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Gabon’s transitional president, General Brice Oligui Nguema, appointed Raymond Ndong Sima (68), an economist and vocal opponent of deposed President Ali Bongo, as transitional Prime Minister
Gabon’s transitional president, General Brice Oligui Nguema, appointed Raymond Ndong Sima (68), an economist and vocal opponent of deposed President Ali Bongo, as transitional Prime Minister. Ndong Sima had been Mr. Bongo’s Prime Minister from 2012 to 2014. Later, he distanced himself from power, accusing bad governance. He had run against Bongo in the 2016 and 2023 presidential elections, but could not make a mark.
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In the meantime, Central Africa’s mediator for Gabon and the country’s new military ruler have agreed to draw up a roadmap for restoring democratic rule following the coup last week. However, the details of the plan are still not known. Gabon, touted as a stable country, despite the long rule of a single family, joins Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Niger among African countries that have undergone coups in the last three years. This trend, political analysts say, is alarming.
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Significantly, the coup appears to have been supported by many Gabonese civilians tired of the corruption-tainted Bongo dynasty’s grip on the tiny country. Oil wealth has made it one of the richest in Africa but where a third of the population lives in poverty. EU has termed the coup as one different from that had happened in other west African countries since it was the result of a badly conducted and allegedly rigged election. Bongo had been president for 14 years. He succeeded his father Omar, who ruled the country for 41 years, gaining a reputation for kleptocracy and iron-fisted rule.
