
On April 20, 2026, in Libreville, Gabon signed an agreement with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC to implement a Container and Passenger Control Program CPCP. The initiative aims to enhance border security, combat illicit trafficking, and boost the country's economic attractiveness. The agreement was co-signed by Marc Abeghe, Minister Delegate for Economy and Finance in charge of the Budget, Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, Minister of State for Transport, and Adrien Nguema Mba, Minister of Interior. The CPCP focuses on strengthening port and airport security, particularly in response to increasing transnational trafficking. The program includes establishing mixed control units in strategic infrastructures, with the first already being deployed at the port of Owendo. Beyond security, this system is expected to generate significant economic benefits by improving the detection of illicit goods and streamlining controls, thereby securing logistical chains and facilitating legal trade. The professionalization of agents through enhanced risk analysis and concealment detection training is also a key component. The agreement will foster real-time intelligence sharing with regional and international partners, improving intervention effectiveness and flow traceability. Marc Abeghe stated that this agreement reflects the government's commitment to international cooperation and coordination, aligning with President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema's vision for a competitive and
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Gabon Review.
Must ReadThe Campus Mbongui, an international summer school, will officially open on July 24 in Libreville, focusing on languages, indigenous knowledge, and ecology. Organized by the "Bantuphonie: endangered languages, indigenous knowledge and biodiversity" BLSB network, a UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs program established in 2018 at Omar Bongo University, in partnership with the ECCAS Commission, the event brings together eleven countries, forty young researchers, and twenty international experts. The initiative challenges conventional conservation strategies by asserting that local languages and the ecological knowledge they embody are crucial for preserving biodiversity. The scientific framework involves four universities: Omar Bongo in Gabon, Yaound茅 I in Cameroon, Marien Ngouabi in Congo, and Lumi猫re Lyon 2 in France. Professor Patrick Mouguiama-Daouda, director of the Language, Culture and Cognition laboratory, coordinates the international effort. From July 27 to August 8, participants will engage in academic sessions and field immersions across the Congo Basin, exploring biocultural approaches, the interface between human and life sciences, and traditional ecological practices with local communities. Organizers emphasize that indigenous knowledge systems are dynamic and holistic, and ignoring them means losing a key to understanding ecosystems and ensuring sustainable biodiversity preservation. This approach also contributes to scientific sovereignty for sub-regional states as they neg

During an official visit to Paris, Gabon's President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema met with leaders of the Omega Consortium to explore innovative solutions for improving access to drinking water and electricity in Gabon. This meeting aligns with the Gabonese authorities' goal to accelerate the modernization of energy and hydraulic infrastructure, which are considered national priorities. The Omega Consortium, specializing in energy and hydraulic infrastructure development, discussed potential collaborations. Kwaku Boakye, Director General of the Omega Consortium, stated that they proposed direct impact solutions to alleviate Gabon's energy challenges in the short, medium, and long term. These proposals involve a program combining financial investments and restructuring the energy sector, including the construction of gas pipelines or transmission lines and debt restructuring. The Omega Consortium, with experience in several African countries, aims to contribute its expertise to strengthen production capacities, modernize transport and distribution networks, and enhance service quality for the population.
Must ReadA long-standing dispute between Cameroon's Caisse des d茅p么ts et consignations CDEC and the Central African Banking Commission COBAC has escalated from technocratic meetings to academic debate. The conflict centers on COBAC's claim to organize and supervise the sovereign public service of deposits and consignments, a claim solidified by two regulations adopted in July 2025. Richard Evina Obam, Director General of CDEC, offers a legal perspective, countering political scientist Guy Mvelle's concerns about Cameroon's international isolation. Obam argues that COBAC's actions ignore the principle of attribution, disrupt the hierarchy of norms, disregard the principle of parallelism of forms, and incorrectly classify dormant assets as banking operations. He warns that the issue extends beyond Cameroon, potentially discrediting the entire CEMAC region internationally. Obam highlights several critical legal violations. First, he asserts a flagrant violation of the principle of attribution in community law, stating that CEMAC's primary legal texts do not transfer the sovereign public service of deposits and consignments to the community. Second, he points to a manifest transgression of the primacy of primary law over derived law, citing two COBAC-initiated regulations adopted in July 2025 that he claims violate established competency rules. Third, he identifies a serious infringement of the principle of parallelism of forms, arguing that COBAC is attempting to unilaterally modify Arti