On 15 January 2025, Interim President Oligui Nguema moved economy minister Mays Mouissi from his current post to the post of Minister of Environment and Climate. The decision occurred just a day after the World Bank announced it has suspended its disbursements to Gabon due to the government’s non-payment of debt arrears amounting to USD 27 million.
The change in economy minister signals the government’s struggles to tackle growing fiscal and debt crisis. The World Bank’s suspension of its disbursement is likely to erode investor confidence, further restricting Gabon’s access to the regional and international financial markets. This means Gabon’s economic woes and its debt repayment capacity will worsen.
The worsening economic and sovereign debt crisis will have negative consequences across various sectors of the economy. The government and state-owned companies will struggle to honor their debt obligations towards private companies. The negative economic outlook also increases the risk of the government adopting new measures aimed at extracting more money from businesses (such as the introduction of increased or new taxes, harsher local contact provisions or larger state participation in projects…). Strained state finances likely mean less public investment in social services and infrastructure, key pledges military junta made when it had seized power in August 2023. A lack of improvement in living conditions threatens to trigger protests and strikes, disrupting business operations.