Gabon’s President Ali Bongo has sacked his vice-president and his forestry minister amid a timber-smuggling scandal.
No reason was given for the sackings but it comes after 300 containers of kevazingo wood – which is illegal to export – were discovered at a port.
There is demand for the wood in Asia where it is used to make furniture.
Nearly two-thirds of Gabon is covered in forests and the timber industry is important for the country’s economy.
What is so special about the wood?
Kevazingo, which is better known as bubinga or guibourtia, is a reddish type of wood found in West Africa.
Some trees in Gabon are more than 500 years old and they can be considered sacred by local people.
But timber from kevazingo is highly valued in parts of Asia, where it is used to make high-end furniture and music instruments.
The government banned the export of kevazingo in 2018 in an effort to protect the country’s resources.
How much wood went missing?
Last month, more than 350 containers of the precious timber were discovered at the port of Owendo, outside the capital, Libreville, ready to be exported.
They were found in depots belonging to Chinese companies, falsely labelled, allegedly with the forestry ministry label.
Then the containers mysteriously disappeared.
About 200 of them have since been recovered.
It is not clear how much the missing wood was worth.
Reuters news agency says it had a street value of $250m (£200m) but the prosecutor running the case, Olivier Nzaou, said he couldn’t comment because it was an ongoing investigation.
What does this mean for Gabon?
The authorities have vowed to pursue those responsible in an investigation known as “kevazingogate”.
The dismissal of Vice-President Pierre Claver Maganga Moussavou and Forestry Minister Guy Bertrand Mapangou are believed to be linked to this investigation, although no official reason for their sackings, or details on their alleged involvement, were given.
Some 13 other officials were suspended last week and a Chinese businessman was named as the mastermind behind the illegal operation.
In recent days, there had been calls for Mr Mapangou to resign.
A document which appeared to bear his signature – authorising a Chinese company to export the containers – had been circulating online.
He said it was a fake document and has denied any involvement in the scandal.
Some observers in Gabon suggest that the real reason for Mr Maganga Moussavou’s sacking could have been his ambition.
When President Ali Bongo was recovering from a stroke last year, Mr Maganga Moussavou is said to have expressed the desire to take on more responsibilities.
He has not commented on the timber scandal.
President Bongo, now back in the front seat, has signalled he intends to take a strong stand and pursue this investigation.
[9:01 AM, 5/23/2019] Akweley Dg: Ghana To Extend Passport Services To 12 Cities
BY Melvin Tarlue
GHANA IS planning to extend passport services to its citizens in 12 cities around the world.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, made this known to the media on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, in Accra.
According to her, “in the medium term, the Ministry has earmarked Missions in the following Capitals for the extension of the biometric passport service: The Hague, Moscow, Paris, Oslo and Brussels in Europe; Beijing and Riyadh in Asia and the Middle East respectively; Addis Ababa, Rabat and Dakar in Africa; Brasilia in South America as well as Canberra in the Pacific.”
In the long term, she noted, all Ghana Missions abroad would be made to process biometric passports with regional printing hubs located in various regions.
The Minister explained that the Ghanaian diaspora has not been left out in the extension of passport services.
She indicated that “six Ghana Diplomatic Missions abroad currently issue biometric passports to Ghanaians in their respective jurisdictions including countries of concurrent accreditation.”
“The Missions”, she noted, “are London, Berlin, Washington DC, New York, Pretoria and Abuja.”
Online Applications
The Minister, however, complained of fraudulent activities in the acquisition of passports domestically.
She said “people took advantage of the shortage of forms to sell fake forms to the unsuspecting public.”
To address these incidents, she indicated, “the Ministry introduced the PDF format of the form online for all applicants to download and complete.”
According to her, the Ministry also made it possible for payment to be made online using mobile money and visa cards.
She added that this process has helped to eliminate middlemen who took advantage of the shortage of forms to swindle the public.
She explained that the second method of application is online, where applicants complete the passport forms and submit them online.
The challenge with this method, she said, was that the service was available only in Accra mainly due to data hosting challenges associated with internet services.
According to her, “I am happy to inform you that the Ministry has overcome these challenges and has rolled out online application facilities at three PACs – in Koforidua, Tema and VFS PACs – on experimental basis.”
She added that “should we not encounter any internet challenges, the Ministry intends to roll-out online applications nationwide by the second half of the year, with the ultimate objective of phasing out the manual form of application by October this year.”
The online application format, she disclosed, “has the unique advantage of allowing applicants to choose the date and time convenient for them to present themselves at the PACs for their biometrics to be captured.”
-BBC