(This April 5 story has been corrected to say that Faye succeeded, not defeated, outgoing President Macky Sall, in paragraph 2)
DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegal has a new government with 25 ministers and five junior ministers, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko said on Friday, following the president’s landslide election victory in March.
The cabinet was approved by President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, 44, who was inaugurated on Tuesday and appointed Sonko, a key backer, as prime minister. Faye succeeded President Macky Sall, whose 12-year presidency saw a rising wave of public discontent.
The cabinet will be closely watched after Faye made radical campaign promises such as dropping the CFA franc West African common currency. He has slightly backtracked on that pledge, but this week the former tax inspector promised an audit of the oil, gas and mining sectors.
Key appointments include Cheikh Diba as finance minister. Diba was previously the finance ministry’s director of budget programming. Abdourahmane Sarr was named economy minister.
The oil and energy ministry will be led by Birame Souleye Diop, who was vice president of Sonko and Faye’s now dissolved Pastef party.
Two generals were named interior and defence ministers.
(Reporting by Ngouda Dione and Diadie Ba; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Bate Felix and Richard Chang)
