According to a statement made public on Thursday, the government of Guinea-Bissau has mandated the suspension of teachers’ salaries in order to filter out false payroll claims from fictional employees.
The tiny West African nation, whose education sector salaries are mostly funded by foreign aid, has declared war on ghost civil officials in an effort to reduce its salary cost.
The country’s cabinet of ministers ordered the education ministry to conduct a count of its staff members in a resolution from July 18 that was published on Thursday.
About 8 000 teachers at the nation’s primary and secondary schools, who make an average of about 50 000 CFA francs ($85) per month, will be impacted by the decision. A teaching union threatened legal action in response to the ruling.
The Bissau administration is accused of missing three of its eight economic reform targets that were due in March, according to the International Monetary Fund, which secured a staff level agreement for a $3.16 million extended credit facility for Guinea Bissau in May.
The setting of a pay ceiling was one of the unfulfilled goals.
The National Union of Teachers in Bissau, chaired by Domingos de Carvalho, announced that the union would challenge the judgement, which it deemed to be unfair.
“We are not planning any strike action, but we are thinking of finding other effective ways of reacting,” De Carvalho said.
