"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

English version   Dear readers, the argument deployed in this interview at the fourteenth minute, where the spokesperson for the Gabonese presidency attempts to downplay the national debt by pointing to the debt levels of the world's leading power, the USA, constitutes a serious macroeconomic aberration. Justifying Gabon's debt by comparing it to the United States obscures basic financial principles. The United States borrows in its own currency, the US dollar, which is the world's primary reserve currency. They have total control over their monetary policy, which virtually eliminates the classic risk of default. Gabon, on the other hand, operates within the CFA franc system pegged to the euro, and must often borrow in foreign currencies. This directly exposes it to exchange rate risk and the limits imposed by its foreign exchange reserves. The dynamics of a debt-to-GDP ratio are not interpreted the same way depending on the issuer. The credibility and liquidity of the Amer...

English version   Dear readers, reducing development solely to the building of concrete and glass infrastructures, such as a new convention center, is a major mistake given the realities of the country. The situation described at Omar Bongo University highlights a genuine crisis of priorities and governance. Although CBON announced the release of 1.3 billion CFA francs to settle the academic arrears, the fact that the research professors of Snec-UOB and FRAPES are forced to suspend classes and year-end exams to compel the conclusion of an endless audit is telling. For the unionized faculty, this bureaucratic sluggishness is purely and simply a stalling tactic to avoid paying for teaching hours. The true progress of a nation is measured not by its costly inaugural events or its official facades, but rather by the quality of its human capital and the reliability of its institutions. As long as higher education is neglected and university professors must resort to strikes as their onl...

English version   What is happening to Gabon's iboga highlights one of the most severe consequences of institutional and state unpreparedness: economic marginalization through the negligence of governing authorities. The situation described surrounding iboga perfectly illustrates how the absence of proactive strategic frameworks allows external actors, catalyzed here by foreign political and scientific decisions, such as the aforementioned American presidential executive order, to capture the added value of a resource and centuries-old traditional knowledge. Although the 2011 Nagoya Protocol was designed to prevent this type of asymmetry by ensuring regulated access and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits, its effectiveness relies entirely on a state's ability to enforce it strictly and preemptively. Gabon's negligence stems from its leaders' inability to structure a national iboga sector and impose legal safeguards before international interest reached a critica...

English version   Westerners are fleeing their countries in record numbers Westerners are fleeing their countries in record numbers This will have economic consequences for the places they leave and their destinations Mar 22nd 2026 The Economist  After stepping down as New Zealand’s prime minister in 2023, Jacinda Ardern took up a role at Harvard University. Now she is based in Sydney. Ms Ardern’s decision to live abroad has struck a nerve with Kiwis, who were already worried about high levels of emigration. Anxiety over the former prime minister’s living arrangements hints at a wider trend across the West. Politicians focus on how many people migrate to their country. Less noticed is that people are leaving in record numbers. The rise of the “expat economy” will have profound consequences. Governments do a poor job of tracking emigrants. For years Britain had no exit checks, meaning someone could leave and no one would know. America lacks a comprehensive exit system. Its stat...