After months of no pay, Burundi soldiers in Somalia are paid in less than a month, UN envoy tells Burundi during visit.| Amazing what happens when you say, "We quit!" and mean it... |
AMISOM’s salaries are paid by the European Union. However, the EU had not paid the monthly €5 million contribution for 5,400 Burundian soldiers 11 months. It had asked the AU to find a way to pay these soldiers directly, without going through the Central Bank of Burundi, in order to prevent the government from using this money for other purposes – a proposal that the Burundi Government rejected.
“According to the agreement concluded, the money devoted to the payment of Burundi troops’ salaries and their arrears will pass through a Burundian commercial bank,” said Gaston Sindimwo, the first Vice-President of the Republic of Burundi. “It is good compromise for the government,” he said.
Chergui’s visit occurred a few days after the Government of Burundi threatened to withdraw its troops on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia if no agreement was reached on the payment of the wages of these soldiers. During his visit, Chergui met with human rights observers, AU military experts and members of the Burundian Government.