Following the recurrence of mood swings by teachers gathered within the collective OTS (We put up with too much)”, or even OTA (We waited too much), who are demanding better socio-professional conditions, the government has developed a plan to clearance contained in the 2024 Finance Law, which will make it possible to settle a debt of 96 billion FCFA to teachers by October 2024. The announcement of this promise was made by the Minister of Finance, Louis Paul Motaze, during his appearance on November 20 at the National Assembly. “ For the 2024 budget, when it is presented to you, you will see that we have provided approximately 193 billion for the settlement of salary debt problems. In the 193 billion, 96 billion is for teachers “, he revealed.
This envelope would be added to the 100 billion FCFA already paid by the government to teachers between March 2022 and September 2023. In detail, teachers of the Ministry of Secondary Education received 67.54 billion FCFA, while those of Basic Education received 32 billion CFA francs, as part of the implementation of the solutions instructed by the Head of State. The deputies in fact accused the government of not having implemented the instructions of the President of the Republic. But the boss of the finance company defended the government and indicated that:
« The Head of State gave a certain number of instructions…the Government did everything that the Head of State asked… Among the instructions that the Head of State gave, it was to say that ‘from this month, we can start paying this thing. But that’s what we did! Except that the Head of State did not say that it must end at a certain time. He said you start at such and such a month. Many teachers having seen this, they were aware of our work plan, our amortization and clearance plan, some estimated that it will last. In September 2025 it’s too far away they said, I can understand that especially from those who had not yet received what was due to them », indicated Louis Paul Motaze, thus reassuring of the continuity of the process of clearing the slate owed to teachers.
The Minister of Finance denounces in passing the proliferation of complaints from teachers, which follow one another as the government tries to find the beginnings of solutions to the essential problems previously mentioned. “ We have nevertheless noted that from time to time new concerns arise every day. That is to say that what we have to do we do it, and then we bring others back. Now there is also the problem of the Forum. Initially this was not part of the requests and points on which the Head of State had given instructions. »
It is important to note that the initial demands revolved around the full payment of salaries and no longer 2/3 for new recruits, the taking into account of the non-housing allowance in the payment of salaries, the acceleration of payment advancements, and family benefits and rapid and full-rate support for new recruits.
