GABON: NEW FACES IN LEANER ALI BONGO CABINET, PART

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000466 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/C FOR LISA KORTE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/15/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL GB SUBJECT: GABON: NEW FACES IN LEANER ALI BONGO CABINET, PART II REF: A. 09 LIBREVILLE 460 ¶B. 09 LIBREVILLE 464 Classified By: Ambassador Eunice Reddick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. The Ali Bongo Ondimba era has begun in Gabon with the naming of a new cabinet. President Bongo lived up to a campaign promise, cutting more than 15 senior positions in the government and consolidating a number of ministries. New and younger faces now head the remaining ministries. Some are technocrats or trained in their fields. Despite its new look, Democratic Party of Gabon (PDG) stalwarts and those loyal to the Bongo family still staff key positions. However, he has relegated his sister, Pascaline Bongo, the former Chief of Staff to her father, to a symbolic role in the Office of the Presidency. END SUMMARY. -------------- Now Down To 30 Ministers -------------- ¶2. (C) On October 17, one day after his inauguration, President Ali Bongo named his new government. He slimmed down the government to 30 ministers, living up to one of his campaign promises. Under his father, Omar Bongo, positions of Minister, Vice Premiere Minister, and Minister Delegate were handed out as plumb rewards for loyal service, but many served no function. At the time of Omar Bongo's death, there were 47 senior positions in the government, many of them redundant or with little actual responsibility. Ali Bongo trimmed the cabinet by consolidating many of the minister positions into multi-hatted positions. He eliminated the Vice Premiere Minster positions and the Minister of State positions. While 17 Minister-level positions were eliminated, the occupants of those positions have been shuffled and reassigned to deputy positions in the government. The downgrade from Minister to deputy is a significant blow to those individuals' status and finances. However, these moves should also help cut down on unaccounted for government expenditures. -------------- Who Are The New Faces? -------------- ¶3. (C) While it is too soon to provide biodata on the new ministers, as a group they are under 55 (Ali Bongo is 50 and several are in their forties) and serving for the first time in high-ranking positions. Several have technical backgrounds and experience in their new portfolios. For example, General Leon Nzouba, Minister of Technical and Professional Training, is retired from the military and was director general of the military health service. Magloire Ngambia, Minister of Economy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, was the number two in the investment office of the Economic Bank of Central Africa (BEAC). Regis Immongault, Minister of Energy and Water Respurces, is a former Finance Minister under Omar Bongo and also was in charge of Gabon's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) efforts. Seraphin Moundounga, Minister of Education, Research and Innovation, is a member of the National Assembly and former school director and education advisor. Raymond Ndong Sima, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, is an economist who has directed the offices of technical studies at two ministries, handled relations with the IMF and World Bank, and directed the development company for the Transgabon Railway. -------------- Familiar Faces At The Top -------------- ¶4. (C) Paul Biyoghe Mba, Prime Minister during the interim government of Rose Francine Rogombe, retains his position. He is a former Minister of Agriculture. Biyoghe is widely known for his loyalty to the PDG and the Bongo family. Ali has publically praised Biyoghe's intellect and leadership skills in the past. ¶5. (C) Jean-Francois Ndongou, dual-hatted as the Minister of Interior and Minister of Defense during the transition period, retains his position as Minister of Interior. He is a close confident of Ali Bongo. Ndongou was given the responsibility over the Ministry of Defense when Ali Bongo had to relinquish the position in order to run for President. Bongo has strengthened Ndongou's reach, adding the former Ministry of Decentralization to his portfolio. ¶6. (C) Minister of Foreign Affairs Paul Toungui retains the position he held in Omar Bongo,s last year as President and LIBREVILLE 00000466 002 OF 002 throughout the interim government period. Toungui, also a former finance minister, is Ali Bongo's brother-in-law and remained loyal to Ali Bongo when many senior ruling party leaders defected. He is viewed as a key link between the Omar Bongo government and Ali Bongo. As Foreign Minister, however, Toungui maintained a closed door to diplomats and not made any major foreign policy moves. ¶7. (C) Blaise Louembe remains Minister of Budget, Public Accounts and Public Services, a position he held under both Omar Bongo and the interim government. Embassy contacts describe Louembe as a steadying influence in the Ministry. Ali Bongo would have had a difficult time ousting Louembe due to strong support from senior PDG leadership. ¶8. (C) Laure Olga Gondjout retains her Communications portfolio. She is close to Ali Bongo, and appeared at most of his campaign stops. Gondjout tries to maintain close control of Gabon's media. The discussion and debate that flourished on Gabon's TV stations and in the press during the campaign already has diminished. -------------- A Surprise at Defense -------------- ¶9. (C) Angelique Ngoma, previously the Minister for Family, Promotion of Women and the Protection of Orphans was appointed as Minister of Defense. She is very close to Ali Bongo and this appointment is a reward for her loyalty to the ruling party and the new President. Trained as a teacher, this is her first foray into defense policy, and her position is seen as an opportunity for Ali Bongo, a former Minister of Defense himself, to retain control of the military. Ngoma is Gabon's first female Minister of Defense. She has a reputation for being a solid administrator. -------------- Pascaline Downgraded -------------- ¶10. (C) Pascaline Bongo, sister to Ali Bongo and wife of Foreign Minister Paul Toungui, lost the powerful position of Chief of Staff that she held under her father. She is now the Personal Representative of the President, a largely symbolic position with none of the financial resources her previous position commanded. However, outside of her new official position, Pascaline Bongo remains the keeper of the significant Bongo family wealth. -------------- -- Opposition Appointee Will Not Remain Opposition -------------- -- ¶11. (C) Only one opposition figure was brought into the government, but his party is on the verge of dispelling him. The incoming Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Jean Felix Mouloungui is a currently member of Pierre Mamboundou's Union for the People of Gabon (UPG) party. However, Mouloungui has remained close to the PDG throughout the years. Embassy contacts in the UPG say that leadership of the party is meeting on October 20 to officially remove Mouloungui from the UPG roster. ¶12. COMMENT: Ali Bongo's initial step of diminishing the size of the government is seen as a significant departure from past practice. The new cabinet reflects Ali Bongo,s desire to change Gabon's trajectory, balanced with the need to maintain support within the ruling party. A recurring theme within our discussions with Bongo's advisors is that change was inevitable and necessary. As a result, we also expect changes in the way the new administration does business, with an emphasis on improving government efficiency in order to attract more outside investment. END COMMENT. FITZGIBBON