The announcement of the Special Program for Rural Development (PSD) by the Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport, and Rural Development, intended to connect the country's remote areas, has left a bitter taste in the department of Saraya. While the plan includes the construction of 2,700 km of roads, 150 km of urban roads, and 300 km of rehabilitation of key routes, at an estimated total cost of 453 billion CFA francs, not a single road is included in this program for Saraya, considered the most isolated department in the Kédougou region. The region as a whole benefits from only 58 km of roads, divided between the Kédougou-Fongolimbi axis (34 km) and the Bandafassi-Dindefello axis (24 km).

Many residents consider the allocation unfair, denouncing a blatant imbalance in how the area's needs are being addressed. "I'm confused. I can't understand this program from the Ministry of Infrastructure. The urgent need is here in Saraya. If you ask the residents of Sirimana what their priority is, they'll tell you: the road. It's the same in Beledougou and Timbafou. We don't understand why Saraya hasn't received a single kilometer in the PSD," laments Moussa Ibrahima Cissokho, a resident of the Khossanto commune.

Repeated promises, few concrete actions

The issue of opening up access to Saraya is not new. It has been raised several times in the National Assembly and taken up by local elected officials, without any significant progress. Every rainy season brings the same hardships: impassable roads, isolated villages, paralyzed businesses, and inaccessible healthcare services.

In the commune of Missirah Sirimana, the situation becomes critical every rainy season. Ambulances get stuck on devastated tracks or have to turn back, sometimes with tragic consequences.

“We don’t see ourselves as having territorial equity. Development begins with roads. The 58 km planned for the entire region aren’t even enough to reach Sirimana. I would simply say that we are not being taken into account,” laments Karamba Cissokho, mayor of Missirah Sirimana. “Minister Déthié Fall is fully aware of the situation. He has seen our videos. What we are experiencing here is outrageous,” he adds, visibly bitter.

An urgent appeal to the State

In Saraya, a feeling of abandonment is taking hold. Local residents are calling on the authorities to implement a specific and urgent program to open up access to the area, before the next rainy season worsens an already dire situation. "If nothing is done, the next rainy season risks being even more catastrophic," warn many residents who fear reliving the total isolation and health crises of previous years.

While the government aims to connect all rural areas of Senegal with reliable roads, the case of Saraya appears as a national emergency, a symbol of persistent disparities in land-use planning.