Gabon president Ali Bongo Ondimba on Thursday announced the appointment of Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda as the country’s new Prime Minister, reported Reuters.
Raponda becomes Gabon’s first female Prime Minister. Previously, she was Minister of National Defense in the current government since February 2019. She has a degree in Economics (Public Finance) from the Gabonese Institute of Economy and Finance.
Raponda became budget minister in 2012 and then the first female mayor of the capital Libreville in 2014, as a candidate for Bongo’s Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG).
The presidential spokesperson said the president had instructed her to form a new government to run the country’s affairs. The 56-year-old is the sixth prime minister appointed since Ali Bongo succeeded his father in 2009. She has succeeded Julien Nkoghe Bekale, who had been in the position since January 2019.
In a statement, the president’s office said the new prime minister’s mission will include “ensuring (Gabon’s) economic relaunch and necessary social support in the light of the world crisis linked to COVID-19”.
Raponda’s appointment comes at a time when Gabon is reeling through a health crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with an economic crisis linked to drops in oil prices, one of the main resources in the Central African country. Gabon has registered nearly 6,000 cases to date.
The new prime minister will also have to navigate a delicate political situation that was shaken up when President Bongo, 61, had a stroke in 2018, followed by a long medical leave abroad. During the time when Bondo was away for the medical treatment, the country was rocked by a brief attempted coup in January 2019.
Bongo’s recovery has been slow. The president, who hardly made any television appearances in recent months, reappeared in the media on Monday after several weeks of absence. He was pictured at a meeting of heads of the various branches of the armed forces and police.
