Adha Calls For Independent Audit of Senegal Youth Policies

The Action pour les Droits Humains et l’Amitié (Adha), a Senegalese non-governmental organization, has called for an independent audit of existing youth policies and institutions following the recent establishment of the Conseil consultatif des jeunes du Sénégal by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

Adha has publicly questioned the rationale behind creating a new youth advisory body without first conducting a thorough evaluation of the numerous existing mechanisms and policies dedicated to addressing youth challenges, which include employment, training, financing, precarity, irregular migration, and access to opportunities. The NGO specifically highlighted the Conseil national pour l’Insertion et l’Emploi des Jeunes (CNIEJ), an entity established by presidential decree on January 27, 2021. The CNIEJ was mandated to coordinate, monitor, and evaluate youth employment and integration policies, as well as to produce annual evaluation reports. Adha's communiqué, dated September 29, explicitly demands accountability regarding these reports, their contents, and the extent to which their recommendations have been implemented, advocating for a comprehensive, independent, transparent, and documented audit covering results, mobilized resources, potential overlaps between initiatives, and the implementation of announced commitments. The organization further urged the newly formed Conseil consultatif des jeunes to regularly publish its opinions, recommendations, and activity reports, emphasizing the need for it to be a platform for participation and accountability rather than another body whose recommendations remain unaddressed.

This development underscores critical aspects of good governance, transparency, and accountability within Senegal's public administration, particularly concerning the implementation and effectiveness of policies targeting vulnerable populations like youth. For legal professionals, it highlights the increasing role of civil society organizations in advocating for administrative transparency and the enforcement of statutory or regulatory obligations, such as annual reporting requirements for state-created entities. The legal context for such bodies typically involves presidential decrees, which define their mandates, structures, and reporting duties. An audit, as requested, would involve scrutinizing the allocation and utilization of public funds, thereby implicating public finance regulations and potentially the oversight functions of institutions like the Cour des Comptes (Court of Accounts) if financial irregularities were to be uncovered.

Key parties in this discourse include the Action pour les Droits Humains et l’Amitié (Adha), President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the newly installed Conseil consultatif des jeunes du Sénégal, and the existing Conseil national pour l’Insertion et l’Emploi des Jeunes (CNIEJ). Adha's intervention serves as a significant call for governmental introspection and a re-evaluation of its approach to youth policy, emphasizing the need for efficiency and demonstrable impact.

Attorneys advising NGOs, civil society groups, or even government agencies should recognize the growing demand for transparency and accountability in public administration. This situation emphasizes the legal basis for establishing public bodies (decrees) and the importance of adhering to their mandates, particularly reporting requirements. Legal professionals may be called upon to advise on the scope of such audits, potential legal challenges related to non-compliance with reporting obligations, or to assist in drafting policy recommendations for improved governance and accountability frameworks. Businesses involved in youth programs or public-private partnerships should also closely monitor these calls for audits, as they could influence future funding, program design, and regulatory oversight.