In Gabon, the government is responding to questions raised by the adoption of several advantages in favor of the military. At the end of the Council of Ministers on Monday, three bonuses were granted.
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The Defense and Security Forces (FDS) will receive a “ compensation for the loss of freedom » following the putsch of August 30. There is also a bonus for the promotion of military diplomas and another for the performance of the FDS at the borders. Suspected of favoritism, the government denies it.
There is no desire to buy the military. Laurence Ndong, government spokesperson, is clear and recalls that among its first decisions, the new regime had granted 1,200 positions to teachers and more than a thousand for Health.
Laurence Ndong thus believes that a bonus for the coup d’état is justified: “It is deserved. The soldiers risked their lives on August 30. Today we are all celebrating the liberation, but if it had not been, some of them would certainly have been shot. The bonus is 50,000 CFA francs – 72 euros – per month to deliver, liberate a country which is in the grip of a dictatorship. We can still recognize that it’s peanuts “.
The other two bonuses also do not exceed 50,000 francs. On border assignments, she recalls that in other countries, soldiers in special operations or abroad receive a higher salary. As for the diploma bonus, it is an incentive to train… No desire to cajole the troops before a hypothetical candidacy of General Oligui Nguema in the elections.
“ Improving living conditions is the foundation of this regime, so why take a dim view or play politics. If we think that it is to buy the military, in this case, the improvement of life of the Gabonese, it is to buy all the Gabon. Where are we going with this kind of thinking? We are here to develop a country, and a country develops holistically, taking into account all the sectors that are active to do so. », added the government spokesperson.
Laurence Ndong even announces other benefits to come, this time for teachers and health workers who agree to work in remote villages.
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