SENEGAL-COLLECTIVITES-PERSPECTIVES / Tivaouane: a municipal bank and crèche among the commune's projects for 2025

The mayor of Tivaouane, Demba Diop Sy, plans to build a municipal bank and crèche by 2025, reinforce the health map and change the names of elementary schools to pay tribute to key figures in the commune.

Mr. Diop was speaking at a press briefing on the progress of the municipal council, which he has headed since January 2022 and whose payroll has risen from 7 to 56 million FCFA.

The municipal bank should help densify the local economy so that business can flourish in the commune, he said, adding that the crèche will enable working women in the town to work without difficulty by dropping off their children there.

The mayor also announced the town council's decision to name the commune's elementary school after "the most deserving citizens".

"No longer will we hear the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 attached to schools. We will choose the most deserving citizens of this commune to give their names to these elementary schools", promised Demba Diop Sy, noting that schools with numbered names will "soon be a forgotten history".

The Tivaouane commune's 2025 programs also include putting the markets in order, "where some owners don't pay municipal taxes. This represents a loss of income for the commune, which has to meet its fixed costs and other expenses".

The Tivaouane town hall had been ransacked by Jakarta motorcycle drivers unhappy with the commune's decision to make them pay taxes before the Gamou.

The mayor announced the registration of Jakarta motorcycles, the wearing of recognition vests and the monthly payment of 3,000F to the Treasury starting this year.

"The Tivaouane tax services center will take care of all those who have been recalcitrant to the idea of properly discharging their duties," he added.

Referring to cooperation with foreign cities, he announced the willingness of the municipality of Fez in Morocco to make a plot of land available to the commune of Tivaouane for the construction of a guest house in this Moroccan city.The Moroccan town is home to the mausoleum of the founder of the Tidian brotherhood, which is visited by thousands of Senegalese throughout the year.

The Tivaouane municipal council is also in contact with the commune of Limoges, France, through one of its deputy mayors, Ibrahima Dia, a Tivaouane national.

This cooperation should help Tivaouane to benefit from the special features of the capital of the French department of Haute-Vienne, said Mr. Diop.

Source: aps.sn/