There are times when history seems to repeat itself. And for Senegal, it's almost a decade later. Since the announcement of Moody's latest downgrade of Senegal's rating from B3 to Caa1, reactions from the government camp have multiplied; sometimes they are reactions of indignation followed by accusations. The regime's supporters are all the more angry because the rating comes the day after the Invest in Senegal forum, which garnered 13 trillion in investment pledges, according to the authorities.

The government spokesperson was one of the first voices authorized to accuse the rating agency. "We note Moody's rating and regret it. (…) Seeing an unfavorable rating the day after this commitment is perplexing. We sense a relentless pursuit," declared Marie Rose Khady Faye, adding: "This situation calls into question even the IMF, which had not realized this lack of transparency."

As for Mr. Babacar Ndiaye, Director General of the National Debt Collection Company, he accuses Moody's of being in the pay of unacknowledged interests. "This rating from Moody's reinforces our conviction that these rating institutions established outside the African continent are royally ignorant of our economic and budgetary realities and knowingly venture to downgrade their ratings on African countries in the service of the interests of groups that always want to keep Africa in a cycle of economic domination." Mr. Ndiaye accuses Moody's of not taking into account "the enormous efforts made by the State of Senegal to clean up the budgetary climate." This leads him to say that "this rating (is) devoid of objective foundations and serious elements."

What's striking about these reactions is that 12 years ago, the Senegalese witnessed almost the same scenario. The only difference lies in the institution targeted by the authorities at the time. Having come to power in 2012, Macky Sall vowed to improve Senegal's position in the World Bank's Doing Business ranking. He then undertook numerous reforms in 2013 in the hope of a better ranking the following year. When the report was published in 2014, it was a real blow. Senegal is ranked 178th out of 185 countries. In other words, among the bottom of the rankings.

For Macky Sall, it was unbearable. "I had a lot of regrets when I read the World Bank's latest Doing Business report, where what was noted was truly the opposite of the ambition I have for this country." Like Pastef today, Macky Sall also deplored the failure to take into account the efforts of the new authorities. "The latest measures to improve the business climate during the third quarter of 2013 were not taken into account in the ranking of the Doing Business 2014 report," he added.

The then Minister of Investment, Diène Farba Sarr, did exactly what Marie Rose Khady Faye has done today: he called the institution into question. "I doubt the sincerity of the results announced in the Doing Business 2014 survey. With Senegal's ranking, I suspect that Doing Business can no longer be a benchmark for investors and a working tool for government agencies," he fumed.

In 2015, when Senegal was ranked highly, Macky and his allies forgot the doubts and questions raised by the report; they then congratulated themselves. The attitude has been the same with other reports and other institutions. When the score or ranking is good, it reflects the work of the authorities; when it is bad, it reflects relentlessness or a lack of seriousness on the part of international institutions.

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Today, Pastef is denouncing the IMF and Moody's. His boss, Sonko, is on the front line. "At this point, the International Monetary Fund should have signed another program with Senegal, if it hadn't been involved in cheating or if it hadn't gotten politics involved," the PM declared in Italy. Tomorrow, when an agreement is reached with the IMF and the rating is upgraded, the IMF will become a privileged partner on which we can rely, and Moody's will become a credible agency with an international reputation.