Latest news with #Bongo
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Gabon to ban export of raw manganese from 2029
LIBREVILLE: Gabon will cease exporting manganese from 2029 as part of a plan to transform national industry, President Brice Oligui Nguema said in a government statement published on Saturday. Selling manganese, which can be used in the production of stainless steel and batteries, is one of Gabon's main sources of revenue, alongside wood and oil sales. Speaking on Friday to the council of ministers, Oligui ordered "the formal ban... from January 1, 2029, of the export of raw manganese, a strategic resource of which Gabon is the second largest producer in the world," the government statement said. The move in the country of 2.3 million people, one of the richest in Africa, aims at developing "an ambitious industrial policy based on the local transformation of primary materials, an increase in the national workforce's competence, the mastering of technological value chains and the consolidation of tax revenues", the statement added. Oligui, a putschist leader who overthrew the Bongo family dynasty before winning elections in April with almost 95 percent of the vote, said he was giving the sector three years to make the necessary investments for the change. That will also involve the setting up of a public-private investment fund to support the industry, the statement added. During the council of ministers meeting, it was also decided to ban the import of chicken meat from January 1, 2027. Despite the country's riches, a third of Gabonese live in poverty with one in 10 suffering from a lack of food.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Time of India
Power outage hits Gabonese capital
AI- Generated Image Gabon's capital Libreville was without electricity for several hours Wednesday following a "major technical incident", the national energy supplier said. The early morning power outage "resulted in the loss of all production facilities in the Libreville Interconnected Network (RIC)", the Gabonese Water and Energy Company (SEEG) said without giving further details. SEEG said it had managed to restore power to around half of its customers in the capital "by early morning", adding its teams were working to find and analyse the fault, which AFP reporters said also cut internet and mobile phone coverage. On Monday, the Gabonese presidency had announced the end of an interim administration of SEEG started in August on the back of a slew of supply cuts. As of Wednesday, "management of SEEG will be fully transferred" and it will return to its majority shareholder, the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund (FGIS), the company stated. For several months last year, electricity supply was disrupted due to significant infrastructure problems. A rotating load shedding system was established leading to supply cuts in entire neighbourhoods for hours at a time, to enable power supply for other parts of the city. A protocol signed between the Gabonese government and Turkish firm Karpowership for supply of 70 megawatts via two floating power plants to cover greater Libreville saw the situation improve in recent months. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Roar into Style! Leopard Print Slim Fitting Dress! Undo Unleash Your Wild Side: Leopard Print Slim Dress! Undo Level Up Your Look: Men Tracksuit with Hoodie! Undo Get the Look: Rhinestone Juicy Sweatsuit - Shop Modefash! Undo Complete Your Look: Women's 3-Piece Sweatsuit - Undo Chic Comfort! Women's 3-Piece Sweatsuit. Undo Shop Exclusive Deals & Save Big! Undo Modefash: Ultimate Comfort - Men's Tracksuit with Hoodie! Undo Sparkle & Shine: Trending Rhinestone Juicy Sweatsuit! Undo Don't Miss Out! Exclusive Deals at Undo Revamping the network is a top priority for Gabon's leader Brice Oligui Nguema, a general who overthrew the Bongo dynasty and won 94.85 percent of the vote in April's election, 19 months on from his August 2023 coup. Earlier this month he vowed to provide "universal access" to drinking water and electricity.
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Former minister Bongani Bongo's pre-trial conference set for August
CAPE TOWN - Former State Security Minister Bongani Bongo will find himself back in the Western Cape High Court on corruption charges in August. It's alleged that Bongo offered a former parliamentary legal advisor a bribe to scupper a 2017 inquiry into State capture at Eskom at the time when he was a member of Parliament. Bongo made another appearance in the Cape Town Magistrates Court on Tuesday after the matter was re-enrolled in March, following the State's successful appeal against the high court's dismissal of the case in 2021. ALSO READ: It's been nearly eight years since Bongo is alleged to have attempted to derail Parliament's Eskom inquiry by offering a monetary bribe to its evidence leader, Ntuthuzelo Vanara. Vanara is now the legal head at the Special Investigating Unit. According to the 15-page indictment, the State has served on Bongo, the manner in which he's alleged to have offered the gratification to Vanara contravenes the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act relating to public office bearers. The high court previously acquitted Bongo before he could testify after his legal team applied for a discharge, and former judge John Hlophe tore into witness testimony from parliamentary staff for not being credible. The State successfully appealed Hlophe's ruling to refuse leave to appeal in the Supreme Court. In this second attempt to try Bongo four years later, the case has now been transferred to the High Court once again for a pre-trial conference on 15 August 2025.
Glasgow Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
The story of the smallest stage at TRNSMT with 'secret sets'
The festival has announced the return of The Hangout - a fan-favourite stage described as the 'home of secret sets'. This over-18s space is back for its second year, and is set to host acoustic artists, live podcasts, comedy, and entertainment. Read more: Calls to ban Irish rappers Kneecap from Glasgow's TRNSMT festival should be resisted Despite being the smallest stage at TRNSMT, The Hangout delivered one of the biggest surprises of 2024, when Glasgow band Travis stunned fans with a secret performance. The band entertained guests with a selection of their most beloved hits — a moment that has since become one of the most memorable in the festival's history. This year's line-up has revealed another round of eclectic entertainment, with schedule gaps hinting at more surprise appearances still to be announced during the festival weekend. Highlights for 2025 include Bongo's Bingo parties, Drag-aoke with Miss Lola Fierce, and a live recording of the Who Agrees? podcast with Paul Black and Kendra McPherson. Read more: Free bus journeys available in Glasgow ahead of music festival The space will also host DJs and busker sets by Robyn Reid and Jamie Rafferty. Geoff Ellis, festival director of TRNSMT, said: "The Hangout became a fan favourite last year, with an unforgettable festival moment from Travis - now one of my personal top moments of TRNSMT's history. "We want to keep making incredible memories for fans and unique spaces like The Hangout with Bongo's Bingos, Drag-eoke and even more entertainment are really special." Tickets for TRNSMT can be purchased online via Ticketmaster.
Eyewitness News
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Gabon's ousted leader and family 'released' and in Angola
LUANDA, ANGOLA - Gabon's former leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was detained after being ousted in a 2023 coup, has been released and has gone to Angola with his family, the Angolan presidency said Friday. Bongo, whose family ruled oil-rich Gabon for 55 years, had been under house arrest in the capital Libreville since being overthrown in August 2023. His wife and son had also been in detention, accused of embezzling public funds. A statement on the Angolan presidency's Facebook page announcing the arrival of the Bongo family in the capital Luanda was accompanied by photographs showing the former leader being welcomed at an airport. The "Bongo family has been released and has just arrived in Luanda," it said. The release of the family followed talks between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and Gabon's new leader, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, the statement said, without elaborating. Lawyers for the Bongos in France said their release had been the "result of long efforts on both the judicial and diplomatic levels. "After 20 months of arbitrary and cruel detention accompanied by torture, the family is finally reunited around the former president Ali Bongo," they said in a statement. But a prosecutor in Libreville said Bongo's French-born wife Sylvia, 62, and son Noureddin, 33, had only been provisionally freed awaiting a trial for alleged embezzlement. Prosecutor Eddy Minang said the pair's release "does not in any way interrupt the normal course of the proceedings, which will continue until a fair, transparent, equitable and timely trial is held". 'BOW TO DEMANDS' Oligui, a former junta leader, seized power in the August 2023 coup that ended the 55-year rule of the Bongo dynasty. The general was sworn in earlier this month after winning 94.85% in an April 12 vote in which international observers signalled no major irregularities. Oligui's main rival, Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze, the last prime minister under Bongo, said the family's release demonstrated that their detention "did not respect the framework of law and justice. "President Oligui Nguema did not show clemency: he had to bow to international demands after what everyone understood to be an abuse of power," he said. Lawyers for Sylvia and Noureddin alleged they had suffered torture while in detention. Several Gabonese news media reported recently that they had been moved from cells in an annex of the presidency to a family residence in Libreville. 'REAL DISGRACE' A member of Gabon's transitional parliament, Geoffroy Foumboula Libeka, said the move of the family "in the middle of the night and in total silence" was "a real disgrace for the first days" of the new government. "Where is Gabon's sovereignty?" he asked on social media. The Bongo family's release, he said, was "the price to pay" for the country's reintegration into the African Union, which is currently headed by Angolan leader Lourenco. The African Union announced on April 30 that it had lifted sanctions against Gabon, which was suspended from the organisation following the coup. The country of 2.3 million people has endured high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, and heavy government debt despite its oil wealth. The Gabon presidency announced on social media on May 12 that Lourenco had met Oligui in Libreville for talks focused "on strengthening bilateral cooperation, the smooth running of democratic elections marking the end of the transition in Gabon". They also discussed the lifting of sanctions following Gabon's reintegration into the AU. Bongo, 66, who is suspected to be in poor health, came to power in 2009, taking over from his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who ruled for 41 years. In 2016, he was narrowly re-elected for a second term by a few thousand votes, beating opposition challenger Jean Ping after a campaign marred by bloody clashes and allegations of fraud. He suffered a stroke in October 2018 while on a visit to Saudi Arabia, and there was speculation about his health and fitness to govern when he returned home. His public appearances were rare, and the times when he spoke live outside the confines of the presidential palace were rarer still. Bongo ruled for 14 years until he was overthrown moments after being proclaimed the winner in a presidential election the army and opposition declared fraudulent.
