Dozens of young graduates from various training schools in Congo have demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Finance to demand their integration into the civil service, APA noted.
“We are here at the Ministry of Finance, in downtown Brazzaville since early this morning of Wednesday to question the government on our integration into the public service. It has been almost three or even five years since some of us finished their training and we are still being kept waiting,” the spokesperson for the movement Dominique Ngatsé said.
According to him, the government has conducted several censuses to control the number of civil servants, the last of which estimated them at around 50,000 in the civil service.
But according to the graduates, the conclusions of the latest census note that the public service is mostly aging.
“Thus we don’t understand why the government doesn’t recruit us; that is why we’re here,” he added.
“We want the assurance of the Minister of Finance, since wherever we knock on the doors, the reason given is that the country is in crisis and we cannot recruit despite the real need for staff in all sectors of public administration,” said Géneviève Abia, who was part of the demonstration despite her pregnancy.
The protest was under the watchful eye of the police.
“We dare to believe that with the financial agreement with the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the situation will be seen by then,” a hopeful Abia said.
Several Congolese demonstrators share the same opinion, believing that unemployment has become almost endemic in their country.
It is estimated at nearly 34 percent and affects young people in the 25 to 35 age group who have generally completed their training.
LCM/odl/lb/as/APA