Council of Ministers of March 15, 2023 The Council of Ministers was held on Wednesday March 15, 2023 at the Palace of the Republic, under the chairmanship of the Head of State, His Excellency, Mr. Macky SALL. At the start of his communication, the President of the Republic sent his warm congratulations to the U 20 Cubs who have just been brilliantly crowned African Champions, in the category, at the end of a remarkable tournament. The Head of State associated with these congratulations the Minister of Sports, the Senegalese Football Federation and the management of the team for the quality work accomplished in recent years, in view of the historic results of Senegalese football which are set as a reference at the continental level. The Head of State asked the Government to continue the efforts made to maintain and expand the performance of our local teams and our national selections, thus confirming the renewal and development, from the small categories, of Senegalese football. In this respect, the President of the Republic reiterated his directives, relating to the finalization, as soon as possible, of a National Program for the Development of Local Football, the inclusive implementation of which will be built around a consolidated State Partnership -Senegalese Football Federation - Companies, supported by the signing of a three-year contract of objectives and resources. Addressing the evaluation of the implementation of the emergency program for the socio-economic integration and employment of young people and the strategic reflection on the national youth policy, the Head of State recalled the scope of his initiative, in the Council of Ministers of March 10, 2021, for the implementation of the "XËYU NDAW ÑI" Program, endowed, on the State budget, with 450 billion FCFA over three (3) years (2021,2022 and 2023) . After two (2) years of deployment at the national level, the President of the Republic asked the Prime Minister to present with the ministers concerned the exhaustive assessment of the "XËYU NDAW ÑI" program, in terms of special recruitments carried out, training (3FPT ) carried out, DER/FJ financing granted and contracts signed within the framework of the National State-Employers Convention (CNEE). The Head of State also indicated to the Minister of Youth, Entrepreneurship and Employment the importance of developing, in conjunction with the Minister of Labor and Employers, contracts covered by the Convention National State-Employers, in order to accelerate the gradual integration of young graduates in the private sector or in certain indicated public companies. The President of the Republic also asked the Prime Minister to capitalize on the results of the "XËYU NDAW ÑI" program, in a dynamic of proximity, equity (with territorial correction) and expansion towards new young targets. in the departments and municipalities. In this social year, the President of the Republic urged the Government to pay permanent attention to strengthening the employability of young people and their integration, in particular, through entrepreneurship and volunteering in clearly identified sectors. He therefore demanded the full application of the law on volunteering and the amplification of the interventions of the National Civic Service. In the same vein, the Head of State invited the Minister of Youth to initiate, under the supervision of the Prime Minister, the holding, by the end of April 2023, of consultations involving all the actors - and aiming between others: the revival of associative life; the acceleration of the construction of Youth and Citizenship Centers and the foreshadowing of their system of governance by empowering young people under the supervision of State services; the adapted implementation of the PES/Youth (with territorial variations) in accordance with our values, current socio-economic issues and the legitimate aspirations of young people in Senegal in a changing world. Closing the theme, the President of the Republic informed of the holding of a Presidential Council on Youth, during the month of May 2023, in the presence of all the youth components of Senegal. Returning to the preparation of the 2023 agricultural campaign and the dynamism of the agricultural sector, the Head of State indicated to the Government the imperative of consolidating the sustainable bases of Senegal's food sovereignty through an efficient agricultural program, which covers all sectors. Consequently, the President of the Republic has signaled the urgency of proceeding with the transfer, under the best conditions for producers, of the latest generation agricultural equipment, recently acquired by the State; but also to anticipate the acquisition of certified seeds and quality fertilizers at favorable market conditions. The Head of State stressed the need to accelerate, on the one hand, the development of rice fields in the Senegal River and Anambé valleys, with the intensification of the activities of SAED and SODAGRI and, on the other hand, the implementation of irrigation and saline land recovery projects in certain production areas (regions of Sédhiou, Ziguinchor and Fatick, etc.). The President of the Republic recalled, in particular, the urgency of developing wheat cultivation in favorable areas and strengthening horticultural production in the Niayes, an ecosystem that must be preserved from any land speculation. To this end, the Head of State asked the Prime Minister to propose a preventive and effective mechanism to safeguard the agricultural vocation of the Niayes. The President of the Republic also congratulated the National Council for Consultation and Cooperation of Rural People (CNCR) for the regular and annual organization of the International Fair for Agriculture and Animal Resources (FIARA) and asked the Government to further support this major event, but also the producers grouped together in umbrella associations and cooperatives. Finally, the Head of State asked the Prime Minister to prepare, in conjunction with the actors of the agricultural sector, the interministerial meeting on the 2023 agricultural campaign. With regard to the social climate, management and monitoring of internal affairs , the President of the Republic returned to the following points: the strengthening of the national furniture project with a view to the development of crafts: by reminding the Government of the major place of crafts in the national economic and social life by promoting the know-how of our compatriots. In this context, the Head of State asked the Prime Minister to lead with all the actors, an evaluation mission of the National Furniture Project. The President of the Republic has particularly insisted on the systematic strengthening of this instrument of support for the development of Crafts (created by decree n°2015-397 of March 26, 2015) to make it a real tool for facilitating access for craftsmen (cabinetmakers and carpenters) on public orders, for benches, school furniture and administrative equipment, etc.; the improvement of national telephone coverage and the intensification of the digital development of the territory: by asking the Minister of Communication, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy to engage, as soon as possible, with the telephone operators and the PUMA, the implementation of an emergency plan to accelerate the integral coverage of the national territory in mobile telephone networks. The Head of State also invited the Minister in charge of Telecommunications, to evaluate the resources and activities of the Universal Telecommunications Service Development Fund (FDSUT), given its missions and the extent of the demands of the populations. In his communication, the Prime Minister returned to the monitoring of the coordination of government activity by mentioning: the meeting with the delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); the interministerial meeting on the water sector; the meeting on the evaluation of the implementation of price reduction measures. AS PART OF COMMUNICATIONS FROM MINISTERS the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad made a communication on the international situation; the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Equipment and Food Sovereignty gave a presentation on the monitoring of the 2022/2023 groundnut marketing campaign and exports of horticultural products; the Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, gave a presentation on the Lac Rose Management and Safeguard Plan. UNDER LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY TEXTS The Council examined and adopted: the draft law authorizing the President of the Republic to ratify the Convention on mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters between the Republic of Senegal and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania , signed in Nouakchott on July 12, 2021; the bill authorizing the President of the Republic to ratify the African Charter on Road Safety, adopted by the Member States of the African Union on January 31, 2023 in Addis Ababa; the draft decree on the organization of the Ministry of Sports. Release date 2023-03-15