That is the way of multilateral diplomacy: the host builds up a meeting and then hopes to hold it together well enough to give the pre-determined final communique some credibility.

What it actually achieves needs time to ascertain.

In that respect the France Africa summit on rebuilding economies buffeted by the COVID pandemic could be seen as a success.

We have Senegalese President Macky Sale saying at the conclusion that there has to be a paradigm change in the the relationship between African nations and their donor countries euphemistically referred to as development partners.

Solutions to problems cannot be imposed by the latter. They must be co-constructed because Africans best know the problems they face.

Rhetoric? Of course. But something refreshingly different.

We also have Felix Tshisikedi, the Congolese President who currently occupies the African Union chair, talking about what the continent has to bring to the table.

He lists good governance, support for the youth and combating corruption. This has been mantra development partners for decades.

The summit, planned for more than a year by French President Emmanuel Macron, calls for a new dynamic in providing vaccines to Africa and in funding the $300 billion shortfall it has suffered from the COVID lockdown.

This requires a sea change in the attitude of donor nations who will need to double the COVID vaccine provided to Africa this year and triple it in 2022.

The IMF, says the communique, must triple the drawing rights granted to African countries to $100-billion and boost the ability of African nations to produce their own COVID vaccine.

Africa has indeed been impacted less severely by the pandemic than the rest of the world.

But this could change dramatically, as it did in India, with only 3% of the population vaccinated.

That figure recurs ominously when looking at the economic impact of COVID on Africa.

The continent’s expected grown this year will be 3% which is half of the global average.

IMF head Kristalina Georgieva provided a chilling takeaway for delegates in Paris. For Africa to recover economically, she says, 40% of its people must be vaccinated this year and 60% by mid 2022.

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The energy giant, according to the BBC, is paying a Romanian businessman who employed President Macky Sall’s brother to secure the exploration concession, more than $10 billion.

BP’s chief executive Bob Dudley will not answer questions from the media about his company’s dealings with Petro-Tim.

Romanian entrepreneur Frank Timis, who sold his oil concessions to BP for $250 million insists he’s done nothing wrong.

He secured the  two blocks off the Senegalese coast  by employing President Macky Sall’s brother Aliou who no experience in the petroleum industry. 

The big money he’s going to get from BP will be for royalties

Opposition political parties are in Senegal are demanding an explanation from Sall who was re-elected last February on an anti-corruption ticket.

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He’s banking on the country’s 6.5 million voters favoring him over three other candidates because of impressive infrastructure projects introduced since he took power in 2012.

Today elections are the first since Senegalese voted in a referendum to reduce the presidential term from seven to five years. 

There’s unhappiness that Sall’s two major rival Karim Wade – son of former president Abdoulaye Wade – and former Dakar Mayor Khalifa Sall have been excluded from running because of corruption convictions.

Sall’s banking on voters showing their appreciation for delivery of a new long bridge between Gambia and Senegal, a new airport, a futuristic city of Diamniado, a railway and the Museum of African History.

More than half the population who live under the poverty line say these projects do to alleviate their plight.

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Senegal has had three peaceful transitions of power since independence in 1960.

Incumbent Macky Sall is hoping this will not be fourth.

Senegal’s been in the news for infrastructure developments like a new train, a long bridge across the Gambia River and the Museum of Black Civilisation.

Some of these were initiated by former president Abdoulaye Wade who is calling  for a boycott of the poll where Sall faces four opponents.

Half of Senegal’s 6,6 million registered voters live below the poverty line and ask what use the infrastructure developments are if they don’t have jobs to go to.

With half the country’s population under 19, young voters will have the most muscular say in this election.

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It comes as France has announced its intention to return African works of art looted during the colonial era.

Senegal’s first President Leopold Senghor presented a post-colonial cultural vision of Africa 52 years ago.

Spending up to a quarter of the national budget on the arts,  he hosted world festivals of featuring the greatest international black artists and entertainers.

Economic realities pushed these into the background until a $34-million Chinese investment enabled President Macky Sall to build the museum in Dakar 

In a structure modeled on Great Zimbabwe, it’s said to compare with the National Museum of African American History in Washington.

First exhibits are from Mali, Burkina Faso, Cuba and Haiti.

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Initial results show the coalition swept all but three of the country’s 45 electoral districts.

Senegal’s Prime Minister Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne says the  54% turnout of the country’s 6,2 million voters exceeded the numbers who voted in 2012.

President Macky Sall’s Benne Bokk Yakaar coalition was widely tipped to win.

However, the size of its victory exceeded expectations.

Dionne announced the landslide ahead of the release of official results.

Voting, after what’s been a tense campaign, was marred by a distribution inefficiency in the a new system of biometric identity documents that disenfranchised many citizens.

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The problems arose from authorities inability to distribute biometric identity cards.

After casting his ballot, President Macky Sall commended the smooth running of the election,

However, former president Abdoulaye Wade, who contested yesterday’s poll for a parliamentary seat, described the confusion and inefficiency as a shame.

Voters were required to present a biometric identity card to access the polling station.

But at least 30% of citizens have not received their cards.

They should have been allowed to vote using certificates of having registered for a card or a passport.

But in hundreds of cases, these documents were not enough to gain access to  polling stations because they needed to be stamped and officially verified.

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President Macky Sall is favoured to win the contest.

The most colourful and controversial element of the election was the return  of former president Abdoulaye Wade to the fray.

Now 91 years old, he controversially contested the election but failed to win  a third term in power in February 2012.

Wade will head a list of opposition candidates for parliament after a broad opposition coalition of more than 40 parties broke up.

The other break-away faction is led by incarcerated Mayor of Dakar Khalifa Sall, no relation to the president, who was jailed in March over allegations of embezzling about $2.9 million.

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Campaigning ahead of parliamentary elections later this month was suspended yesterday as the nation went into mourning.

ends intro

Senegalese authorities are probing how Saturday’s tragedy happened after a closely fought national football championship.

The match went into extra time and supporters of the losing team began throwing projectiles at their opponents after the winning goal was scored.

Police fired teargas in a hope of ending the melee.

This is believed to have caused a stampede which in turn caused the collapse of a wall.

President Macky Sall says there should be punishments for those responsible serving as a warning.

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