Fifty months of arrears put retirees under strain
A chorus of grey-haired men and women filed into the marbled rotunda of Brazzaville’s Palais des congrès on 7 November, clutching neatly folded petitions and decades of pay slips. Their message to Senate president Pierre Ngolo was simple: five unpaid years is five years too long.
According to the Federation of Retiree Associations, the workers affiliated to the Caisse de retraite des fonctionnaires, better known as the CRF, are owed fifty monthly transfers accumulated between 2016 and 2025, including the latest two instalments of 2024 and three already due in 2025.
Union memo presses Senate for swift relief
In their memorandum, union leaders asked the upper house to endorse an emergency release of at least three months of arrears while the national budget for 2026 is still being drafted, and to restore the former ‘complement retirement’ credit line suppressed in the 2024 and 2025 appropriations.
They also requested that pensions be indexed to 300 points, that pending administrative files be updated, and that a direct round-table with the Prime Minister, the finance portfolio and the civil-service ministry be scheduled before year’s end.
Ngolo’s call for calm and dialogue
Standing before them, Pierre Ngolo saluted their patience and promised to forward the file to the Senate Committee on Economy and Finance. ‘Your generation deserves particular care,’ he said, before urging calm: ‘If the sages light the fire, what will the youth do?’
The appeal to serenity was welcomed by many delegates, some of whom had initially planned a sit-in outside the chamber on 17 November. After the meeting, they signalled a preference for negotiation, insisting that dialogue could still deliver a sustainable calendar for repayments.
A tight budget meets rising social needs
Congo-Brazzaville’s public accounts have been under pressure since the twin oil-price shocks of 2020 and 2023 trimmed foreign earnings. The Treasury has prioritised wages and strategic infrastructure, leaving other envelopes, including pensions, vulnerable to cash-flow fluctuations, analysts at the regional bank BGFIBank note.
Yet the authorities have repeatedly voiced commitment to social obligations. The twelve monthly pensions of 2022 were settled without delay after a similar Senate mediation, a precedent many retirees now cite as evidence that constructive lobbying can shift budget lines even in tight times.
Finance specialists explain that reinstating the ‘complement retirement’ item would give the budget directorate legal room to borrow on the regional market specifically for pension cash-bridging, rather than relying solely on unpredictable domestic revenue flows.
Faces behind the figures
Eugène Bakoula, who heads the Union for the Defence of Retirees’ Interests, put the human cost bluntly: ‘No Congolese household can go five months without basic income.’ His federation estimates that an average civil-service pension stands at 92,000 FCFA, barely enough for food and medication.
Among the petitioners was Huguette Mboumba, 67, a former primary-school teacher from Pointe-Noire. She travelled overnight by train, spending her last 8,000 FCFA on a seat. ‘I am not here to protest,’ she smiled, ‘I came to remind lawmakers that tomorrow’s elderly are watching today’s decisions.’
The Senate session was also followed online by a growing community of younger public servants who contribute to the same fund. Many logged comments stressing inter-generational solidarity and cautioning that unresolved arrears could undermine confidence in the national pension scheme over the long run.
Budget drafters weigh funding scenarios
Inside the Ministry of Finance, technicians are currently fine-tuning the 2026 draft which is scheduled to reach parliament in mid-December. Sources close to the file indicate that different scenarios, ranging from a three-month partial catch-up to a phased eight-month settlement, are under costing.
Any additional issue of treasury bills will need the approval of the regional Central African Monetary Union, whose convergence criteria were relaxed during the pandemic but remain monitored. Negotiators therefore aim to balance social urgency with macro-economic prudence in line with the government’s 2022-2026 recovery plan.
At the same time, digital modernisation of the CRF rolls is progressing. The civil-service ministry reports that 6,000 files have already been biometrically verified, a step officials believe will eliminate ghost beneficiaries and free resources that can be redirected to genuine retirees.
Timetable and hopes for early 2026 payout
For the moment, pensioners cling to the calendar suggested by the Senate: committee review within two weeks, followed by feedback to the unions before the finance bill enters plenary debate. Should the timetable hold, a first tranche could be wired early in the first quarter of 2026.
Until then, the grey-haired ambassadors of the CRF say they will continue to trust the institutions. ‘We have faith that the state will keep its word,’ Bakoula concluded, stepping into a soft afternoon rain. ‘Peace matters more than anything, even when wallets stay light.’
Their carefully worded optimism echoes across taxi radios and social feeds, inviting younger generations to weigh the cost of solidarity. In a country that treasures respect for elders, the outcome of this Senate dialogue could yet become a benchmark for inclusive economic recovery.
