Likasi: At Likasi University in the Haut-Katanga province, 78 staff members, including both scientific and administrative personnel, are protesting their unjustified exclusion from the institutional bonus payroll listings since October 2024. These agents, who consider the situation inequitable, have submitted a memorandum to the Minister of Higher and University Education (ESU).

According to Radio Okapi, the memorandum asserts that the omitted staff are neither deserters nor fictitious agents, vehemently contesting their exclusion from the payment lists. They emphasize that all were present during the last physical verification conducted in March 2024 by emissaries from the ESU ministry, proving their legitimate status within the institution.

The document specifies that the affected agents include teachers stationed in Likasi and others awaiting thesis defense. Fils Tshibadi, a Chief of Works, recounts unsuccessful efforts made with the competent authorities, particularly during a mission to Kinshasa. “I knocked on all doors without receiving any response, except the unfounded claim that we are deserters,” he lamented.

In an interview with Radio Okapi, the rector of Likasi University stated that any information regarding these agents should be verified with the competent payroll authority. To date, there has been no official response from the concerned authorities in Kinshasa.

The agents are demanding their immediate and unconditional reinstatement into the payroll listings, back payments owed since October 2024, and swift intervention by the competent authorities to end this “cruel injustice.”