According to a statement from his office, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye gave his prime minister strict instructions on Tuesday to create a quick “action plan” to boost the faltering national economy and finances.

Despite never having held political office, the 44-year-old easily won an election last month on the platform of radical reform, making history as the youngest president of the nation.

The announcement following Faye’s first cabinet meeting stated that he gave Ousmane Sonko, his former mentor and prime minister, until the end of the month to draft a “action plan.”

It stated that he directed Sonko to “carry out a general review of programs and plans” and provide a report on public-private partnerships, international collaboration, and “the general situation of the public finances.”

He gave the government strict instructions to complete the plan by the end of the month and to “immediately implement a bold policy to relaunch the national economy, with the (Senegalese) private sector.”

He informed the ministers that his election was intended to bring about a “deep split” and a “revolution at every stage of the nation’s economic and social development.”

Senegal has a population of 18 million people, of which one in three live in poverty, while the country’s unemployment rate is over 20%.

The Covid pandemic and the aftermath of the war in Ukraine have also had a negative impact on its economy.

Inflation and debt are at an all-time high, and the last three years of political and social unrest have damaged investor confidence.

Sonko announced the cabinet on Friday and stated that the government’s top priority would be defending human rights, cutting living expenses, and providing jobs for young people.