Senegal’s government has suspended all non-essential foreign travel by ministers and top officials and warned of “extremely difficult” times as the US-Israel conflict with Iran pushes up global oil prices and strains the national budget.
The war and Iran’s virtual closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz has roiled global energy markets, sent the price of benchmark Brent oil soaring and prompted governments around the world to take steps to mitigate the negative effects.
At a youth event in the coastal town of Mbour on Friday evening, Senegal’s Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko pointed to oil trading at around $115 a barrel, almost double the $62 a barrel forecast in Senegal’s budget projections.
“No minister in my government will leave the country unless it is for an essential mission related to the work we are currently undertaking,” he said, announcing that he had already canceled his own planned trips to Niger, Spain and France.
Governments across the West African region and around the world have scrambled to respond to the crisis with measures including fuel price hikes, subsidies and telecommuting.
Sonko cited such measures as justification for debt-ridden Senegal’s own actions.
He said further measures would be announced next week, with the Minister of Energy and Mines expected to address the nation in the coming days to detail efforts to cushion the impact of the price shock.
