Senegal president declares assets for transparency

Senegalese President Macky Sall has declared over two million euros ($2.6 million) in possessions to the country's highest court, in an effort to improve transparency, local media reported Tuesday.

The declaration was made public after being published in the government's gazette on April 24.

Sall, who was elected on March 25 after a crushing victory over incumbent Abdoulaye Wade, owns amongst others a 699-square-metre villa worth 533,000 euros and a 2,000-square-metre piece of land in Dakar's upmarket suburbs.

In Houston, Texas, he owns a 300-metre-square apartment valued at $220,000. In Senegal, Sall also has several other houses, pieces of land and shares in two real estate agencies, the gazette listed.

He also owns a fleet of 35 vehicles "used mainly for political activities" for the ruling party.

An AFP tally showed the assets listed, some shared with his wife Marieme Faye, were worth nearly two million euros, not including the vehicles whose value was not shown.

The declaration is required by the constitution, and Wade did the same in 2001, listing properties and land across Senegal without specifying the value.

Sall was not obliged to justify his wealth. The son of a civil servant father and a mother who sold groundnuts, the 50-year-old became a geologist before entering politics. His highest office until now was prime minister under Wade.

His declaration comes amid mounting pressure over the management of public funds, with accusations levelled against Wade's government for squandering public money.