Sénégal: Programme Ordinateurs Face à des Marchés Irréguliers

• Senegal's "Un étudiant, un ordinateur" program, managed by the Ministry of Higher Education, has allegedly operated outside legal public procurement frameworks since 2017.
• The program is linked to repeated irregular contracts totaling approximately 48 billion CFA francs, violating multiple articles of the Senegalese Public Procurement Code.
• Specific financial concerns include an undocumented 2 billion CFA franc guarantee fund, 13 bank accounts with an unverified 864 million CFA franc balance, and alleged double payments and diversions exceeding 1 billion CFA francs.
• A proposed parliamentary inquiry aims to investigate the full chronology of events, financial prejudice, and assign responsibility to implicated officials from 2017 to 2025.
• Approximately 800 publicly funded computers remain undistributed and faulty at Cheikh Anta Diop University, highlighting further mismanagement.

The allegations surrounding the Sénégal programme ordinateurs marchés irréguliers represent a significant challenge to public trust and governmental transparency.

A proposed parliamentary inquiry resolution in Senegal has brought to light serious allegations regarding the "Un étudiant, un ordinateur" program, managed by the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation (MESRI). Since 2017, this initiative, aimed at providing computers to students, has reportedly operated outside the established legal framework for public procurement. The resolution, reviewed by SenePlus, details a pattern of repeated irregular contracts that have committed the state to approximately 48 billion CFA francs in total, with an annual expenditure around 6 billion CFA francs.

These contracts are alleged to have been executed without adhering to fundamental public procurement procedures. Specifically, they reportedly bypassed competitive tendering processes, lacked prior control from the Direction centrale des marchés publics, were not included in the ministry's procurement plan, and did not receive approval from the minister responsible for finance. These omissions are cited as direct violations of Articles 6, 29, 53, and 142 of the Sénégal Code des marchés publics. Such irregularities are said to have persisted across eight consecutive editions of the program, with contract values consistently exceeding the 50 million CFA franc legal threshold set for routine state supplies, a situation described as ongoing since 2017. Furthermore, contracts signed in 2025 are noted to be virtually identical to those from 2013, suggesting a lack of updated or compliant procurement practices.

Beyond the procedural breaches, the resolution highlights several concerning financial irregularities. A guarantee fund of approximately 2 billion CFA francs, reportedly held at Ecobank, has raised questions regarding its origins, management, and the identity of its administrator, with no available information on these crucial details. The program is also linked to thirteen bank accounts and sub-accounts, despite a service handover report only mentioning three, leaving an undocumented balance of 864,857,800 CFA francs dispersed across these accounts.

Further scrutiny falls on a payment made on August 26, 2023, totaling 1,446,275,000 CFA francs, transferred to the Université numérique Cheikh Hamidou Kane for 7,055 computers. Investigations reportedly failed to uncover any convention or contract linking the involved companies to the Direction générale de l'enseignement supérieur, even after contacting the Direction du financement des établissements d'enseignement supérieur and the former manager. This particular transaction allegedly led to the state being compelled to pay nearly 1.25 billion CFA francs a second time, alongside allegations of détournement fonds publics Sénégal exceeding 1 billion CFA francs, an irregularity described as recurrent. Additionally, public funds were reportedly transferred in 2023 to a company that was neither a contractor nor mandated for collection, with the authorities who ordered and executed these transfers yet to be identified. The inquiry also notes a stock of approximately 800 computers, acquired with public funds, that remain undelivered and faulty, stored at Université Cheikh Anta Diop, never reaching the students for whom they were intended.

In response to these extensive allegations, a commission d'enquête parlementaire Sénégal has been proposed to thoroughly investigate the "Un étudiant, un ordinateur programme." If established, this commission will be tasked with elucidating a comprehensive timeline of events, decisions, and management actions from 2017 to 2025. Its mandate includes examining the origin and management of the Ecobank guarantee fund, tracing the thirteen bank accounts associated with the program, and verifying the use of contributions made by students.

A critical objective of the inquiry will be to determine the overall financial prejudice suffered by the state during the 2017-2025 period. Crucially, it aims to identify and assign responsibilities to all implicated actors, ranging from ministers and general directors to finance directors and managers within the ministère Enseignement supérieur Sénégal. In accordance with Article 55 of the National Assembly's internal regulations, the proposed commission would comprise eleven deputies, designated proportionally to parliamentary groups, and would be led by a bureau consisting of a president, two vice-presidents, and a rapporteur. This initiative underscores the gravity of the alleged irrégularités marchés publics Sénégal and the commitment to accountability.

The allegations surrounding the Sénégal programme ordinateurs marchés irréguliers represent a significant challenge to public trust and governmental transparency. The reported consistent violations of the Sénégal Code des marchés publics, spanning eight editions of a key educational initiative, suggest systemic failures in oversight and compliance within the Ministry of Higher Education. The cumulative state commitment of approximately 48 billion CFA francs, coupled with specific instances of alleged double payments and diversions exceeding 1 billion CFA francs, points to a potentially massive financial loss for the state.

The proposed parliamentary inquiry is therefore crucial for uncovering the full extent of these issues and holding responsible parties accountable. The scope of the investigation, targeting high-level officials and financial managers, indicates a serious intent to address the root causes of these irregularities. The outcome of this inquiry could have far-reaching implications for public procurement practices in Senegal, potentially leading to reforms aimed at preventing future instances of alleged corruption and ensuring the integrity of public funds allocated to vital programs like "Un étudiant, un ordinateur."

This article highlights significant public procurement compliance risks in Senegal, particularly concerning contracts with the Ministry of Higher Education. Lawyers and compliance officers should review their clients' due diligence processes for Senegalese public contracts and prepare for potential increased scrutiny or investigations into past and future dealings, especially given the proposed parliamentary inquiry.

Source: Original reporting via SenePlus