Debt repayments before salaries

Niger's military government said on Monday its obligation to make debt repayments meant it could not afford to pay wage arrears demanded by workers, Reuters reported. Government spokesman Captain Djibrilla Hima told reporters that the administration needed two billion CFA francs (US $3 million) just to service the debt, at a time when donors had frozen grants and lending because of April's coup. The government owes 43,000 employees eight months in salary arrears, Reuters said. It put the country's monthly civil service wage bill at about 4.5 billion CFA francs (US $7.1 million) and administrative costs at two billion CFA francs.