On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, in Brazzaville, Christian Yoka, Minister of Finance, Budget, and Public Portfolio, held a working session with Jean Marie Montsagna, Director of Human Resources (HRD), assisted by three department heads. This working session focused primarily on the organization and operation of the Human Resources Directorate, a technical department that assists the Minister in implementing the Ministry's personnel management policy and strategy.

Regarding the current organization of the Human Resources Directorate, Jean Marie Montsagna recalled that it is based on Decree 2024-290 of March 6, 2024, on the organization and operation of the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Public Portfolio. This Directorate comprises four departments, three of which are operational: the Human Resources Development Department; the Personnel Administration Department; and the Staff Training Department. The Audit Department is awaiting the appointment of its chair.

Regarding operations, the Director of Human Resources acknowledged, from a financial perspective, the substantial increase in the budget for 2024-2025 through the training program. However, he highlighted the difficulties in making the committed funds available, due to cash flow constraints, resulting in an annual recovery rate not exceeding 20%. This rate is woefully insufficient to achieve the objectives set in the Program of Activities.

To address these difficulties, the HR Director has prioritized short-term training courses to strengthen staff capacity.

Concerned about improving the rate of trained managers, Jean Marie Montsagna indicated that the Ministry has signed a partnership agreement with the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) of Marien Ngouabi University in Brazzaville, for the development and retraining of Ministry employees.

During this working session, the HR Director also presented the challenges related to efficient practical personnel management (maintaining personnel files, managing employees' career development, and archiving files), as well as the organization of disciplinary boards. To address these challenges, the HR Director indicated that his department is working with the Ministry's Information Systems Directorate (DSI) to digitize HR management and interconnect it with other government departments under its supervision.

According to Minister Yoka's contact, the Human Resources Directorate has a total staff of 56, out of the 11,532 employees at the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio. He also mentioned the lack of furniture and IT equipment needed to carry out daily tasks.

In response to the concerns of the Director of Human Resources, the Minister of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio congratulated him and his colleagues for their professionalism, while urging them to be more creative, pending the resolution of all the problems raised. He encouraged the HRD to be more professional in order to respond to the various challenges. The Monetary Authority of Congo reassured that it remains attentive to the HRD's requests.

The Communications Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio