Vol 4 (AAC) No 2 | GABON Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba 28th December 2010 President, Gabon Newish President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba aims to end Gabon’s economic dependence on oil along with its traditional ties to France. A 9-12 November trip to Singapore yielded...
Vol 3 (AAC) No 7 | GABONCHINA Beleaguered Bélinga 20th May 2010 Gabon’s huge iron mine project due to begin production in 2011 has been delayed again by the new government’s plans to renegotiate terms When Gabon’s President El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba was alive, his ministers had nothing but praise for the nearly US$4 billion Bélinga iron ore mine and associated logistics projects, described...
Vol 3 (AAC) No 2 | GABONCHINABRIEFING Hurry up, wait and renegotiate 15th December 2009 Gabon's politicians continue to question the delays in the starting-up of the Bélinga iron ore mine and its associated infrastructure works. But financing issues and constant threats of renegotiation have not...
Vol 50 No 23 | GABON And throw away the key 20th November 2009 Viewed from the outside, new President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba peacefully assumed the presidency on 16 October, after waiting more than a month for votes to be recounted...
Vol 50 No 16 | GABON After Bongo, more Bongo 7th August 2009 He already controls the military and now Ali Ben Bongo intends to control the whole country The face of the late President Omar Bongo Ondimba still figures large on posters along the main boulevards of Libreville. Although his photographic image is fading in the...
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 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 6 | GABON Farewell, Lady Bongo 20th March 2009 The death of First Lady Edith Lucie Bongo Ondimba née Sassou-Nguesso and her subsequent grand funeral in Libreville on 19 March has prompted a wave of sympathy and...