Unions accuse new authorities of “blatant violations”

Tensions are high at the Autonomous Port of Dakar (PAD), where Director General Waly Diouf Bodian faces a growing union revolt. The unions strongly condemned the new director’s management, pointing to “violations” in procurement procedures and a lack of compliance with transparency and ethical standards.

In a statement issued on August 15, worker representatives expressed dissatisfaction with the suspension of fixed-term contracts, affecting more than 700 employees, and demanded the immediate restoration of the work of the affected workers. They also demanded an immediate halt to the ongoing audit and a restart of the process in strict compliance with existing laws.

The unions announced an action plan in response to the situation, including a series of demonstrations, including wearing red armbands, protest marches and sit-ins in front of the General Administration. They also submitted a strike notice, threatening a general strike if their demands were not taken into account.

The unions called on the highest state authorities, including the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, to intervene and put an end to what they consider chaotic and unfair port management.

The trigger of the crisis can be traced back to an information note dated June 25, 2024, in which the Director General of the PAD announced a human resources audit and the suspension of renewals of fixed-term contracts until the conclusion of the audit. However, the union discovered blatant irregularities in the procurement process of this audit, which were attributed to the company “Managers and Consultants Association” (MCA), headed by the Technical Advisor to the General Manager, which constituted a clear conflict of interest.

The unions accused the director-general of not respecting deadlines and tendering procedures and of providing only part of the necessary documents, which undermined the transparency of the process. They also condemned the award of the contract to a company that had no real capacity to conduct an audit of such a scale, calling it a serious violation of the principles of good governance.