Senegal - The African Mirror

Sep

2020

Unusually heavy rains in Senegal expose big gap in $1.4 bln flood plan

ALESSANDRA PRENTICE MORE than two weeks after heavy rains hit Senegal, thigh-high stagnant water still fills streets in Dakar's suburbs, as angry residents ask what happened to a $1.4 billion government plan to protect citizens from rising flood risk. Three months' worth of rain fell on September 5, forcing over 3,200 people to abandon their homes in the poor, low-lying outskirts of the capital and nearby region of Thies. "My children used sand, rocks, whatever was available to stop the water," said Fatou Dioum, whose family of 10 moved to emergency shelter in Dakar's Keur Massar district. Many stricken residents…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Senegal activates emergency floods aid plan after downpour

NEWS

SENEGALESE President Macky Sall has activated an emergency aid plan after a seven-hour downpour caused widespread floods. Water Minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam told national television that more rain fell on a single day on Saturday than the country would usually see during three months of the rainy season. Senegalese President Macky Sall. Photo: © European Union 2013 - European Parliament "This is an exceptional rainfall. We registered 124 millimetres of rain. This is the cumulative rain we get during the whole rainy season from July to September," Thiam said. At least one person was reported missing due to the floods…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Senegal’s first female pro surfer draws others in her wake

SPORT

ZOHRA BENSEMRA GROWING up in the coastal capital of Dakar, Khadjou Sambe never saw a Black woman surfing the Atlantic swells. As Senegal's first female professional surfer, Sambe is now inspiring the next generation to defy cultural norms and take to the waves. Undeterred by the postponement of the Olympic Games, Sambe trains whenever conditions allow in the powerful surf break near her home in the hardscrabble district of Ngor - the westernmost point of the African continent. "When I am in the water I feel something extraordinary, something special in my heart," Sambe said, wearing a t-shirt of the…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Senegal port seeks removal of 2,700 tonnes of chemical that caused Beirut blast

NEWS

THE port of Senegal's capital Dakar has requested the removal of around 2,700 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate stored in its complex - the same volume of the chemical that caused Beirut's devastating port blast this month. The unidentified owner of the stockpile has found a warehouse to store the industrial chemical outside the city, according to the general directorate of the port, which sits next to Dakar's densely populated downtown. "He is currently working with the environment ministry to obtain approval to urgently remove this cargo," it said in a statement that did not say how long the…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Senegal strengthens coronavirus testing for travellers

COVID-19

SENEGAL is strengthening its coronavirus testing capacity to enable travellers to get tested before leaving the country and testing those arriving in the West African state. Senegal, which depends on tourism for around 4% of GDP, has reported 9,422 cases since the outbreak, with 182 deaths. It lifted a ban on international flights from July 15 but said it will apply the principle of reciprocity to travellers from countries that do not allow citizens from Senegal. Around 1.7 million people holidayed in Senegal in 2019. The health ministry has accredited four testing centres in the capital Dakar, from only one…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Fight to save Senegalese capital’s coast gains momentum

ENVIRONMENT

FROM the top of a ladder, a Senegalese girl struggles to catch a glimpse of the beach hidden by a swanky hotel's sprawling ocean frontage - a stunt for a music video that highlights growing grassroots efforts to save Dakar's coast from hungry developers. The video shows the threat that unregulated construction poses to the Senegalese capital's eroding shoreline, which provides a cherished escape for residents of the crowded and often polluted city. "Where will our children play tomorrow?," raps activist hip-hop artist Malal Talla, also known as 'Fou Malade', as drone footage shows the concrete husks of half-built buildings…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Meet Africa’s Mr Basketball

SPORT

BOITUMELO RANTAO FOR the majority of basketball players in Africa, their only hope of creating a career out of basketball is to seek a change of scenery and travel overseas. For others, basketball can be used to better the current situation by seizing opportunities to better schools that might have not been available before. Football was known as the clear-cut favourite as Senegal’s No.1 sport, but the growing presence of basketball could not be ignored. Though hard to find the facilities, and at a time when courts were not readily available. One youngster had just received a basketball from his…