questions in economic circles. Construction employs a considerable number of workers.

The new president promised to break with the system embodied by his predecessor, Macky Sall.

The latter signed a decree in April 2023 declassifying an 826-hectare forest intended to prevent the advance of the sea to authorize the construction of infrastructure, community facilities and housing.

His detractors accuse him of having favored those close to those in power in the allocation of plots open to construction. The suspension of construction sites on the coast of Dakar contributed to the opening of a broader debate on land grabbing throughout the country.

The audit commission created by the government will bring together representatives of different ministries and the National Assembly, senior officials of state services and representatives of corporations of notaries, architects, surveyors or lawyers, said a decree taken by the Prime Minister and dated Monday. She will produce a report which will be submitted to the president.