Senegal’s new president appoints Ousmane Sonko prime minister

Senegalese newly elected president, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, appointed popular opposition leader Ousmane Sonko as his prime minister.

Like Faye 44, Sonko 49 also went to jail and was released following a political amnesty by outgoing president Macky Sall.

Sonko was announced soon after Faye was sworn in, becoming Africa’s youngest president and ending a period of unrest in the country over Sall’s initial plan to delay elections.

Sall was hailed by crowds after stepping down, projecting an image of a resilient West African democracy in an unstable neighborhood where military coups shook neighoring Guinea Conakry, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

Faye is Senegal’s fifth president since independence from France in 1960.

A former tax inspector, Faye promised radical change and a crackdown on corruption while leveraging the country’s newly found resources.

This year, Senegal is expected to post Africa’s second best growth rate at 8.2%, as the country starts exploitation of its offshore gas.