Ousmane Sonko

Ousmane Sonko was born in Thiès, Senegal in 1974. He is an author of two books. He was a chief tax inspector in Senegal, and a tax justice advocate. Sonko is the youngest candidate running for president in the 2019 election in Senegal. The election was held on February 24, 2019. He is one of the five candidates running in the 2019 presidential election in Senegal. He is seen as a rising star of hope for Senegal and for Africa. He along with the other four candidates are challenging the incumbent president of Senegal Macky Sall.

Early Life

Ousmane Sonko was born in Thiès, Senegal. He spent his childhood in Sébikotane and Casamance. Sébikotane is near Dakar. All of his schooling has been in the country of Senegal. His father is from Casamance and his mother is from Khombole.

He received his he baccalaureate in 1993.

In 1999 - Sonko received a master's degree from Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis, Senegal. He got his master's degree in the Juridical Sciences specializing in public law.

Career

In 1993, he obtained a graduate degree from Gaston Berger University in Saint-Louis, Senegal. He studied and was trained in the research unit of Legal Sciences. At Gaston Berger he obtained a specialization in Public Law. After Sonko obtained his master's degree he attended National School of Administration and Judiciary (ENAM). Sonko spent 15 years of service as a tax specialist. Sonko is the president of the political party PASTEF-Les Patriotes "Patriots of Senegal for Ethics, Work and Fraternity". The PASTEF was created in January of 2014. He is also the elected deputy of the NDAWI ASKAN WI / People’s Alternative coalition in the National Assembly.

In 2016 Sonko was a tax inspector turned whistle blower. He exposed corrupt practices such as offshore tax havens, by the Senegalese elite. He was terminated because of his activism. He exposed corrupt practices such as the $50 million mineral sands processing plant in Senegal. SNC Lavalin-Mauritius Ltd a Canadian company used a shell so as to avod paying estimated $8.9 million in taxes. He is the author of the Pétrole et gaz au Sénégal (French Edition), published in 2017. The book chronicles and focuses on the Petro-Tim affair scandals. In 2017 Sonko was elected deputy to the National Assembly of Senegal as the voice of the NDAWI ASKAN WI/People’s Alternative coalition. In 2018 he authored the book titled "Solutions".

Sonko is running for president in the 2019 election in Senegal as a tax justice candidate. He has said that; "A tax haven can be a haven for multinationals who want to avoid paying taxes. But for the country, it's hell". Senega still uses the French franc along with seven other Francophone countries in West Africa. Sonko wants to replace the CFA franc with a domestic curre gradually. "Sonko proposes a gradual, prudent and responsible exit from the franc CFA monetary system that is holding our economies hostage," says Mamadou Yauck, a Pastef Partie activist for the Sonko campaign.

In the Senegal election for president on February 24, 2019 Mackey Sall was re-elected winning 58% of the vote. Idrissa Seck received 21% of the vote, and Ousmane Sonko came in third with 16%.

Quotes

‘‘One of the first programme to addressed, if I were to be elected, is the reconstruction of the “Emile Badiane Bridge”. Look at the state of this bridge… We will not wait to experience a second tragedy like the one of the boat “Joola".

Ousmane Sonko, is quoted as saying, "many West African tax authorities are doubly plagued: They don’t have the means to investigate complex foreign transactions, and, when investigators do make headway, politicians find ways to torpedo their small successes.

Sonko said the situation is made worse by general ignorance of the importance of corporate tax – or any tax – to society.

“If you talk about ‘tax havens’ in some countries in Africa, people will look at you and think you’re insane".

“We have the potential, but our wealth is sold off to multinationals that are already extremely rich and whose home countries are also rich".

“When people don’t even understand what taxes are, acting on something like the Paradise Papers is challenging”.

Quotes by, Ousmane Sonko