2022… when it all started.

Remember what you were up to at the end 2022? Hopefully it was fun, but while you were at it something major unraveled in the Republic of Senegal (West Africa’s westernmost country). The Court of Auditors submitted their report on anti-COVID-19 funds spending with many instances of irregularities disclosed.

Where the moolah at ?

We are certain you remember the COVID-19 pandemic (who doesn’t), and its aftermath events and effects. Maybe you are also cognizant of the trillions of dollars (US Dollars please) that went into anti covid-19 funds globally (colorfully named ‘palliatives’ to ‘relief’ and all of that) but ‘where did all that moolah go?’

Immediate past president Macky Sall, in 2021 intended these funds to strengthen Senegal's health system, households, and businesses, but some folks had a ‘much better’ idea. Reportedly, over 5.4 billion CFA franc (>8.9 million USD) is said to have been curled away by means of overbillings, unjustifiable spending, shady cash payments, and monies sent to King Hamlet, and White Casper (you know these are ghosts, right?). Let’s give some perspectives here, shall we? A 2024 Mercedes-Benz-G-class is roughly 145000 USD, so yeah, how many that missing money can buy, you do the math.

Sunu’y Milliards du Ress!

The Senegalese wouldn’t have this (I mean, you wouldn’t), and so the ‘Sunu’y Milliards du Ress (Our Billions Will Not Disappear) movement began, demanding judicial inquiry into the missing funds, which kind of reminds one of the song ‘where the money at?’.

A total of 10 persons have been so far indicted (with one gender having 7/10) in case you are about to say, ‘only in Senegal’, please note that in Togo and South Africa some public officials are also in this spotlight, “yeah, tell us, where the money at ?”

Here’s the kicker: the progress of these investigations hasn’t been significantly communicated to the public, over a year it began, raising questions about the real state of the procedures.