Questions linger regarding the fate of the recommendations from the inclusive national dialogue held in Libreville from April 2nd to 30th. Have these recommendations become moot, or are they simply languishing in drawers more than a month later? To address these concerns, Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima held a press conference on Tuesday, June 18, in Libreville, acknowledging the lack of significant progress in implementing the recommendations.
While there were no groundbreaking announcements, Prime Minister Ndong Sima reassured Gabonese citizens that his government is committed to applying all the recommendations from the inclusive national dialogue. He emphasized the enormity of the task and outlined his approach to the work ahead.
Implementing the 1,000 recommendations from the dialogue requires 2,100 actions, including issuing orders, and decrees, and particularly initiating legislative projects. Ndong Sima underscored that the full implementation of these recommendations would not be possible before the constitutional referendum, which aims to adopt a new Constitution for Gabon.
“To fully account for the dialogue’s recommendations, constitutional changes are necessary. Additionally, I remind you that the referendum could result in either a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ vote,” stated Prime Minister Ndong Sima.
The constitutional referendum is scheduled to take place before the end of December. Its organization presents a significant challenge, as the dialogue recommended suspending all political parties and tasked the Ministry of the Interior with overseeing the elections. These recommendations have met with considerable opposition from political parties.