Located at kilometer 4, the Congo Ocean Railway workshops resemble a wasteland, with more than 42 months of unpaid wages. During his visit, Minister Christian Yoka was received by several desperate railway workers. The Minister then had a discussion with the company's management staff in the conference room of CFCO's general management.

An Alarming Diagnosis

CFCO General Director Ignace Nganga presented to Minister Christian Yoka the desperate situation facing this company, which was once a hit parade of Congolese businesses. Among the technical and material constraints weighing down the CFCO are the deterioration of the rail network, an insufficient fleet of operational locomotives, a very limited availability rate of commercial rail cars, seriously degraded telecommunications, signaling, and energy equipment, a reduced transport plan, and declining freight traffic. This situation has plunged the CFCO into worrying financial fragility. Cumulative losses amount to more than 72 billion CFA francs. Cash flow is extremely limited, with only 71 million CFA francs available. With negative working capital, the CFCO is burdened by its tax debt of more than 56 million CFA francs, social security debt of more than 28 million CFA francs, and commercial debt of more than 14 million CFA francs.

A pragmatic approach in a difficult context

Faced with this very bleak picture, the Minister of Finance, Christian Yoka, reassures: "... For me, visiting Pointe-Noire without visiting the CFCO would have been truly incongruous given what this company represents." Each time the State has had to provide assistance to support and assist the CFCO, it has done so repeatedly. And even today, discussions are still underway for a crisis exit plan, and the government is working hard to find solutions. In today's difficult global context, we face very significant constraints, and we must overcome this challenge. In reality, we have no choice; the Ministry of Finance will do its part by supporting the CFCO's restructuring plan, but in an extremely demanding manner.

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