VZCZCXRO6405
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLC #0481/01 3061433
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 021433Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1501
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 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. 
 
---------------- 
Specific Changes 
---------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
------------------ 
Other Developments 
------------------ 
 
¶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." 
 
---------------------- 
Merit Over Ethnicity 
---------------------- 
 
¶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, 
 
LIBREVILLE 00000481  002 OF 002 
 
 
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. 
 
---------------------- 
Tackling Social Issues 
---------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶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