"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

    English version   Freedom of speech is closely connected to freedom of thought; it is an essential tool for democratic self-governance. As such, freedom of speech should never be restricted for anyone; even those with whom we profoundly disagree.   Freedoms for us all, are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its positions. The right to think is the beginning of freedom, and speech must be protected from those in power, because speech is the beginning of thought.   Freedom of speech is essential for individuals to freely engage in debate so that they can make informed choices about their society. Freedom to think as one will and to speak as they wish to think, are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth.   In other words, freedom of speech is important for the proper functioning of a society. Freedom of speech serves as a check against abuse by those in power.  ...

 

 

    English version   Gabon has many problems and also cash flow tensions. Nevertheless, the priority seems to be for Brice-Clotaire Oligui-Nguema, to buy two new AW139 military helicopters. Unit price, about 8 million euros, i.e. 5 billion CFA francs. The two aircraft would therefore have cost 10 billion CFA francs.   Both aircraft are currently stored in a hangar at Texel International Airport in Holland. They will soon be transported to Gabon.   The two AW139s were ordered towards the end of 2023 by Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.   Such are the priorities of the CTRI           Version française   Le Gabon a de nombreux problèmes et aussi des tensions de trésorerie. Néanmoins, la priorité semble être pour Brice-Clotaire Oligui-Nguema, de s’acheter deux nouveaux hélicoptères militaires de type AW139. Prix à l’unité, environ 8 millions d’euros, c’est-à-dire 5 milliards de francs CFA. Les deu...

      English version   To mount a successful coup and to have a successful governance are two different things. One is an event; the other is the result of a succession of concerted actions taken over time that would lead to positive results in the long run.   The Bongos have left Gabon a land of broken dreams. When Brice-Clotaire Oligui-Nguema overthrew Ali Bongo in August 2023, many Gabonese welcomed the event. Now it is time to begin to evaluate where the country is going under the new regime. Can the new order lead the country from perennial under achievement that has brought the country to its present sorry pass, to a future of success and progress?   Nine months after formally vanquishing Ali Bongo, it’s too early to tell whether Gabon is either on the right or the wrong track. However, there are plenty of warning signs of what could go wrong.   Gabon remains one of the most unequal countries in the world economically, and th...

      English version   A reader left us the correspondence below. We wanted to respond to it in a public way in order to enrich the debate on the role of the citizenry.     The reader's letter:   "Dear compatriots, I am a loyal reader of your newsletter, to which I am an admirer, I have never had the opportunity to congratulate you for your articles written in complete independence, it is always enriching to have a reading of the events, but I would still like to point out the shortcomings in this article, we feel a great resentment of the author of this article,   no objectivity, you were infantilizing the Gabonese who freely chose to give their trust to the CTRI, do you forbid them this right? Democracy is also about accepting political choices that are different from others, your article is one of the worst you have written, take a step back. This is one of the reproaches that are made to some brothers of the diaspora, you ...

      English version   In France, many intellectuals tell you that Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the main intellectual instigators of the French Revolution. Indeed, his work "On the Social Contract or Principles of Political Law", published in 1762, set out to establish the notions of sovereignty and legislation, as well as the forms of government and the ways of expressing the general will in a non-monarchical environment.   Rousseau's postulate was that man (read here the person, man or woman) is naturally good, but it is society that corrupts him. So, for Rousseau, if we are to preserve man, we must build society with rules that allow man to flourish.   This blog would like Gabonese intellectuals to look into the problem of a Gabonese social contract, which would ask citizens to do their job, and governments to do theirs. The current situation in Gabon is that the only form of commitment that prevails between the rulers and the govern...