Falling revenues delay salaries at Guinea-Bissau ministry
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on O Democrata
Falling revenues linked to the removal of fuel taxes are causing several months of salary arrears at Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Energy, according to union official Daniel José Lopes. About 99% of contract workers reportedly depend on these revenues to be paid, according to his statement on 11 November.
Salary payment delays are affecting contract workers at Guinea-Bissau’s Ministry of Energy, who attribute their difficulties to the removal of taxes on fuel sales. The outgoing president of the ministry’s union, Daniel José Lopes, denounced the situation on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at a press conference on working conditions in the sector, O Democrata reports. According to him, about 99% of contract workers depend on revenues from fuel sales to receive their pay.
Daniel José Lopes believes that the government’s removal of these taxes, intended to prevent an increase in fuel prices on the market, has created a financial deficit at the ministry and several months of salary arrears. He says some employees have accumulated three months of payment delays. After this period, the workers met the Minister of Energy to seek a solution, without obtaining concrete guarantees, according to the union official.
The union also denounces the precarious employment situation of contract workers. Daniel José Lopes says some employees have been working for five, ten or even fifteen years without being granted permanent status. He says permanent staff receive their salaries regularly, unlike many contract workers, and criticises the priority given to the payment of allowances over wages.
In response to these difficulties, the union leader is demanding payment of unpaid salaries and calling for the resignation of the Minister of Energy as well as the heads of human resources and finance services. He disputes the complete removal of fuel taxes, arguing that these revenues were an essential resource for paying contract workers at the ministry.
