Gabon: Junta appoints former opposition Raymond Ndong Sima as Prime Minister

By Nde Laura

The Transitional President of Gabon General Brice Oligui Nguema has appointed a former opposition leader Raymond Ndong Sima as the new interim prime minister of Gabon.

His appointment was made in a decree signed by the Junta and was announced on Gabon’s state TV on September 7, 2023.

The 68-year-old economist, Ndong Sima shortly after his appointment stated that he would submit a proposed government lineup to the president in three to four days.
“They’ve given me a roadmap, and I will try to work in the direction that the military has determined… for restoring all our institutions, and especially everything concerning the framework for elections,” he reacted, the AFP reported.

His political career

The new interim Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima served as Ali Bongo’s prime minister from 2012 to 2014. However, he resigned and ran against him for president during the 2016 and 2023 presidential elections.
In 1986, he was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Planning and Economy, and in 0ctober 2009 he became the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development.
During the 2011 December Parliamentary election where the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party, PDG won majority seats, he was elected to the National Assembly.
However, in 2015, Ndong Sima quit the ruling PDG party complaining that the party was not open to criticism and different points of view. He also criticized the government’s handling of finances.

The military junta Brice Oligui Nguema while promising economic reforms, has stated that he will organize free and fair elections in Gabon although he did not give any precise date.

He has also been receiving support from international bodies. The representative of the UN Secretary General in Central Africa Abdou Abarry, met with the junta on September 6 and told him the United Nations would assist the country as it makes a new start.
“Once we know the roadmap, the timetable, once a government will have been appointed, our different agencies will make the necessary contacts and continue to support Gabon,” he spoke on Gabon 24 TV.

Ref: AFP, African News