VZCZCXRO3748
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLC #0466/01 2921647
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 191647Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1483
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

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