Who is the new Transitional Prime Minister chosen by General Oligui Nguema, the new strongman of Libreville? Raymond Ndong Sima, 68, had already been head of government under Ali Bongo from 2012 to 2014 but had distanced himself from power which he had since accused of bad governance, until running in the presidential elections of 2016 and 2023. the latter, he had withdrawn at the last moment in favor of a common opposition candidate. Here’s what you need to know about this economist.
The Prime Minister of the transition is a native of the province of Woleu-Ntem, the cradle of the majority Fang ethnic group in Gabon, and one of the historic strongholds of the opposition to the Bongo family, which ruled the country for more than 55 years. The youngest of five children, he holds a degree in econometrics from Paris-Dauphine University.
He was appointed to the cabinet of the Minister of Planning and Economy in 1986, where he was given responsibility for structural adjustment and relations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In 1992, he was appointed general manager of the economy, a position he held while retaining responsibility for structural adjustment until 1994. He then served as general manager of Hévégab, a state-owned rubber, from 1994 to 1998, before being appointed to the government, under Omar Bongo, as Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development on October 17, 2009.
In 2012, he was surprisingly appointed head of government under Ali Bongo until 2014 and in 2015, it was the year of the break with the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG). Raymond Ndong Sima is a candidate for the 2016 presidential election, in which he obtained 0.4% of the vote.
During his tenure at the Prime Minister’s Office, under President Bongo, Raymond Ndong Sima was noted for having facilitated the settlement of Gabon’s debt, but also for having resolved, through financial mechanisms, the payment of arrears of balances. owed to public officials.
A few days ago, Raymond Ndong Sima had already told AFP the need “to discuss with the military”, recommending however that the transition should not exceed “24 months”. He then said he was “interested in the next presidential election”, in which “the military should not participate”.
The coup was carried out without bloodshed, by putschist soldiers united behind General Oligui and the heads of all the army and police corps. They had quickly aroused the rallying of almost all the parties of the old opposition, and part of the ex-majority, as well as a massive momentum of a population thanking them for having “liberated” it. of 55 years of “Bongo dynasty” in power.
General Oligui, who led the August 30 coup against a barely proclaimed re-elected Ali Bongo in a “fraudulent” election, was sworn in on Monday as President of a transition period in which he did not set the duration, and at the end of which he promised to “return power to civilians” through elections. On Monday, he announced an upcoming transitional government of personalities from all political backgrounds. Then a new Constitution drawn up with “all the living forces of the Nation”, submitted to a referendum and “more respectful of democracy and human rights”.
During the ceremony, the future Prime Minister was present, alongside other members of the opposition platform Alternance 2023. And on Twitter, General Oligui did not hesitate to salute “his charisma, his patriotic fiber, his pragmatism and his great experience of the position”, which were decisive according to him.
On Wednesday, he announced that he was withdrawing from the main platform of the former opposition, Alternance 2023, of which he was one of the leaders with five other declared presidential candidates, pointing to “a confusing situation for several days”. Five of the six leaders of Alternance 2023, including himself, had ostensibly rallied to the new military power when the position of the last, the common candidate of Alternance 2023 for the presidential election, Albert Ondo Ossa, was not clearly expressed.
A few minutes after his appointment, Raymond Ndong Sima told AFP that he hoped to submit to General Oligui “within three to four days a proposal” for a government. “I have been given a roadmap, and I will try to work in the direction of what the military have decided” for “that we restore order to all the institutions and in particular everything concerning the framework of the elections,” he explained. “I want to consult widely” and “without haste” so that “people from all political families find each other” in government.