"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version  Trade unionists Marcel Libama and Simon Ndong Edzo have just been indicted in Libreville. These arrests are a sign of a tightening of the regime. Marcel Libama and Simon Ndong Edzo are historical leaders of social protest (especially within CONASYSED and SOS Education). Their imprisonment marks a break with the period of relative opening that followed the coup of August 2023. Government authorities justify these measures by accusations of disturbing public order and hindering freedom of work in the context of the teachers’ strike. But on closer look, it is a use of justice to muzzle social demands. We are witnessing an authoritarian drift that occurs as the social climate tightens more and more. With these arrests, CBON wants to send a message of absolute firmness; the regime seeks to decapitate the strike movement to force the return to class. He wants to neutralize the annoying counter-powers. Any dissident voice will be muzzled. The indictment of these historica...

 

English version  The image above shows a CBON observation which is in fact an avest of the persistence of deep ailments in the country, despite the regime change that occurred in August 2023. CBON identifies three pillars of the current social crisis in Gabon; including: 1-The rise of school and marital violence that underlines a weakening of the family and educational fabric. School violence, in particular, is worrying because it affects the future of the country. 2-The incivility that reflects a lack of adherence to the rules of common life and a disengagement with respect for public affairs (public property, hygiene, respect for authority). 3-The attack on morals and decency and behavioral drifts that are contrary to traditional and republican values. But by asking religious denominations to raise awareness of social strata, CBON implicitly recognizes that political and security action alone is not enough. He admits that he has no solutions. There is an inertia of behavior in Ga...

English version  The AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal was played at a very high level, demonstrating that the gap that yesterday was huge between the African selections and those of Europe or Latin America, is now very small. If the elite of African football is clearly improving, the truth remains that unfortunately, African officiating remains in tow because it still does not meet the requirements of international football standards. Senegal and Morocco are currently the two heavyweights of the continent, African champion and vice-champion respectively. These two nations offered a high-level technical show. The refereeing of this final is at the center of a huge controversy. We even came close to the point of no return, because there were scenes rarely seen at this level of competition. The referee, Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo, almost tipped the game into chaos: In the 91st minute, Ismaïla Sarr scored what seemed to be the title goal. However, the referee immediately whistles...

English version  Ivindo Iron is the company created specifically to develop and exploit the Bélinga iron deposit, located in the province of Ogooué-Ivindo. It is a joint venture between the Gabonese state and a major industrial partner, the Australian group Fortescue, which is a global mining giant. The Bélinga deposit is considered one of the largest unexploited high-content iron deposits in the world. The Gabonese state is betting heavily on this project to hope to industrialize the country and create local jobs in the technical trades (mines, geology, metallurgy). Ivindo Iron has therefore launched a program to train the local technical elite. The idea was to select the best young Gabonese talents (scientists) and send them to train in Australia (seat of the Fortescue partner) so that they return to occupy the positions of executives and engineers in the mine. This is where the disaster lies because Ivindo Iron selected these young Gabonese on the basis of their Gabonese diploma...