The prohibition on the export of timber was instigated to encourage the local wood transformation industry and enable the creation of a large number of qualified jobs, set up an innovative, leading edge industry and increase the vitality of the domestic economy. First examples of success…

The government of Gabon has given the wood industry three months to use up their stocks of wood on which the taxes and customs duties have already been paid.

Remember that the timber export ban announced on the 5th of November was instigated by president Ali Bongo Ondimba in order to encourage the local transformation of wood as part of the emergence of “Green Gabon” and “Industrial Gabon”, thereby enabling the creation of a large number of qualified jobs, the setting up of an innovative, leading edge industry and an increase in the vitality of the domestic economy.

In fact, almost all of the forestry production was exported in the form of timber. The law stipulated that 75% of timber should be transformed in Gabon by 2012: the analyses show that only 25 to 35% are transformed just two years from the deadline.


Measures adopted to meet the needs of the professionals

At a meeting with the governing Minister, Martin Mabala, on 5 February, the economic operators in the forestry industry were advised of the additional three month period for using up their stocks of wood, within the framework of the timber export ban. This decision should allow forestry operators to honour orders for timber for which the taxes and customs duties have already been paid.

The Gabonese authorities have estimated that it would have been “impossible to evacuate on 31 December 2009 more than 500,000 cubic metres of existing timber cut down before January 1st”. The SEPBG (Societé d’Exploitation des Parcs à Bois du Gabon) is therefore authorised to evacuate its stock to be found in the parks and/or ports in exchange for embarkation vouchers issued by the customs services.

The National Wood Company will benefit from an exceptional measure entitling it to the right to evacuate “its products destined for beneficiaries within a period of three months starting from this February”. However, this measure does not concern wood cut before 1st January.

The Prime Minister, Paul Biyoghé Mba, affirmed that Gabon should "immediately engage the industrialisation of the wood sector", and the timber export ban, decided upon in November, is the means to achieve this. […] "There will be accompanying measures on legislative, tax, customs and economic levels. The economic operators in the sector should be helped".


A promising future for the wood sector in Gabon and creators of qualified jobs

Minister Martin Mabala answered the concerns about the future of the wood industry in Gabon: "This week, there is the forest forum. On this occasion, we will review the forestry management situation and revive the discussions so that together, we can find common ground in order to look to the future with confidence."

On publication of the law on timber exports, president Ali Bongo Ondimba had furthermore announced that accompanying measures would be implemented to help the industrialists in the sector.

The commitment of the Gabonese government is on a par with the potential the forestry sector represents for the Gabonese economy. Remember that wood is the leading employer in the private sector, with approximately 15,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs, according to the ministry of Waters and Forests.

Beyond its apparent coercion, this law will encourage the transformation of Gabonese wood in situ and the development of exports of high value added finished and semi-finished products and will showcase the skills of the forestry operators and industrialists in valorising raw materials through an innovative, leading edge industry. This opens up new opportunities for the sector and for the country, giving it a head start on the countries in the Congo Basin by becoming the major wood transformation site in the subregion and therefore a potentially larger market.

The policy of Emergence conducted by president Ali Bongo Ondimba and his government in the wood sector will be a reference in the countries of the Congo Basin. The Emergence of Gabon will indirectly bring along the Emergence of Africa.


First examples of success

First example of success, Rougier, a French company which has three top ranking factories in Gabon, intends to place its knowledge of the wood sector and the creation of value added at the service of local transformation. This company has the major advantage of having obtained FSC certification in 2008, which allows it to sell its timber to local industrialists, responding to the increasing demand for certified products originating from sustainably managed forests.

The society Plysorol, manufacturer of plywood, also plans to adapt to the measure by equipping its Gabonese subsidiaries with machines for transforming the wood: "The decision of the Gabonese President is good news. We possess lathes over there and we shall continue to peel the wood in Gabon, which other players in the sector had not planned to do", announced François Wu, Chinese industrialist who took over the company in April 2009.

The export of high added-value products "made in Gabon" will be one of the concrete realisations of the emergence of "Green Gabon" and "Industrial Gabon" promised by president Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Legabon, 9 February 2010

At the 14th summit of the African Union opened on the 31 January in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Ali Bongo Ondimba affirmed to the Chinese press his wish to intensify bilateral exchanges between Libreville and Beijing...

China, a preferential partner of the continent since the beginning of the 2000s, has proven its advantages in terms of foreign trade and contributions of foreign capital.
Gabon has been able to crystallise these advantages and maximise them for its economic development. A precursor of this Chinese opening in Africa, in 2005 the government of Gabon celebrated 35 years of its alliance with the Far East.
On the strength of this long and fruitful cooperation initiated under the presidency of his father, the late Omar Bongo Ondimba, President Ali Bongo Ondimba has not ceased to showcase this economic partnership.

At the 14th summit of the African Union opened on 31 January in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Ali Bongo Ondimba affirmed to the Chinese press his wish to intensify bilateral exchanges between Libreville and Beijing: "Over the past few years, China, has constituted one of Africa's most powerful partners.(…) We are convinced that this partnership should be consolidated", stated the current president, who feels that "Africa needs China and China needs Africa".
This is demonstrated by the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries which was multiplied by four between 2005 and 2008 to reach US$1.93 billion.

With a concern to prioritise the development of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and aware of the positive repercussions on the economic and social fabric of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba highlights the partnership with China in order to bridge the digital divide in Gabon by 2016.
"The ICT sector is very important for (…) I am convinced that the development of Africa cannot be achieved if we do not possess the appropriate tools, which include ICT" explained Ali Bongo Ondimba.
The role of China in the economic development of Gabon should therefore be intensified in the near future.

The flagship project of Sino-Gabonese cooperation, the exploitation of the Belinga iron ore deposit, will be a good test to assess the solidity of the partnership over the long term. In fact, the new government of Gabon has decided that it may be necessary to renegotiate the contract.

To find out more: NICT: The minister of Communication undertakes to introduce the Gabonese people to ICT NICT: Agreement between the ECA and Microsoft for the development of ICT

Legabon.org, 5 February 2010

On 1st February, Microsoft and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) signed an agreement aimed at boosting the African economy by means of ICT...

From 31 January to 2 February, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, was Internet-ready.
In fact, at the 14th summit of the African Union, the African chiefs of State were united around a promising topic of innovation: "Information and communication Technology: challenges and perspectives for development".
The promotion of ICT in Africa is the keystone for all of the African leaders. As part of this move towards connectivity, the ECA and Microsoft signed an agreement for the promotion and development of Technologies and communication across the African continent. Microsoft's explicit commitment in this approach will favour the implementation of a digital administration for the African continent.
"Technology is a tool capable of stimulating the competitiveness of foreign investments as well as growth on the African continent," according to Abdoulie Janneh, the executive secretary of the ECA.
The new technologies therefore appear to be the cornerstone for activating the economic development potentialities in Africa.

Gabon, through President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his "Emerging Gabon" project, is involved in this continental determination, to the extent of even anticipating it.

Witness the memorandum of understanding on the digital economy signed on 3 December in Libreville by Microsoft and the government of Gabon. Gabon therefore has a few Gigabytes of a lead: the government of Gabon has already scheduled the deployment of fibre optics on Port-Gentil.
Concerned to provide access to the new technologies to the greatest number, the teams of the Gabonese Minister for Communication, Postal services and the Digital economy, Laure Olga Gondjout, are already working on the costs of access, which are deemed too expensive by the people of Gabon.

For President Ali Bongo Ondimba, the implementation of broadband infrastructures represents inalienable support for economic development. The NICT are inherent to the good governance of Gabon.

Find out more: Partnership between the Gabonese government and Microsoft to develop the digital economy

Legabon.org, 5 February 2010

At the end of the 14th AU summit on the subject of "Information and Communication Technologies in Africa", the Minister for Communication and the digital Economy, Laure Olga Gondjout, specified that her department will make sure it procures the requisite means to deploy information and communication technologies all over the country...

The development of broadband Internet connections is one of the demands of the “Emerging Gabon” project carried by President Ali Bongo Ondimba, which will contribute to the country's global economic development.
At the end of the 14th African Union (AU) summit on the subject of "Information and Communication Technologies in Africa", the Minister for Communication, Postal services and the digital Economy, Laure Olga Gondjout, reaffirmed her determination to introduce the Gabonese people to information and communication technologies (ICT).
Also, the minister specified that her department would procure for itself the requisite means to deploy information and communication technologies all over the country.

As you already know, among the major ICT projects of 2010 features the deployment of fibre optics from Libreville to Mayumba with a loop on Port-Gentil. The Minister reminded us that "the President of the Republic, within the framework of "Tertiary Gabon", places capital importance on the creation of the Mandji Island free trade zone of Port-Gentil". The government intends to maximise the potential of this free trade zone by anticipation.
In the second instance, the minister revealed that the second loop would provide a better connection for the oil companies in the Gamba region, another centre for economic development situated in the south of Nyanga province. For the moment, this is a prospective approach.

Laure Olga Gondjout also broached the subject of the cost of Internet access, considered too high by the entire population of Gabon, affirming that "at the moment the various operators are examining the question of how to democratise the use of these new technologies".
In mid February Libreville will host the digital economy trade fair.
Spokesperson for President Ali Bongo Ondimba's policy, the minister clearly wishes that training and information about the new technologies shall encompass the different sectors of the economy.

Legabon, 3 February 2010