📋 Tender Overview
The Central African Government welcomes the support provided by the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) to the restoration/extension of the administrative and civil authority of the State in the Central African Republic (CAR), said Marcel Djimasse, Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, on Wednesday in Bangui. "MINUSCA, through its Civil Affairs Office, has worked hard for the return of civil servants and State agents (FAE) to the provinces, by providing logistical means of air transport for FAE assigned to difficult areas.
According to the Minister of Civil Service and Administrative Reform, "out of a total of 20,749 civil servants and state agents, 4,868 are serving in the provinces, or 23% of the total workforce." Although the gap remains significant between the regions and Bangui, the return of FAE to the regions is already tangible, thanks to the collaboration between the Government and MINUSCA. Of these 4,868 agents, 1,404 are women, representing 29% of the total workforce. The national education (2,281) and health (401) sectors constitute more than half of the FAE present in the regions. Marcel Djimassé also announced the launch of a recruitment campaign for 6 to 7,000 civil servants to strengthen "the presence of the State throughout the territory, including in remote areas."
The Minister of Civil Service and Administrative Reform also stressed that his department offered FAEs in the provinces the opportunity to express their views on their living and working conditions through a study conducted by ICASEES. The results revealed that priority is given to infrastructure such as administrative buildings and housing, followed by basic structures (schools, health facilities, markets, etc.), well before the security of property and people."
Speaking at the joint press conference, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Central African Republic and Head of MINUSCA, Valentine Rugwabiza, said that MINUSCA's support for the extension of State authority is one of the priorities of the mandate given to the Mission by the United Nations Security Council, specifying that "the stage of reconstruction of peace and security in which the country finds itself also requires an extension of the presence and authority of the State throughout the territory, with particular emphasis on the most difficult to access areas."
This support is provided in the following areas: Strengthening infrastructure and access to isolated regions, operationalization of State services throughout the territory, access to basic social services, access to justice, and support for internal security forces.
In terms of strengthening infrastructure to open up the territory, since 2022, 2,210 km of roads have been repaired, including 805 km between Bangassou, Obo and Bambouti, 377 km between Bria-Bambari-Pombolo and 120 km between Ouada Djale and Birao. 31 wooden bridges have been renovated or rebuilt and six ferries have been repaired. 37 helicopter and aircraft runways, including eight for cargo planes in Bangassou, Mboki, Sam-Ouandja, Bria, Birao, Bouar, Paoua, and Bangui, have been rehabilitated and developed by MINUSCA.
The rehabilitation or construction of these communication routes has helped improve mobility across the country, facilitating not only the deployment of national defense and security forces and civil servants, but also the movement of goods and people.
Regarding the operationalization of State services throughout the territory, the Head of the UN Mission said that MINUSCA, to date, has enabled the deployment on the ground of four governors, nine prefects and 62 sub-prefects. 1,135 passengers took MINUSCA flights between July 2023 and June 2024 as part of the administrative extension of the State.
MINUSCA also contributes to the construction and rehabilitation of administrative buildings, whether town halls or sub-prefectures, such as in Tiringoulou, in Vakaga, where the sub-prefect previously worked at home or under a mango tree. The construction work was carried out by engineers from the Zambian contingent of MINUSCA. This building improves the working conditions of the administration, thus enabling it to offer better services to the inhabitants of the locality as well as to local elected officials.
Another example is that of the sub-prefecture of Markounda in the Yadé region, whose administrative building was handed over by MINUSCA on 29 August to the authorities of this town located 145 km from Bossangoa. MINUSCA also provides computer equipment, furniture and office supplies, as was recently the case for the prefectural services of Lim Pende.
In addition, MINUSCA facilitates access to basic social services, with the construction and rehabilitation of schools and training centres in the area of ??education, such as the one in Obo, which was inaugurated last July. The first class of 100 young people, including 52 girls, has just completed training in sewing, mechanics and carpentry as part of a MINUSCA CVR project. The beneficiaries say they have acquired the necessary knowledge and are ready to practice their profession and enter the workforce. The Mission also provides transportation for education personnel and copies of end-of-year exams from Bangui to the regions.
In the health sector, hospitals and maternity wards have been rehabilitated, particularly in Paoua where solar panels have been installed to provide continuous power supply. Finally, concrete actions related to civil status registers have been carried out for the registration of births in Bria and Sam Ouandja for example.
