With the recent death of President Omar Bongo, Gabon faces a stark choice between a legacy of corruption and a new chance to give citizens a role in the management of its natural resources. During Bongo's four decades in office, most of Gabon's oil wealth enriched an elite group of his friends and family, while the rest of its people have remained extremely poor.

Though Gabon has endorsed the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), its adherence to the fundamental EITI principle of civil society inclusion has been woefully inadequate. The January arrests of several transparency activists exemplify a longstanding pattern of official harassment against those who have called for more transparency and accountability in the management of Gabon's oil and mining sectors.

Fears abound that the current political transition will conclude with the installation of another Bongo ally or family member without proper elections. But this moment represents a chance for Gabon's leaders and the international community to replace cronyism with accountability and cooperation between government and civil society on issues of natural resource management.

The need for change is especially urgent because Gabon's oil reserves are finite. Oil production has dropped 30% since 2000, while leaders have allowed the non-oil industries to remain underdeveloped, further exposing the national economy to an increasingly volatile natural resources market.

If the post-Bongo Gabon is to avoid even greater damage from the "resource curse," leaders must commit to oil industry transparency. At the same time, France, a close partner to Gabon, must exert its diplomatic and economic influence to hold Gabon to the same standards of disclosure and accountability recently declared by the Sarkozy government for its own practices.

LEARN MORE ABOUT GABON

• Revenue Watch Institute Applauds Gabonese Activist Marc Ona for International Environmental Prize | Français
• Gabon's Harassment of Transparency Advocates Continues
• U.S. Congress Condemns Arrest and Detention of Anti-Corruption Advocates in Gabon
• Gabon: PWYP Calls on Gabon to Drop All Charges Against Released Activists

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EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES

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