Gabon, a small previously oil-rich country in Central Africa, needs some income. Having flittered away it's oil money on bureaucratic diners, the country is attempting to revamp itself as a holiday spot. But with lacking infrastructure and inhospitable neighbors, Gabon is not a prime tourist destination and finds itself needing some quick cash to buoy the economy.
Instead it's finding its forests overrun with Chinese prospectors instead of tourists. Chinese strategic interest in African resources is nothing new, but Gabon was once a reason for hope in Africa's dismal resource management record.
1 comment:
Guess what! People have been arbitrarily arrested and illegally detained in Libreville for saying just that. Oil money's been squandered, now they've turned to the forests, and the iron ore up in the northeast. They won't stop until everything is depleted, then Gabon will become just another HIPC.
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