Gabon strikes 1,473 no-show state employees off payroll, freeing 11 billion FCFA annually
Gabon has cut 1,473 state employees from its payroll for abandoning their posts, a decision taken after a sweeping accounting and biometric audit ordered by the country’s transition authorities. The move frees more than 11 billion FCFA — around €16.7 million — every year.
The payroll audit in figures
The government chose to act firmly. More than 1,400 public workers have now been officially dismissed for deserting their jobs, the result of a far-reaching verification exercise aimed at cleaning up the files of the public administration. The operation targeted agents whose names still appeared in the system long after they stopped turning up.
How the payroll leak worked
For years, a string of individuals kept collecting a monthly salary without ever setting foot in an office. Their situations differed, but the outcome was the same: the state paid for work that was never done.
- Some had moved abroad and continued to draw their pay from a distance.
- Others held a second job in the private sector at the same time.
- Others again had simply walked away from their desks years earlier.
By striking off the 1,473 agents who never reported to their posts, the state expects to recover 11 billion FCFA in annual savings, the equivalent of about €16.7 million.
Where the 11 billion FCFA is meant to go
According to the government, the money released will be redirected towards projects with a direct effect on daily life. That includes renovating hospitals, building schools and recruiting real teachers and health workers to staff them.
Hospitals, schools and genuine recruits
The stated goal is to turn money that was being paid out for nothing into services that citizens can actually see and use.
Unions call for caution on doubtful files
Many citizens who have long complained about wasted public funds have welcomed the decision. Trade unions, however, are urging prudence. They want a guarantee that no regular employee was dismissed by mistake because of a technical glitch in the database.
The ministry has said that questionable cases will be re-examined one by one. At the same time, the state is warning that anyone who received wages without working could face legal action to repay the money wrongly collected.
The harder task: making the cleanup last
The scale of the operation reflects a clear willingness to restore order in the management of public money. But removing absentees is only the first step. The real test will be preventing the same practices from creeping back, and ensuring that every franc the state spends now serves the development of Gabon.
