"There is a shortage of everything in Dakar," complains Pascal Pareira, in line to get cooking gas in a working class neighbourhood in the Senegalese capital Dakar, which has been plagued by shortages in basic necessities these last weeks.

"For the last week, I haven't had water and I haven't had gas. I went a month without finding rice," the brewery worker from the Grand-Yoff neighbourhood sighed.

The West African country, which imports the majority of its food and all of it's petrol has been hit hard by rising food and fuel prices.

"We are tired," Vieux Si, who works in a fish factory, told AFP while standing in line with several dozen others looking for cooking gas in the Parcelles-Assainies neighbourhood.

On the street in this working class area burned out tires are the visible remains of clashes between residents and the police last week over frequent power cuts and water shortages. The water company says the cuts in water supply are due to maintenance work and promises that the situation will be back to normal soon.

"We have frequent water and power cuts. I pray to God that he will help us survive this situation," said Dieynaba Sadio, a resident.

"There is not enough water, gas or rice and for the rice the prices have also risen," she lamented.

For the last few weeks, a kilo of rice officially set to be sold at 240 CFA francs (0.37 euros, 0.58 dollars) is now sold for 400 francs CFA. A six-kilo bottle of cooking gas is officially supposed to cost 2500 CFA francs and is sold for around 3000.

"We Senegalese only know rice but now for breakfast we often eat pasta with some corned beef (canned meat)," Moustafa who lives close to Dakar's city centre said.

According to the Senegalese government the high rice prices are not the result of an actual shortage but of "speculative behaviour" by rice traders.

Prime Minster Cheikh Adjibou Soumare said "fraudulent re-exports of all the subsidized basic needs such as rice and gas" to neighbouring countries like Mauritania were to blame for the situation. He promised severe measures against speculating businessmen.

"The rice is not only expensive but it's a struggle to find it at all," restaurant owner Kine Diop told AFP.

"I sent someone out to find some but I don't know if I will have rice today. In any case I don't make a lot of profit anymore because of the rising food prices and the drop in clients," she explained.

"For the last few weeks I've been losing 5000 CFA francs every day. I wonder if I can continue to run my restaurant."

In a neighbouring house in the Medina area elderly Bamar Diene Bandia has found a way to cut the cost of the basic necessities.

"I had water bills of some 95 000 CFA francs every two months. I installed a hand water pump two weeks ago to pump up water for laundry, washing and bathing," he said. The water from the faucets is only used for drinking water.

In the same family compound, which houses some 40 people, electricity is also rationed. Sixty something Fatou Marieme Diop told AFP she cuts the power herself "daily between 7.00am and 7.00pm" to save on electricity bills.

"We were paying up to 75 000 CFA francs but the last bill was at 35 000 CFA francs," she said.

She may need her savings: the Senegalese government announced last week that electricity prices would go up in August to keep an even pace with rising petrol prices. The majority of the West African country's power plants run on imported petrol.

AFP