"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version  Yes, Cape Verde made us dream. Yes, the African teams did not embarrass themselves; but ultimately, realism compels us to reflect and acknowledge that Africa is holding its rank. Only 2 out of 10 participants reached the Round of 16. During the group stage, 9 out of 10 African representatives qualified for the Round of 32. A record success rate of 90%. But the hurdle of the Round of 32 brought the Africans back down to earth with a success rate of 22%. The two African countries still in the running in this World Cup are the continent's second and fifth largest economies, respectively. Dear readers, when your hospitals are poorly equipped, your roads poorly maintained, your universities of poor quality, and your water and electricity distribution erratic, it is very, very difficult to achieve good results in the World Cup. Science is always right! Version française  Oui, le Cap Vert nous aura fait rêver. Oui les équipes Africaines n’ont pas été ridicules ; mais...

English version  The Gabonese government has declared a water state of emergency to address the water shortage, according to the newspaper  L’Union . Faced with the operational difficulties encountered by the SEEG, CBON has just readjusted its governance and distribution strategy. Reintegration of private operators:  CBON had initially suspended the commercialization of water by private actors, going so far as to have 55 delivery trucks seized by law enforcement on July 1st. He finally revised his plan by reintegrating private operators into the distribution chains. This tank supply is now carried out jointly between these operators and the Defense and Security Forces designated by CBON. It smells like corruption!  Strict price regulation:  To combat speculation and make water accessible, new fixed rates have been imposed by CBON for delivery: 4,000 FCFA for 1 m³ 2,000 FCFA for 500 liters 800 FCFA for 200 liters 400 FCFA for 100 liters Tax relief:  In excha...

English version  CBON had the water delivery tanker trucks requisitioned under the pretext that these people were conducting an illegal business. But after demanding that these deliverymen accept his conditions and, above all, ally themselves with one of his cronies, he returned their vehicles to them, and the very same business that was illegal yesterday became legal today. This is not governance; this is gangsterism and extortion! Using public force to expropriate economic actors, not to clean up a sector, but to force them to integrate into a network of clientelism, indeed looks more like organized racketeering methods than state regulation. This type of maneuver follows a three-step modus operandi, highly characteristic of regimes that struggle to separate the public interest from clan interests: Facade criminalization:  CBON uses a legitimate pretext, in this case the supposed illegality of the water trade, to justify a heavy-handed crackdown. This perfectly feeds the nar...

  English version   Dear readers, it is a fundamental reality of both history and modern development: the quality of leadership is often the definitive dividing line between national prosperity and stagnation. While geography, natural resources, and historical starting points certainly matter, it is ultimately how a country is governed that dictates its trajectory. The correlation between a nation's macroeconomic health, its political institutions, and its success on the soccer pitch is a well-documented phenomenon in sports economics. Just as inclusive institutions and fiscal discipline drive a country’s economic development, those same structural advantages scale down to produce elite athletic performance. This concept, popularized by researchers and books like Soccernomics, demonstrates that winning a World Cup is rarely just about raw, innate talent or luck. It is heavily dictated by quantifiable economic and political factors. A high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capit...