Some chiefs are offering fraudulent documents for salaries – Rene Sadi

The Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Emmanuel Rene Sadi has revealed that some traditional rulers are in the habit of presenting fraudulent documents to Divisional Officers in order to benefit from the September 2013, Presidential decree allocating salaries to traditional rulers in the country.

The minister stated on state media that 20% of traditional rulers have so far started receiving their salaries after they presented completed required files to administrative authorities.

Besides cases of fraud identified in the process of compilation of files, Rene Sadi said the preparation of salaries for the first class, second and third class chiefs is challenging given several other difficulties being encountered by the officials in charge.

Among some of the difficulties cited by Sadi are; unnecessary and inexplicable delays on the part of Divisional Officers, the imposition of salaries on some traditional rulers of First and Second class and the non-submission of files by other traditional rulers.

Sadi urged traditional rulers who are yet to compile documents to try to get them ready in time, warning that fraudsters will be punished.

The Territorial Administration minister also stated that measures will be put in place to stop the imposition of salaries on the traditional rulers who so far are not interested to collect salaries.

They must indicate interest and submit documents to express their interests in the salaries before they can be enrolled.

Traditional rulers have been receiving salaries since June and according to declarations by Sadi, they are eligible to collect arrears, commonly called ‘gros lot’, given that government was supposed to begin paying them from the date the decree was signed.

The September 13, 2013 presidential decree stipulates that First and Second class traditional rulers be entitled to monthly salaries of 200.000 and 100. 000FCFA respectively, while third class traditional rulers be paid 50.000FCFA per month.