The elderly waited patiently since dawn in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, to pursue unpaid pensions are feeling more upbeat now.
Some claim they haven’t gotten anything for years.
The central African state’s interim leader, a commander who led the August 30 revolution that overthrew President Ali Bongo Ondimba, has committed to reform the pension system.
General Brice Oligui Nguema presented reform proposals for the broken system, which has long condemned millions to poverty, only a few days after seizing the helm.
The number of times Leonie Oumtoma, a widow and grandmother, has waited in line at the social security office in Batavia to learn when she will begin getting money is beyond her memory.
“I lost my husband in 2017. I submitted my documents in 2018, but I’ve since received nothing.
“Every time, I leave, I come back…,” she says. “I don’t even know how much I’m going to get.”
The military coup leaders and the opposition have both called Bongo’s election victory, which was announced just seconds earlier, a fraud. They have also accused his rule of extensive corruption and poor leadership.
In a speech before hundreds of business leaders two days later, Oligui pledged to “end the suffering” of pensioners and the ill.
He announced that the private sector would “immediately” take over the management of state pension and health funds.
“I’m a widow but I haven’t received a penny of my husband’s pension for two years,” grumbles 57-year-old trader Henriette Nset.
The opposition and civil society organizations have been sounding the alarm about thousands of people like her for years.
In Africa’s third-richest nation in terms of per-capita GDP, one in three people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.
A small elite controls Gabon’s riches, which comes from the country’s large oil reserves and other natural resources.
Many viewed the coup as a freedom from the 55 years of Bongo family rule, including the 14 years Ali Bongo held the position after his father Omar passed away in 2009 after nearly 42 years in office.
Life expectancy in Gabon was 66 years old in 2021, according to World Bank figures.
“I’m forced to dip into my savings to meet the needs of my family,” says Francois Moussavou, 58, who has been waiting for his pension for two years.
A “technical problem” forces the Batavia social security office to close in the middle of the morning, despite Oligui’s assurances; Romaric Ngomo Menie, inspector general of the National Social Security Fund, says he is aware of the suffering and the president “wants results quickly because he cares about social protection.”
Like others, retired technician Aristide Mouanda, 57, who stopped working a year ago but has not received any benefits, feels the same way.
He has also set up a broad transitional government, met key figures and promised to help the country’s poorest.
But strikes by workers who complain they have not been paid for months already suggest the patience of the Gabonese may quickly run out.
