Adopted in plenary session by the deputies, the 2026 budget of the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Public Service Reform is already raising questions. "With an amount of 11,958,553,296 FCFA in commitment authorizations (AE) and 11,678,089,336 FCFA in payment appropriations (CP), it appears relatively low when compared to those of ministries such as Infrastructure, Industry or even National Education," according to the Minister of Finance and Budget.

Yet, the Ministry of Public Service occupies a strategic position within the state structure. It centralizes the management of civil servants, oversees career paths, supervises administrative reforms, and ensures the application of labor law in both the public and private sectors. These are all cross-cutting missions that directly impact the efficiency of the administration and the quality of service provided to citizens, explains the Minister of Public Service, Cheikh Diba. "This relatively low budget may seem paradoxical given the numerous challenges related to modernizing the administration, digitizing public services, streamlining staffing levels, and also ensuring social protection for workers. At a time when the state is advocating for efficiency, performance, and profound reform of the public service, some observers believe that the ministry responsible for implementing these transformations should receive more substantial financial support," the minister explains.

According to him, this budget limits the room for maneuver to accelerate certain major projects: "audit of the civil service, computerization of files, strengthening of labor inspections, improvement of working conditions and extension of social protection to the most vulnerable agents".

However, the Minister of Finance and Budget justifies this allocation by the very nature of the missions of the different ministerial departments. According to him, "certain ministries have a strong focus on investment, particularly Infrastructure, Industry, and Education, which explains the significant share allocated to them in the national budget."

Continuing, he said: “Conversely, the Ministry of Public Service is not an investment department in the classic sense. Its role is primarily regulatory: managing the State's human resources, developing standards, monitoring, tracking reforms and improving administrative governance. A function that certainly requires resources, but which does not rely on large infrastructure projects or heavy equipment.”

Thus, if the budget allocated for 2026 is considered "modest", it could "be required to evolve in future finance laws, as reforms intensify and public service modernization programs ramp up", the minister promises.