“In addition to the pandemic, the CDC is struggling to recover its resources”

The Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the economy, in particular on the programs of the Head of State, have highlighted the Caisse des dépôts et consignations and its director general. Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ba wishes to express, with Le Quotidien, the optimism that inhabits him in his mission through this structure. But the politician did not miss the opportunity either to clearly reaffirm his ambitions for his locality of Dakar.

You recently said that the Cdc is unknown to the general public. What exactly does the Fund do?

Allow me first, on behalf of all the agents of the Caisse des dépôts et consignations (Cdc), to present my best wishes to the President of the Republic and to the Senegalese people who are emerging from a trying year.
Yes, I said it during the Presidential Council on the Pap2A. The Caisse is a public institution that is certainly not unknown, but misunderstood. Simply speaking, the Cdc could be summed up in three (3) words: securing, fruiting and financing.
Securing because the resources managed by the Caisses des dépôts et consignations, by their nature or their origin, require special protection. I give an example: you have to buy a building and go through a notary. Given the administrative procedures and various constraints, the stay of your money with the notary can be more or less long. The legislator then asks the notary to deposit this money with the Caisse des dépôts. The money is thus deposited in the accounts of the notary domiciled in the books of the Caisse des dépôts, a trusted third party who ensures its custody and management until the outcome of the purchase procedure, to return it to its beneficiary. appointed.
This example applies to all the funds covered by the law, in particular savings and retirement funds, guarantees, security deposits from users with public service concessionaires, penal, judicial and similar consignments. The resources thus managed and secured are therefore fructified through safe and risk-free investment vehicles.
The interests and products resulting from the operations of fructification are intended for the financing of the economy in all its components, with in particular a focus on certain sectors considered to be priorities and defined by the legislator which are: social and luxury housing, works of equipment for local authorities, city policy, small and medium-sized enterprises, strategic and structural projects of the State.

Has the Caisse des dépôts et consignations felt the effects of Covid 19 in its activities and projects? How were you able to cope with it?

Indeed, our activities have been globally impacted by Covid-19. When I say overall, I mean the Cdc group, namely the public establishment and the subsidiaries. The latter are in fact relatively more affected due to the fact that they operate in competitive sectors. I can cite the example of Air Senegal, which was in a dazzling momentum phase, but evolving in a strongly impacted sector that is air transport. Fortunately, the State has taken strong measures, going in the direction of alleviating its effects on the company.
With regard to the public establishment, as soon as the pandemic broke out, we have, after a deep and inclusive reflection, drawn up a recovery plan whose main lines of action are aligned with those of the State.
They consist mainly of setting up an investment fund to support private sector investment and stimulate economic recovery. The target sectors are agriculture, real estate, transport & logistics, tourism and hotels, industry and commerce, territorial development. There is also the raising of resources, intended for the financing of SMEs, structuring investments by the State and the constitution of guarantees with potential investors for the financing of social housing.

We are at the end of the year, and we can therefore afford a draft balance sheet for the Cdc. To date, can we have an idea of your financial situation, your participation in different projects or companies?

Overall, the balance sheet of the CDC remains very significant. To date, the CDC is present, as an investor, in various sectors of activity such as real estate, energy, air transport, health, pharmacy, insurance, to name but a few. the. Many projects are in progress or under study. I can cite the major program of social housing in Bambilor, the Tour des Mamelles, the regional administrative spheres, the Keur Maodo residences in Tivaouane, the Bokhol power plant, the Parenterus pharmaceutical solution manufacturing unit and the Asfadar Hospital, Air Senegal, Senelec.

This is the place to thank my predecessors who initiated most of these projects that we are leading to maturity.
Financially, I can say that the current situation of the CDC is looking relatively good. Moreover, it should be noted that for the sake of respecting the principle of true and fair view, and in order to ensure the accuracy of the balance sheet presented, we proceeded to the revaluation of the CDC's balance sheet from 2019 financial year. The revalued fixed assets thus increased the total balance sheet by 42% in 2020. In the same period, the amount of CDC's stable resources, driven by the collection of deposits and consignments, increased by 17%. This growth in the balance of resources may be an indicator of improved partner confidence in the CDC.
Also, the size of our investment portfolio increased by 9%, as did the investment portfolio, which is in a good situation, with an increase of almost 10%.
These figures, although eloquent, are still relatively low compared to the potential resources that the Fund could mobilize. Apart from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, constraints still remain in terms of recovering the resources allocated to the CDC. These include the vagueness of the regulatory texts in this area, which are currently being revised, but also the non-domiciliation of certain funds, such as the Mining Site Rehabilitation Fund and the Pension Fund, among others. .
In any event, our ambition is twofold this year: to ensure financial profitability for the State and to mobilize more resources for the benefit of our populations.

The CDC is an important tool in the economic recovery policy. Do you find an integration framework in the Pap2A implemented by the Head of State?

Of course, it could not be otherwise. As a public structure, the Pap2A document constitutes for us the repository of new public policies and therefore of all our actions. All our investments are geared towards meeting the guidelines defined therein.
It should be remembered that the Cdc has missions of general interest and above all of support for public policies conducted by the State and local authorities. The "Caisse de dépôt" model is a one-of-a-kind economic model whose principle is the transformation of resources collected and managed by public institutions serving the general interest into long-term investments intended to support growth and development. development of the countries that have adopted it. The CDC of Senegal is not to be outdone and should serve as a leverage effect for the mobilization of private capital intended for the financing of projects that are not very attractive to traditional investors.
I must also say that the lucid and committed position of the Head of State, in relation to the debt, reassures me. Many rich countries today have debt ratios, in relation to GDP, higher than unity.
Even if, as the President recommends, our debt must be backed by prudential standards, the Cdc thus sees, thanks above all to its assets, but with the support of the State, the possibility of seeking the means of its ambitions.

We know the ambitions of the Cdc in the housing policy of the State. This even prompted you to set up a subsidiary, the Compagnie Générale Immobilière du Sahel (Cgis).
However, one has the impression that the social housing so much advocated by the Head of State is the poor relation of your policy. Where is your city of Bambilor?

You are absolutely right to say that the Cdc remains very attached to the ambitions of the State in terms of real estate policy. We must also understand that in real estate, there is social housing, and today, with the ambitious program of 100,000 social housing units, which is a happy initiative of the Head of State whom we salute, the Cdc works to contribute. It should be remembered that our primary mission is to support the State in public policies. It is therefore quite natural that we are strongly committed to the realization of this program, already through the Bambilor project, the keys to which will soon be handed over to some of the first buyers.
We are also in direct collaboration with the Ministry of Town Planning, Housing and Public Hygiene with whom a "MOU" (Editor's note: Memorandum of understanding) relating to the 100,000 housing program was recently signed.
We will also involve our real estate subsidiary Cgis, which will also contribute to this program. Cgis will thus be present in the different segments of the sector, namely development, construction, financing, services and consulting. It wants to be an integrator of solutions and we aim to make it a reference in real estate.
In addition, it should be noted that we are already in collaboration with the Ministry of Town Planning, Housing and Public Hygiene, the Sn-Hlm and the Bhs for the management of the Marist Hlm real estate project. The same is true with the Ministry of Trade and Small and Medium Enterprises for the project to build new markets.

The State of Senegal has decided to entrust a large part of the land base of the former Dakar airport to the Cdc. Can you enlighten the public on the details of this operation?

I would first like to renew my thanks to His Excellency the President of the Republic and reiterate my gratitude to him for the confidence shown in the Fund. First, by entrusting us with the management of 30 ha in the area of Yoff airport, and then, more recently, by asking us to make a proposal to them through a public-private partnership (PPP) formula, for the construction of new modern and secure markets in regional capitals.
I am also taking advantage of the opportunity you are giving me to launch an appeal, in relation to the PPP on the markets, to the national private sector to get closer to the Caisse and, in fast-track, we can together take charge of this will of the President of the Republic. Obviously we will enter into contact with all the stakeholders, in particular the ministries and the Ams.
To come back to your question, I refer you to the statement by the Minister of Finance and the Budget who, the day after the Council of Ministers where this decision was announced, clearly specified that the State is going to cede these 30 ha to the Cdc for an amount of 60 billion CFA francs which will be transferred to the accounts of the Public Treasury.
It should be noted here that the authorities seek, through the Cdc, to facilitate access to this land for Senegalese who have the means and have instructed us to do so through transparent and equitable management.
The objective is to move towards a concerted and sustainable development able to avoid the recurring problems encountered in certain new districts with floods and difficulties of access observed.
To ensure proper implementation of these guidelines, we have set up a Steering Committee made up of executives from the Cdc, the Ministry of Urbanism and independent experts.
An application platform for managing Yoff's property tax base is also being developed with various innovative features. This platform will allow future buyers to register online and make their reservation. It will make it possible to manage a database of land offers, but also of requests and files already initiated, with useful information on approved "marketers", notaries and other technical and financial partners.
Also, upon receipt of the subdivision plan, we proceeded to its exploitation for an optimal valuation of the site and we subsequently carried out revenue and expenditure projections according to known standards and information on the “real estate market”.
In the same vein, we collected and obtained authorization from our Supervisory Commission to buy the 30ha at the price agreed with the State, and proceed with its development.
The Minister of Finance and Budget, whom we thank, has already given all the instructions for making available to the Cdc the title deed for an effective start of the development, development and marketing of the site.

The CDC is used to positioning itself as a promoter of the development of the national economy. But you no longer give the impression that you are only interested in big projects, like Air Senegal, to the somewhat detriment of SMEs and SMIs. What can explain this?

As I said earlier, the CDC is a long-term institutional investor that supports the State in public development policies. We have a fairly diversified portfolio, that is to say that we are practically present in all segments of the economy.
However, it is important to emphasize that for SMEs, they often feel the need to obtain direct financing while the CDC does not have a banking license allowing it to make direct credit. This is a serious problem, and we are aware of it. This is also the purpose of the creation of a subsidiary dedicated to supporting SMEs to facilitate their access to public procurement, namely the Caisse des marchés publics (Cdmp Sa) which is in its of operationalization. With this lever, we hope to fully play our role of supporting SMEs.

To come back to your real estate policy, the Cdc was to build regional administrative cities in certain localities. Where are you with this project?

Indeed, the State of Senegal, through the Agpbe, gave mandate to the Cdc for the realization of regional administrative spheres. Following the example of the spheres of Diamniadio, the State intends to provide the regions with the latest generation infrastructures able to put the civil servants established inside the country in excellent working conditions. We have thus signed an agreement with the Agpbe for the construction of the first four regional administrative spheres, namely Thiès, Diourbel, Sédhiou and Kaffrine. The latter is in its effective implementation phase. The Head of State recently visited the construction sites and expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the work, which will be completed by next June. We are discussing with our partners to start work on other regions.
This is an important project that will allow the State to save on the rental of approved villas to house its services in the regions.
The first Regional Administrative Sphere (Sar) of Kaffrine is built on an area of 2.5 ha on the current site of the prefecture. It will consist of an administrative building bringing together around thirty regional services, a governance, a prefecture, an annex to the Presidential Palace, the residences of the governor and the prefect, a modular heliport in multifunctional terrain and of a gymnasium.

Among your subsidiaries, there are Caco Sa and Cgis. Do they meet your expectations?

I say yes right away, to mark my satisfaction for the work carried out by these two structures. Caco is our engineering and design office subsidiary. It is performing well, which even exceeds our forecasts. I must salute the professionalism and commitment of its teams, which succeeded in obtaining ISO 9001 certification, just one year after the company was launched.
Cgis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Caisse des dépôts et consignations (Cdc). As part of its activities, it offers, among other things, services related to consulting, management and marketing of real estate products and services.
The consequent increase in its capital in 2020, which goes from 400 million F CFA to 2 billion 400 million F Cfa, the constitution of its own land base and the generation of a promising turnover, today gives the Cgis a non-negligible base which will allow it to deploy in an optimal way in 2021. After the implementation of the steering and management tools, the Cgis aims to put its first real estate programs on the market in 2021.
The two companies are therefore working on many projects, but the most prominent remains the Tour des Mamelles.
Allow me to dwell a little on this Tower, located opposite the Artp, which the people of Dakar see growing. La Tour des Mamelles is an iconic building with 20 levels, including 3 basement levels, a ground floor, 16 floors and a terrace. It is built on an area of approximately 48,000 m2 of business center, offices and multi-purpose spaces meeting the highest needs and requirements of the West African market in terms of professional real estate.
To meet strong demand from the local and international market, a reflection has begun to see the possibilities of adding apartments to the Tower which is, to date, exclusively dedicated to professionals.
Today, the project is following its normal course and the building is beginning to impose itself in the landscape of Les Mamelles. I am happy to announce that marketing will start during the first quarter of 2021.
Currently, all our projects in the real estate and infrastructure sector are carried out by our two subsidiaries, Caco and Cgis, which work in perfect harmony.

Let's come to your political cap. Your ambitions for the municipality of the Medina are known. Are you planning to run for mayor of the town or are you aiming for much more?

My ambition is to contribute more strongly to the development of my country. It is a natural vocation that I already express from the stations that the President of the Republic has been kind enough to entrust to me so far.
And the Medina, my locality, which occupies a prominent place in Dakar, capital of Senegal, deserves all the sacrifices to make it a modern area, with all the amenities for its population, and full of opportunities for its youth. . I want to make it a smart, socially stable and economically emerging city.
Naturally, to fulfill this dream, I am a candidate for the Medinans whom I want to serve. I have already said that I am a candidate for the candidacy. I say this because we evolve within a coalition, Bby, which polarizes many local leaders and I am in "political discipline". This means that we will engage the debate in the Bby, but that we will remain extremely vigilant. In a system of direct election of the mayor, any casting error risks being fatal.

Since his release from prison, Khalifa Sall has been remobilizing his troops, and the mayor of the Medina is reputed to be one of his faithful. Aren't you afraid of another setback against Taxawu Dakar in future confrontations?

Not at all, insofar as we have finished reversing the trend in Dakar, and more particularly in the Medina. The results of the last legislative and presidential elections are quite telling. We won both Dakar and the Medina. The people of Medina certainly carry President Sall in their hearts.
Moreover, local political realities are not the same as national ones. Many people who faced us during the Presidential are now ready to accompany us.
I must say, without demagogy, that we are by far the majority in the Medina. The figures from various recent polls attest to this. But we are aware that our political adversaries will use all means to block our way, but our supporters and our members are on the ground and facing up.
Unfounded statements, slander, insults, threats, weapons often used by some politicians will not "divert our intelligence" on the road to communal emergence, to use the President's word.

At the same time as a new postponement of the Municipalities was announced, there is also a whole debate on the abolition of cities, including that of Dakar. What is your feeling on that?

We are of the opinion that communalization must be integral. But this question must be approached with lucidity and without passion for the interest of the populations. The debate must not be polluted to prevent political considerations from taking precedence over the opinions of specialists in the field. I'm waiting to soak up more of the planned changes to give an objective point of view.
Senegal has a long history of decentralization and we have no doubts about the Head of State's desire to ensure that our cities can make a substantial contribution to Senegal's development.