REPORTING. “We are between cement and iron”: in Dakar, coastal construction sites stopped to slow down the concreteization of the peninsula

The new president of Senegal has decided to stop all construction projects in progress on the Dakar corniche, while he checks their standards. A decision which had been demanded by environmental defenders, but feared by the workers.

That morning, the car of the new president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected at the beginning of April, and his procession crisscrossed the Dakar corniche and passed in front of the various construction sites. The president wants to check that the backhoe loaders and cranes are stopped in this protected maritime zone, while they check their authorizations. A way also to control the concrete construction which has been eating away at the coastline for around twenty years.

A suspension well received by Dakar residents, like Balla, who find themselves increasingly cut off from their coastline. “I think it’s a relevant decision, because the coastline is a common good, so we can’t sell the coastline to people we don’t even know.”

Coura, for her part, no longer recognizes the city in which she grew up, where construction sites have multiplied since the beginning of the 2000s. “Today, it’s hard to see the beach from the car, she laments. There was a time when, while driving, we had pure air, we could breathe, we could see the beach. It was nice to ride on the Dakar corniche. But today, when we ride, we are between cement and iron.”

Avoid sand removal and coastal erosion

Stopping construction was also a demand from environmental defenders. The concreteization of cliffs and beaches has direct effects on the soil, as explained by Alioune Sané, head of ecologists in the Dakar department. “When you dig, you disturb the soil. Then, you facilitate the advance of water, of the sea, what is called coastal erosion. We must avoid sand removal.” The buildings also block the winds which cool the great metropolis.

On a large stopped construction site, employees have been deprived of work since Tuesday. They hesitate to express themselves. “Right now, it’s a little sensitive”, recognizes one of them. But the measure angers them. “If we don’t work, will we get paid? They put us out of work.” These family leaders find themselves deprived of income on the eve of Tabaski, a major religious festival. For Alioune Sané, the culprits are not only the real estate developers, but also the authorities who gave the permits: “If there are all these constructions, it’s because town planning has given authorization, the town halls are perhaps also involved. They just have to go and see who is behind everything That.” Legal proceedings could be initiated between the promoters and the State.