Senegal’s Youth Olympic Games, Africa’s first Olympic event, opened Saturday and run through Nov. 13 amid widespread pressure from a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
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Senegal kicked off the Youth Olympic Games on Saturday, positioning the Dakar-based event as the first Olympic competition ever held in Africa, with 2,700 athletes expected across Dakar and nearby cities until Nov. 13.
For many residents, the Games’ promise of training, learning and volunteering opportunities is competing with day-to-day economic strain in the capital. Accounting student Paulina Netinan Nodjibougada said she is not enthusiastic because her family is struggling to pay daily expenses while she looks for work.
“I’m not very enthusiastic because there are too many problems,” Nodjibougada said, adding, “We have too many worries in the family.”
The Youth Olympics are for athletes aged 14 to 17, and authorities and Olympic officials have promoted the Dakar Games as an opportunity for young people.
However, local frustration is tied to the country’s broader cost-of-living challenges and youth employment concerns, with Senegal’s national statistics agency reporting that about 75% of the population is younger than 35 and youth unemployment is about 23%.
Momar Assane Diouf, a 33-year-old entrepreneur who helped launch a citizens’ campaign for fair prices, said the costs of electricity, food and school supplies for his 8-year-old daughter have risen and that he has had to juggle several jobs.
“It’s hard for all Senegalese,” Diouf said. “The prices are so high and the quality of life just isn’t there.”
Diouf pointed to food costs, saying the price of meat had risen from about 3,000 CFA francs (about $5) to 5,500 CFA francs (about $9) per kilogram (2 pounds) over months.
The financial pressure is occurring as Senegal faces constraints tied to a large debt burden that the government says has limited its ability to support families. An audit last year uncovered billions of dollars in borrowing hidden by the previous administration, and Senegal is seeking a $2.2 billion IMF loan that would require it to rein in spending.
In August, the government raised gasoline and diesel prices, saying it could no longer cover the full increase in global oil costs, and unrest tied to the economic situation has also played out in public demonstrations and incidents earlier this year.
In February, a student died during unrest over unpaid financial aid at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, and in April workers marched demanding better conditions and relief from living costs.
The Games’ budget has also sharpened debate. Senegal’s government has committed 36 billion CFA francs (about $60 million) to organize the event, including 11.3 billion CFA francs (about $19 million) for renovations of sports venues.
A 500-million-CFA-franc (about $856,000) contribution announced through a foundation from the president’s wife to buy tickets for disadvantaged young people prompted questions about the money’s origin and whether it should instead address more immediate needs.
Authorities later said the money came from donors rather than the state budget, while critics have asked for more transparency about contributors.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has said the Games will deliver economic benefits, citing improved infrastructure, contracts for Senegalese companies and training for young people, with international partners and the International Olympic Committee helping finance the event.
In some areas of Dakar hosting competitions, residents and workers say preparations have disrupted livelihoods even as road repairs are underway. In Medina, a working-class neighbourhood near the Iba Mar Diop stadium, Mamadou Wadji, 37, said his shoemakers’ cooperative was moved from a busy market beside the stadium into an unfinished school building as part of the plans.
Wadji said a leatherworking centre authorities promised for the shoemakers was not ready and that sales have fallen because customers have had trouble finding the displaced business. He said his daily household budget rose from about 5,000 CFA francs to 10,000 CFA francs.
“We can’t go to the stadium to watch the events while our families are waiting for us to put food on the table,” Wadji said.
While competition activity has brought road repairs in parts of the city, residents also report frustration from road closures and reserved lanes around venues.
Competition tickets start at 1,000 CFA francs (about $1.70), and organizers offer free fan zones, but some residents say participation can still mean time away from work.
Diouf said he wants the Games to succeed and provide young people with a break, but he cautioned that celebrations will not fix underlying economic hardship. “Life is expensive. Life will be expensive during the Games, and life will be expensive after the Games,” he said.
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