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.

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Now Down To 30 Ministers
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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.

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Who Are The New Faces?
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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.

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Familiar Faces At The Top
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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

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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.

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A Surprise at Defense
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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.

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Pascaline Downgraded
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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.

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Opposition Appointee Will Not Remain Opposition
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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