Vol 50 No 13 | GABONFRANCE No funeral for Françafrique 26th June 2009 On 16 June, Francophone leaders came to bury El HadjOmar Bongo Ondimba, éminence grise of the occult Françafrique networks, and to keep alive the personalised relations between France...
Vol 2 (AAC) No 8 | CONGO-KINSHASACHINA Tug of war 26th June 2009 The IMF has scored some points in its battle with China over the mining-for-infrastructure deal but a final decision is unlikely before year's end The International Monetary Fund's pressure on Kinshasa has led to the first sign of the government buckling. At the end of 2007, President Joseph Kabila's government agreed a US$9 billion deal...
Vol 50 No 12 | CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE Curbing their enthusiasm 12th June 2009 There is little public enthusiasm for the elections on 12 July and an easy victory for President Denis Sassou-Nguesso looks assured Next month’s elections do not scare the regime of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso. The opposition is fragmented and lacks a credible strategy (AC Vol 48 No 15). In any...
Vol 50 No 12 | GABON Après Bongo 12th June 2009 Foreign leaders head to Libreville for the 16 June state funeral of President Omar Bongo Ondimba, 'le Grand Camerade', and the cabinet meets to discuss the succession The death of El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba gives French President Nicolas Sarkozy the clearest chance to break with the opaque Françafrique networks, although he has avoided previous...
Vol 50 No 11 | GABON A filial succession 29th May 2009 A crafty old spendthrift nears his end, seeming to have the succession as well as the budget well under control If President Omar Bongo Ondimba had a dollar for every time his demise was announced over the last 20 years, he would be even richer than he already...
Vol 50 No 11 | GABON Looking for a sense of security 29th May 2009 As Defence Minister, Ali Ben Bongo has brought in a new Chief of Army Staff, Colonel Major Jean-Claude Ella Ekogha, and a new head of the Conseil National...
Vol 50 No 11 | ANGOLACONGO-KINSHASAECONOMY The cement boom 29th May 2009 In both Angola and Congo-Kinshasa, public works produce surprising profits for well-connected cement producers, but an oil-fired building boom requires a lot of cement. Angola's Minister of Public...
Vol 50 No 11 | CONGO-KINSHASA The China choice 29th May 2009 Congo-Kinshasa's dilemma over how to finalise a US$9 billion minerals barter deal with China without jeopardising a debt-reduction deal with the International Monetary Fund will not be resolved...
Vol 50 No 10 | CONGO-KINSHASA A credit-crunch presidency 15th May 2009 In the midst of the recession, there is barely any investment in Congo, which bodes ill for President Kabila in the elections due in 2011 Two weeks after Evariste Boshab, a close ally of President Joseph Kabila, was elected Speaker of the National Assembly and the independent-minded Vital Kamerhe had been forced from...
Vol 50 No 10 | CHAD Tactical defeat 15th May 2009 The Chadian rebel offensive began straight after the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie had tried to break the stalemate in talks between President Idriss Déby and his civilian...