Amadou Ba Prime Minister of Senegal, a Technocrat and Politician

Three years after the abolition of the post of Prime Minister, Senegalese President Macky Sall, has reinstated it again on September 17,22, and appointed an old friend and political ally to head the government. The new prime minister, Amadou Ba, had occupied several key ministerial posts since his first appointment as Minister of Economy and Finance, on September 2, 2013, in the government of Aminata Touré. Afterward, he was put in charge of so-called ministries of sovereignty, that is Economy, Finance, the Plan, then Foreign Affairs. In November 2020, however, Amadou Ba was dismissed from the government at the same time as other heavyweights, including Amadou Makhtar Cissé (Minister of Energy) and Aly Ngouille Ndiaye (Interior Minister). The Public opinion held then that the three ministers were victims of their presidential ambitions.

The appointment of Amadou Ba as prime minister is historically significant in that, this is the first time in the history of Senegal that both the president and his prime minister are Fulani. However, this was not a factor in his nomination to the post. In fact, Amadou Ba is one of the most deserving and highly qualified people for the job as stated by the secretary general of the presidency. According to Oumar Samba Ba: “The president of the Republic has chosen him because of his “competence”, his “dedication”, his “pragmatism” and his “efficiency” in dealing with emergencies.”

A Man on Mission

Dealing with emergencies is undoubtedly among the highest priorities on the new prime minister’s agenda. His appointment comes at a time when Senegal is struggling with economic hardship, partly stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and global fallout linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

During his address to the nation, the president said that the new prime minister would be responsible for addressing the rising cost of living:

“Measures to reduce the cost of living and support employment and entrepreneurship for young people, the fight against floods and costly rents will remain the highest of priorities for me,”

the president said in a speech broadcast on Friday ahead of the appointment. The new prime minister also echoed those statements on Saturday saying:

“The major priorities that the president has outlined include improving household purchasing power, taming inflation, security, housing, vocational training.”

The Senegalese people have a high expectations of their new prime minister. During his tenure as economy and finance minister, the Senegalese economy improved significantly.

As an expert in Finance and taxation, Amadou Ba is credited with being the architect of the tax laws in use in Senegal since 2013, he has also contributed to defining president Macky Sall’s Plan for an Emerging Senegal and pitched the ideas in 2014 to the investors and Senegal’s financial partners in Paris.

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Economy and Finance of Senegal in 2013, he led the Senegalese tax office as Director General of Taxes and Fields. His experience also includes teaching the Central West African Training and Banking Studies (COFEB) of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO).