GABON: PPRESIDENT ALI BONGO CHANGES WAY GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000481

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR A/C FOR LISA KORTE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL GB
SUBJECT: GABON: PPRESIDENT ALI BONGO CHANGES WAY GOVERNMENT
DOES BUSINESS

REF: A. 09 LIBREVILLE 00464

B. 09 LIBREVILLE 00466

Classified By: Ambassador Eunice Reddick for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: President Ali Bongo's changes to the
government are shaking up the way Gabon does business. His
efforts look to streamline the government and focused its
agenda. He continues to eliminate "dead-weight" positions
throughout the government. He has capped the maximum public
sector wage and limited the number of jobs senior leaders may
hold. He also altered a time-honored tradition of
distributing jobs along ethnic lines in favor of
meritocracy. President Bongo's aggressive reforms have not
yet tackled Gabonese social issues, and conflict with the
unions and a continuing teacher's strike remain significant
challenges. It remains to be seen if Bongo's changes are
sustainable and popular enough to garner societal buy in, but
for now, he is off to a fast start. End Summary.


2. (C) His first day in office, newly-installed President
Ali Bongo announced a number of potentially far-reaching
reforms. An insider described the Council of Ministers first
meeting under Bongo as a "tsunami" of changes. Bongo's
leaner and more focused cabinet (reftels) will be assessed
every six months on progress made toward meeting government
objectives of increased efficiency, transparency, enhanced
work ethics, and an improved environment for foreign
investment and local industry.

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Specific Changes
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3. (U) All past and current senior government officials must
declare their assets. Each minister can have a Cabinet
Director, Chief of Staff, nine departmental advisors, a
director of protocol, director for communications, a director
for interaction with international actors, research director,
personal secretary, and four others. The positions of
special advisor, high representative, and deputy minister are
eliminated. Each ministry must be ethnically diverse and the
minister can select his/her number two, but that person must
be from a different region, demonstrate both competence and
qualifications, and be approved by the President.


4. (U) The Council of Ministers meetings will rotate between
Libreville and other cities to bring the government closer to
the ground situation in other parts of the country. The
government has announced its intention to hold a subsequent
meeting in Port Gentil, Gabon's second largest city, which is
an opposition stronghold. Despite claims that Port Gentil is
"next" the council of ministers meeting was held twice in
Libreville since the announcement to move the venue.

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Other Developments
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5. (U) Members of Parliament can no longer be the President
of any Board of Directors of private companies. Government
officials cannot hold several jobs at the same time. The
Government capped the maximum public sector pay at five
million CFA (11,200 dollars) per month is order to promote a
"climate of greater and more harmonious social justice."

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Merit Over Ethnicity
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6. (C) President Bongo's new government does not contain the
same ethnic biases of his father's government. During Omar
Bongo's 41 year reign, Omar Bongo routinely used senior
government positions like Ministerships to placate various
ethnic demands. In his new government, President Bongo
clearly ignored the old traditions of placing certain
ethnicities in those premier positions and instead selected
individuals based on merit, technical ability or personal
loyalty. The senior government is now composed of variety of
ethnicities, including seven Fang, 5 Punu, 4 Nzebi, 3 Myene
and a number of others. The one notable exception to
President Bongo's effort to avoid the entanglements of
ethnicity was keeping the tradition of a Fang -- which
represent 30 percent of the population -- in the Prime
Ministership. Paul Biyoghe Mba is a senior Fang leader and
his placement in the position continues a tradition started
by Omar Bongo.


7. (U) Even the Bateke, the ethnicity of the Bongo family,

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did not receive preferential treatment at the highest levels,
though they are heavily represented in the new Office of the
President. During Ali Bongo's time as Minister of Defense he
placed a number of Bateke into key positions throughout the
military and Ministry of Defense. President Bongo moved many
of those same advisors and appointees from the Ministry of
Defense with him to the Office of the Presidency,
over-representing the Bateke in the presidency.

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Tackling Social Issues
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8. (C) President Bongo has not addressed the continuing
teacher's strike which remains a significant challenge.
According the embassy contacts, the primary teacher's union,
CONSYSED, wishes to avoid directly negotiating with the
Ministry of Education due to a history of acrimony between
the two organizations. On October 29 a group representing
frustrated parents filed a lawsuit against CONSYSED for
"using political motives to halt the school year."


9. (C) Bongo needs to continue to act quickly before his
opponents politicize social issues. Already, several
opposition leaders are backing the teachers' and other
unions' demands for better pay and working conditions. The
Union of Gabonese People, led by Pierre Mamboundou, also
publically denounced the planned revisions by the government
of union activity. The government plans to require all union
leaders to be solely supported by their memberships by not
holding another job, for all union members to own membership
identification, and for stricter rules for pay during
strikes.

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COMMENT
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10. (SBU) Bongo's pronouncements have shaken up the status
quo and met with a positive public response. The few
complaints we have heard focus on a general concern President
Bongo is using the reforms to consolidate power into the
Presidency. His elimination of positions normally provided
as rewards for loyalty to the ruling Democratic Party of
Gabon (PDG) is likely to have some pushback from senior party
leaders, entrenched ethnic interests and party "barons." The
elimination of many "pork" positions in the government
coupled with the shuffling of portfolios and combining of
ministerial responsibilities means that many Ministries are
relearning how to function as a governmental body -- with
all the growing pains that would entail. END COMMENT.
REDDICK