Saturday December 16, 2023 in Brazzaville, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, received in audience the leaders of the employers' unions. The concern that led to this meeting was Decree No. 2023-1579, of September 19, 2023, setting out the terms of reimbursement of domestic commercial and social arrears.

On this occasion, the Minister of the Economy and Finance announced the measure taken by the Government to continue the effort to amortize the domestic commercial debt.

According to Mr. Jean-Baptiste Ondaye, “out of a total outstanding amount of 2,687 billion CFA francs, barring error or omission, for this debt, 5 billion 400 million CFA francs will be mobilized by the end of March 2024, to pay the internal debts appearing in the books of the Caisse Congolaise d’Amortissement (CCA). In this way, at the end of the payment of this deposit, the balance will be 1,770 billion CFA francs. The terms of Decree No. 2023-1579 of September 19, 2023 will be applied to this balance, as follows: payment of the balance, subject to a discount of 66% in 2024; or a reduction of 35% of the balance, with payment of the debt spread over three years; or a reduction of 25% of the balance, with a spread of the debt over four years.

This announcement was welcomed by management union leaders. However, taking into account the discounts of 66%, 35% or 25%, which will be made on their debts, they wanted the creation of a consultation framework with the office of the Minister of the Economy and Finance, to examine the support measures, which will enable them to meet their commitments to the Banks, the Tax Office and the National Social Security Fund (CNSS).

The Communication Unit of the Ministry of Economy and Finance