Between Kaolack town hall and Sen’Eau, the two sides are fighting it out with unpaid bills. Serigne Mboup is demanding 6 billion from the water company, which in turn is claiming its 600 million, while paying 26 million in taxes to the municipality. But to provide primary schools with the water Sen’Eau is depriving them of, the mayor has turned well-digger.

Because of a dispute with Kaolack town hall, Sen’Eau decided to cut off water to dozens of primary schools in the municipality. True to his reputation, the city’s mayor went on the front line to take up the fight. The dispute stems, of course, from unpaid bills that the water company attributes to the municipality through the premises of Kaolack town hall and its annexes, as well as public establishments such as schools.

According to the mayor of Kaolack, Sen’Eau officials set about cutting off water to schools, especially primary schools. The situation is considered particularly scandalous, especially at this time of the start of the school year, coupled with the intense heat that has hit the country.

Even more scandalous, Mayor Serigne Mboup insists, is that disconnection notices had been sent at the same time to secondary schools, and even to the religious city of Médina Baye. But in those cases, the disconnection notices were never carried out. As if, according to the municipal authorities, the water distribution company preferred to go after the weakest, namely the youngest children.

However, with the town hall now led by a man used to all kinds of battles, he was not prepared to go to Canossa. Kaolack town hall thus sent Sen’Eau a formal notice to pay around 6 billion for bills owed since 2023.

This amount includes in particular arrears of municipal taxes and fees owed since 2023, as well as taxes on “underground pipework”. As was to be expected, the water supply company did not fail to dispute the claim.

Through a bailiff, Sen’Eau sent the Municipal Tax Collector of Kaolack a cheque for 26 million 240 thousand CFA francs in “settlement of municipal taxes and fees duly established and legally payable by Sen’Eau, for the financial years 2023 to 2026”.

The bailiff was careful to specify in his writ that “this payment is made excluding the tax on underground pipework, the merits and enforceability of which Sen’Eau formally disputes”. On this point, then, the stand-off continues. But while waiting for a solution that satisfies both parties, the municipality has begun building boreholes within the grounds of certain schools, as well as at the town hall. Serigne Mboup’s services assure that samples are taken from these boreholes almost daily to guarantee the quality of the water drawn and ensure that it meets all the required taste and hygiene standards.

None of this makes the situation any more bearable. It is utterly incomprehensible that in the 21st century, a dispute of any kind between officials should end up reducing pupils in a major Senegalese city to falling back on wells to get water to drink.