The Secretary of State for Housing, Momath Talla Ndao, presented the outlines of the new government strategy to address the structural housing crisis in Senegal. A guest on the program "Point de vue" on RTS (Senegal's national television network), he analyzed the causes of this situation, which he attributes to rapid urbanization, strong population growth, and the limitations of past public policies. Mr. Ndao specifically mentioned the gradual weakening of long-established public housing companies such as SNHLM and SICAP, while also deeming the results of the previous 100,000-unit housing program insufficient due to governance and land management issues.

To address this crisis, the government is deploying a new approach called "transformation cities." This concept aims to revitalize housing production while integrating it into a comprehensive urban planning strategy. The Mbour 4 and Daga Kholpa sites will serve as strategic levers for developing genuine, planned urban centers. The Secretary of State specified that the government plans to build approximately eighteen such cities distributed across various territorial hubs. This decentralization aims to reduce land pressure on Dakar and encourage people to settle in the interior of the country. These projects will combine social housing, villas, and rental properties. "The idea is to offer flexible solutions, adapted to budgetary constraints, with projects of a manageable size but which can be implemented quickly," he explained.

The government intends to mobilize the entire housing sector ecosystem, including public and private developers as well as housing cooperatives, to stimulate large-scale production. The social dimension remains central to the project, with specific measures to facilitate homeownership for households excluded from traditional bank loans. Among the proposed solutions are rent-to-own schemes, allowing tenants to gradually become homeowners, and tailored housing savings products developed in collaboration with the Housing Bank of Senegal (BHS). Reforms are also planned to strengthen financing mechanisms through the Social Housing Fund and various financial partnerships.

Momath Talla Ndao concluded his remarks with an ambitious timeline. Discussions are currently underway with several financial partners to mobilize long-term resources and secure the construction projects. According to the Secretary of State, the objective is to restore confidence in the sector, quickly restart production, and begin delivering the first housing units as early as 2026.