Raymond Ndong Sima

Raymond Ndong Sima
Prime Minister of Gabon
In office 27 February 2012 – 27 January 2014
President	Ali Bongo Ondimba
Preceded by	Paul Biyoghé Mba
Succeeded by	Daniel Ona Ondo
Personal details
Born	23 January 1955 Oyem, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon)
Political party	PDG (until 2015)
Alma mater	Paris 13 University Paris Dauphine University

Raymond Ndong Sima (born 23 January 1955^[1]) is a Gabonese politician who was Prime Minister of Gabon from February 2012 to January 2014.

Career

Ndong Sima was born in Oyem, located in the north of Gabon, and studied in France.^[1] He was appointed to the cabinet of the Minister of Planning and the Economy in 1986, where he was assigned responsibility for structural adjustment and relations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In 1992, he was appointed as Director-General of the Economy; he remained in that post, while simultaneously retaining responsibility for structural adjustment, until 1994. He then worked as Director-General of Hévégab, a state-owned rubber company, from 1994 to 1998.^[1][2]

Ndong Sima was appointed to the government as Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development on 17 October 2009.^[3][4]

In the December 2011 parliamentary election, in which the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) won an overwhelming majority of seats, Ndong Sima was elected to the National Assembly as a candidate in Kyé, located in Woleu-Ntem Province.^[5]

Prime Minister Paul Biyoghe Mba resigned on 13 February 2012. President Ali Bongo then appointed Ndong Sima as Prime Minister on 27 February 2012. His appointment was considered noteworthy in that traditionally the post of Prime Minister was given to an ethnic Fang from Estuaire Province, while Ndong Sima was from Woleu-Ntem Province in the north—although he was also a Fang.^[6] Prior to his appointment, Ndong Sima had not been considered a particularly important figure on the political scene.^[5]

Ndong Sima served as Prime Minister for nearly two years. Following local elections in December 2013, President Bongo appointed Daniel Ona Ondo to replace Ndong Sima on 24 January 2014.^[7] Ona Ondo took office at a handover ceremony with Ndong Sima on 27 January.^[8]

In July 2015, Ndong Sima quit the PDG, complaining that the party was not open to criticism and different points of view. He also criticized the government's handling of finances since he left office.^[9] PDG Secretary-General Faustin Boukoubi responded that Ndong Sima was an opportunist and insisted that the PDG was internally democratic.^[10]

References

1. "Raymond Ndong Sima : un homme d'action", GabonEco, 29 February 2012 (French).
2. Gérald Mounomby, "Les deux vies de Raymond Ndong Sima", Business Gabon, 8 May 2008 (French).
3. "Gabon : Le premier gouvernement du septennat d’Ali Bongo", GabonEco, 17 October 2009 (French).
4. Yorick Kombila Manfoumby, "Gabon: « Le ministère de l'Agriculture est un département sectoriel qui contribue significativement à la croissance », Raymond Ndong Sima", Gabonews, 18 October 2009 (French).
5. Georges Dougueli, "Gabon : Ndong Sima, un Premier ministre qu'on n'attendait pas", Jeune Afrique, 7 March 2012 (French).
6. "Gabon: Ali Bongo nomme un natif du nord, Ndong Sima, premier ministre", Agence France-Presse, 27 February 2012 (French).
7. "Gabon's president names new PM after local elections", Agence France-Presse, 24 January 2014 (French).
8. "Daniel Ona Ondo a pris ses fonction", Gabonews, 27 January 2014 (French).
9. "Gabon: Raymond Ndong Sima claque la porte du parti au pouvoir", Radio France Internationale, 3 July 2015 (French).
10. "Gabon: le parti d’Ali Bongo récuse un manque de démocratie interne", Radio France Internationale, 4 July 2015 (French).