"LE GABON ENERVANT" OR "ANNOYING GABON"

Faustin Boukoubi (Image: Gaboneco) English version Faustin Boukoubi, whose the position of Secretary General of the dying PDG is tenuous at best, has just gone ahead in publishing a letter to members of the PDG of his native region. In this letter, Boukoubi is making what can only be interpreted as a political farewell, reminding them of the good old days when they could count on him for career advancements or small and big favors as we know members of the great “mass” party do for each other. But now, as it was Omar Bongo who said to be able to make a dog into a minister and a minister into a dog, the content of this letter by Boukoubi leads us to predict that the time has come for him to become a mutt in the eyes of the Bongos. We will not say more because Boukoubi’s words are the best illustration of his downward spiral and what happens to people whom the Bongos and the PDG no longer need. Boukoubi was spun like an old mop, squeezed like an old lemon, it is time ...

Michel Tomi (photo: Le Monde) English version It is the French daily Le Monde, that reveals in a recent article entitled "Who is Michel Tomi, the boss of bosses pursued by justice?" (Read by clicking here ), that the French judicial authorities are on the track of the Corsica underworld whose gaming, drug trafficking and money laundering networks extend deep in francophone Africa in general and particularly in Gabon which could be considered the rear base of this mafia. Since 2013, in the informed circles of françafrique gangsterism, there is noise that the French Minister Manuel Valls is attempting to decapitate the Corsican underworld by depriving it of its African rear bases that serve as hideouts for criminals on the run, but also and especially as places of transit for shipments of cocaine from Latin America and of laundery of dirty money that can come back to Europe to bribe politicians who allow these Corsicans to move around and dictate their wil...

English version In these times of storm and tempest in the PDG house, in these times of almost universal discontent in the Gabonese social fabric, in these times of even more clear demonstration of the inability of Ali Bongo to carry out the affairs of the country, in these times of the repositioning of heavyweights of Gabonese politics in the last 30 years such as Jean Ping and Jacques Adiahenot in the opposition, there is still an impression of emptiness in the political, economic and social space of Gabon, there is still a lack of the ability to formulate the future so as to unite the largest number to a clear and joint action accepted by all. There is a lack of what specialists call leadership. Great leaders have the leadership that serves as a unifying cement of all the disparate forces that shape the nation, around a common goal. Simon Sinek is an English lawyer born in Wimbledon, who grew up between Johannesburg and Hong Kong, before settling in the USA. Today a writer, ...

Georges Mpaga (photo:publishwhatyoupay.org) English version Georges Mpaga and Marcel Libama were recently elected, yes elected (as strange as it may seem in this Gabon of rigged elections), to the steering and organizing committee of the strategy against corruption in Gabon. It is a device introduced in Gabon in partnership with the UNDP and is also at the UNDP headquarters in Libreville that the vote took place. We would like to present our sincere congratulations to these compatriots who are fighting for a fairer Gabon for all, but also to share with you below the minutes of the meeting which saw that vote unfold. An account by Georges Mpaga. Below, is a document explaining this initiative. This blog will return in a future post, to analyze the fight against corruption in Gabon. National Strategy for the Fight Against Corruption in Gabon, under the auspices of the UNDP, designation of representatives of the civil society to instances of implementation:  ...

Joseph John-Nambo, a leader of the Sovereignists movement Joseph John-Nambo, un leader du mouvement des Souverainistes (Image: Africa 24) English version Version française

English Version Above, the memo asking members of the PDG in Haut-Ogooue to pay each 5 million CFA francs for the contribution to the organization of the celebration of the delayed 12 March. It seems that it is not only the Gabonese State that is in urgent need to replenish its coffers! Version française Ci-dessus, la note circulaire demandant aux camarades militants du Haut Ogooué d’abouler chacun 5 millions de francs CFA pour la contribution à l’organisation de la célébration du 12 Mars en différé. Il semble que ce ne soit pas seulement l’Etat gabonais qui soit en urgent besoin de renflouer ses caisses!

Image: JLN English version It seems that an unwritten rule prohibits any Gabonese from having the right to express themselves and give a clear opinion on the country that is departing from the regime’s divinations. Indeed, for daring to make a fairly thorough analysis of the country’s situation, Richard Moulomba, the President of Arena party has received the attention of the official newspaper L'Union, which has just administered to him a good burst of insults. L’Union could have simply refuted analytically Richard Moulomba’s declaration, but no, in a dictatorship there should always be zeal, and nothing proves one’s devotion to the master like a good dose of insults at anyone who dares to offend him. In Gabon, the daily State information, whether written or spoken, remains beyond doubt, the preserve of the PDG in power, its turf. Since long ago in Gabon, the State information has ceased to be used for mass education and has been turned into a merciless prop...

Richard Moulomba (photo: Moulomba) English version This blog has received a condensed version of a communication made recently by Richard Moulomba, President of the political party ARENA, during a press conference. The interest we have in this statement comes from the fact, which is historical, that Richard Moulomba calls for the resignation of Ali Bongo. You will say that this is perhaps nothing more than a simple statement, but we would reply that it is already a lot, in a context where everyone puts his head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. As a politician, Richard Moulomba like Jean Eyeghe Ndong, André Mba Obame, Jean Ping and the others, has taken his responsibilities clearly and hopefully he will be followed by others until a popular momentum happens to require the immediate departure of Ali Bongo. Here we say Congratulations to Richard Moulomba for this declaration! Below is a summary of the statement by Richard Moulomba we have obtain from Ona Es...

Photo: Courrier International English Version For a while, we have been wondering about the incomprehensible financial meltdown of Gabon, an oil country for fifty years, still today producing nearly 250,000 barrels per day. We ask these questions because for more than 5 years, oil prices have reached dizzying heights, the barrel selling for about 100 U.S. dollars on average, while Le Floch Prigent tells us in his book that the same barrel has production costs of 4 U.S. dollars. Profits are of the order of 96 dollar per barrel. Thus, why is Gabon so poor? While we note that to make ends meet, Ali Bongo is awkwardly trying to call for tax adjustments of certain companies, including oil companies; we wanted to examine how a country like Bolivia succeeded while producing the 6th of what Gabon produces in volume of oil, to reap higher benefits than those officially reported by Gabon oil revenues. We are aware that Bolivia is not Gabon, but we believe that this Bolivi...

Photo: Le Matin English version The coffers of the State are empty and everyone knows it. So empty that already in 2010, the State borrowed a total of 179 billion CFA Francs from commercial banks operating in the sub-region of Central Africa, to absorb a so-called domestic debt from four companies: ENTRACO, COGECOR, SOCOFI, and SOCOBA. When we know that it is essentially the Bongo family that is behind these businesses, we can deduce that these billions have not gone far, it was a gift to the family. The same year, the Gabonese government borrowed more than 150 billion CFA francs from other commercial banks such as BNP, Comerzbank and an agency the AFD, supposedly to finance development projects. In October 2011, the economic media outlet Bloomberg announced that the Gabonese government had borrowed 21 billion CFA francs from commercial banks for the construction of a hydroelectric dam (which one?). In 2013, it is the announcement of a loan from the African Development ...

Security forces facing students inside the campus Les forces de sécurité faisant face aux étudiants au sein du campus Image: Gabonews English version It is by giving voice to Candide that Voltaire tells us, in the eponymous play, that there are no effects without causes. It is therefore that intimate relationship of cause and effect of certain acts, that we have in mind as we witness the current situation on the grounds of the University Campus of Libreville and its surroundings, where we see an escalation of violence by the security forces toward students, which may become the cause of a logical spreading of teachers and student protests against the barbarism that is literally and figuratively imposed on them daily. Indeed, dear readers, the news coming from the Campus are not reassuring. The police and military units of red berets, have burst onto the campus, tracking students up to their rooms, beating and molesting a good number, placing dozens in custody, a...