In several places in the Mbour department, the achievements of the program Smart Sénégal are clearly visible. Between the Senegal Services space (formerly Maison du Citoyen) located in Mbour opposite the prefecture, the connectivity devices and surveillance cameras which litter the main arteries of the department, the command center located in Saly and the installations at of the Mbour Open Digital Space; the populations and the authorities can only be delighted for the different opportunities offered to them. This Thursday, September 17, 2020, the Director General of the State IT Agency (ADIE) Mr. Cheikh Bakhoum and the delegation of Smart Sénégal went to Mbour and Saly to meet the different stakeholders and see the progress of the various projects. This activity took place under the leadership of the prefect Mr. Mor Talla Tine.

The Mbour department is characterized by a certain socio-economic vitality and dynamism. Tourism, one of the mainstays of Senegal's economy, is strongly developed there. It even constitutes one of the essential economic activities. Moreover, the Mbour department owes much of its fame to its seaside and tourist resorts which welcome people from all over the world or the Senegalese populations who give new impetus to local tourism. In such a context, the implementation of the various projects of the program Smart Sénégal is more than beneficial for this department.

" This program Smart Sénégal came at the right time and deserves to be accompanied. We, the territorial stakeholders, have been mobilized since the start of the implementation of this program, alongside ADIE to provide all the necessary support. » said the Prefect Mr. Mor Talla Tine.

Indeed, the achievements affect several sectors. Regarding security, cameras have been installed in major strategic routes and a command center has been built for the viewing of images by defense and security forces. With such a device, they will be able to better ensure the security of the city. Moreover, Prefect Mor Talla is of the opinion that “the deployment of surveillance cameras; numbering 56, will allow the defense and security forces to be better in the search for information, but also in the search for the perpetrators of offenses.

The Société d'Aménagement de la Petite Côte (SAPCO), aware of the importance of security for tourism development, has granted the land base for the construction of the Saly command center. “When we talk about tourism, we are indeed talking about security. The tourist, when he realizes that security is present, it is very likely that he will come back” according to the regional delegate of SAPCO in the small coast Ms. Ndeye Awa Cissé Dieng. 

The Mayor of Saly Mr. Ousmane Gueye, who is part of the same dynamic, is also of the opinion that “Saly cannot prosper without peace because the most profitable economic activity in the municipality comes from the tourism sector. Where there is no tranquility or peace, tourism cannot develop. » Aware of the positive impact, Mr. Ousmane Gueye wanted to “thank the President of the Republic for this initiative and also thank ADIE for the speed with which the various projects undertaken in Saly were completed. »

Connectivity is also an important factor in making a tourist destination attractive. The program Smart Sénégal has understood this well by deploying wifi access points in the department, particularly in Saly and Mbour, so that populations and other stakeholders can benefit from a high-speed connection. “Most of the public squares in Mbour and the seaside resort of Saly will be equipped with WiFi to allow populations access to high-speed internet. » affirmed the Director General of ADIE Mr. Cheikh Bakhoum. 

For his part, the Mayor of Saly believes that the installation of WiFi in his town will allow hotel managers to breathe a sigh of relief. “I will personally take responsibility for inviting young people to take advantage of the connection offered by the program Smart Sénégal here in Saly. The implementation of WiFi is a relief for the hotels located in the seaside resort because young people were flocking to these tourist accommodation establishments just to take advantage of their connection. The installation of wifi in public places in Saly by Smart Sénégal will allow them to no longer disturb the hotels. »

The Mbour Town Hall, for its part, joined very early on in the construction project of the Senegal Services space (formerly Maison du Citoyen). The Mayor Mr. Fallou Sylla indicated to the Director General of ADIE that “the Senegal Services space is an important initiative. Mbour Town Hall sacrificed itself by donating part of its land assets. The site on which the Senegal Services space is built was previously the “Maison des Travails”. Part of it was given to the project because it interests the entire population.” Mr. Cheikh Bakhoum added that “the Senegal Services space will materialize the wish of President Macky Sall to have a local Administration. This Administration which serves the Senegalese wherever they are, therefore, real equity for access to administrative services and better knowledge of the territory. » 

From the start of the Senegal Services spaces, around twenty administrative procedures will be available, including at least two which concern the justice sector. “We currently have some services to deploy in the Senegal Services spaces; in this case criminal record and naturalization. These are the services that we will implement in these Senegal Services spaces which will allow us to be closer, but also to dematerialize. » affirmed the Director of dematerialization and automation of judicial services, Mr. Abdoul Aziz Wane, on the sidelines of the visit to the program sites Smart Sénégal in Mbour.

As far as the education sector is concerned, the program Smart Sénégal improved study and working conditions at ENO in Mbour. “With the program Smart Sénégal, we were really relieved. 100 thin clients have been installed to enable their use, especially with online exams which are dematerialized. We really thank ADIE which was able to carry out this project. » said Mr. Khadim Cissé, IT Manager of ENO Mbour. The Secretary General of the ENO Mbour student office, Mr. Pape Seydou Wone, for his part, displays his complete satisfaction. “Previously, we had difficulty connecting easily to the network. Currently, thanks to ADIE and Smart Sénégal, we have high-speed connectivity. We manage to easily do our online courses, our practice exams and we prepare for other exams. It is a situation that we welcome and magnify. Now, even our 5 gigabytes of connectivity, we rarely use them. Thanks to ADIE, we connect to the WIFI network of the ENO of Mbour, as well as our local residents.”