UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
10 Mar
2009
Press Review of 24th October 2005
Today's local papers broadly comment the failed negotiations between the government and the teachers' union in Kisantu.
Negotiations between the teachers, civil servants and the Congolese government 'ended in failure,' reports La Tempête des Tropiques. 'Teachers and civil servants' unions rejected government's proposal to allocate indiscriminately a CF 6,000 bonus for November and December 2005 to every teacher and civil servants,' explains L'Observateur. In concrete terms, 'the government intends to pay CF 25,682 [monthly salary] to the secretary-general and CF 18,500 to a bailiff,' adds La Tempête des Tropiques. Forum des As further says, 'CF 14,980 to a [Secretary general in the province]- CF 7,798 to a bailiff in the province.' The proposal was rejected by teachers for whom 'abandoning Mbudi agreement is out of the question,' highlights L'Observateur. For the teachers, Kisantu must be 'the continuation of the Mbudi negotiations held last year (') allocating 'US$ 208 to a bailiff and US$ 2,080 dollars to a Secretary-general,' recalls Le Potentiel.
No agreement was definitely reached by the teachers' union and the government in Kisantu. On one hand, 'the government was aware of its limited resources in a country whose financial situation is closely monitored by international financial institutions and, on the other hand, the civil servants and teachers persuaded that their pressures on the Government would get the latter to implement the Mbudi Agreement,' explains L'Avenir. Unfortunately, 'the International Monetary Fund is opposed to the teachers and civil servants' salary increase,' indicates L'Avenir. The reason' 'A salary increase would entail an inflation on the stock exchange market and disrupt the sixth and last review of the DRC economic program,' responds L'Observateur, [pro-presidential paper] echoing the director of IMF African Department. In other words, the government is called upon 'to pursue a cautious salary policy in 2005 and 2006,' concludes Forum des As. 'IMF has postponed the Mbudi agreement indefinitely. Implementing this agreement would not be possible, even within the framework of the 2006 budget,' highlights L'Avenir. In conclusion: The international Monetary Fund has 'buried the Mbudi agreement. All the teachers and civil servants need to do now is to be a bit realistic ('). They will have to wait until a new government is elected,' says L'Avenir, pro-PPRD, in an editorial headlined 'IMF buries'.'
'Negotiations between teachers, civil servants and the government must proceed in Kinshasa,' announces Le Palmarès. 'The difference between the Mbudi and Kisantu agreements apparently lies in the presence of the Ministers of Finance and Budget as loudly claimed by the teachers and civil servants' unions in Kisantu,' notes Le Palmarès, pro-opposition.
'The United Nations [are] at the service of the Congolese and other citizens of the world,' reports La Référence Plus, alluding to the United Nations Day. 'Wherever they are, United Nations staff work for the well being of mankind,' explains the independent paper. All this has happened 'during its sixty years of existence,' adds Le Potentiel. 'They intervened twice in the Democratic Republic of Congo; first with ONUC, during the fourth and fifth year of DRC independence and, second, with MONUC, the current mission that started six years ago,' informs Le Potentiel, [pro-opposition], which also gives a briefing on the UN agencies.
In other news, 'RTIV television channel based in Lubumbashi, Katanga was recently suspended for 15 days,' announces Le Potentiel. 'On the occasion of the official inauguration of the UNAFEC seat on 8 October 2005, the TV channel broadcast a provocative and outrageous statement,' says the paper. 'The message was particularly violent and contained public insults and incitement to hatred, murder and apology for secession,' adds Le Potentiel, quoting Modeste Mutinga, head of the Media Authority.
No agreement was definitely reached by the teachers' union and the government in Kisantu. On one hand, 'the government was aware of its limited resources in a country whose financial situation is closely monitored by international financial institutions and, on the other hand, the civil servants and teachers persuaded that their pressures on the Government would get the latter to implement the Mbudi Agreement,' explains L'Avenir. Unfortunately, 'the International Monetary Fund is opposed to the teachers and civil servants' salary increase,' indicates L'Avenir. The reason' 'A salary increase would entail an inflation on the stock exchange market and disrupt the sixth and last review of the DRC economic program,' responds L'Observateur, [pro-presidential paper] echoing the director of IMF African Department. In other words, the government is called upon 'to pursue a cautious salary policy in 2005 and 2006,' concludes Forum des As. 'IMF has postponed the Mbudi agreement indefinitely. Implementing this agreement would not be possible, even within the framework of the 2006 budget,' highlights L'Avenir. In conclusion: The international Monetary Fund has 'buried the Mbudi agreement. All the teachers and civil servants need to do now is to be a bit realistic ('). They will have to wait until a new government is elected,' says L'Avenir, pro-PPRD, in an editorial headlined 'IMF buries'.'
'Negotiations between teachers, civil servants and the government must proceed in Kinshasa,' announces Le Palmarès. 'The difference between the Mbudi and Kisantu agreements apparently lies in the presence of the Ministers of Finance and Budget as loudly claimed by the teachers and civil servants' unions in Kisantu,' notes Le Palmarès, pro-opposition.
'The United Nations [are] at the service of the Congolese and other citizens of the world,' reports La Référence Plus, alluding to the United Nations Day. 'Wherever they are, United Nations staff work for the well being of mankind,' explains the independent paper. All this has happened 'during its sixty years of existence,' adds Le Potentiel. 'They intervened twice in the Democratic Republic of Congo; first with ONUC, during the fourth and fifth year of DRC independence and, second, with MONUC, the current mission that started six years ago,' informs Le Potentiel, [pro-opposition], which also gives a briefing on the UN agencies.
In other news, 'RTIV television channel based in Lubumbashi, Katanga was recently suspended for 15 days,' announces Le Potentiel. 'On the occasion of the official inauguration of the UNAFEC seat on 8 October 2005, the TV channel broadcast a provocative and outrageous statement,' says the paper. 'The message was particularly violent and contained public insults and incitement to hatred, murder and apology for secession,' adds Le Potentiel, quoting Modeste Mutinga, head of the Media Authority.
