Another Coup in Africa: What is the economic effect?

[Argoo]

Military coups are almost always accompanied by violence against civilians and chaos in the country. If, after a short time, the military hands power over to a civilian government that respects democratic principles, then further economic progress is quite possible. If power remains in the hands of the military, it usually turns into a military dictatorship with all the ensuing consequences. External forces are certainly at work in Gabon, and it is difficult to predict anything here. But it looks like things are going to be pretty bleak.

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[Spaceman1000$]

This particular coup shows that, there is leadership failure in the country of Gabon. First during the just concluded elections, the internet space of Gabon was shutdown, just so that the deposed president Ali Bongo can easily manipulate the results and the world won't see it, because I'm sure the citizens where ready to upload those irregularities on social media.
Funny enough, the president is going for a third tenure even as he is suffering from partial stroke.
I feel the military was patiently waiting for the elections to be over before unleashing whatever they have in mind, with the hope that the president will conduct a free and fair elections.

I cannot apportion blame on France, the Gabonese leaders are the ones selling out the country to anybody, if the countries leader stand their ground and say, they won't accept some the offers been thrown at them by their colonial masters, then we won't have been here calling names.
The African continent should start fighting to make sure, they elect leaders that have the interest of their people first, before the interest of any other country.

[DrBeer]

Sincerely, it is still unclear why the sudden rise of coup in an oil rich country like Gabon.  Other African countries have their problems already, but the reason for this happen to be the long tenure of the head of state.

If you follow up on the news , you will notice how joyous the citizens are, meaning they gave consent and are okay with the result.
Cameroon also has a long sitting head of state who infact resides in France from where he rules. Let's not pray the military rises up and holds a coup too.

The impact of this coup on the economy is the fact that international aids and relief packages from a country like America, some foreign ties will be severed and some investors will have to cease operations in the region. Also, the said pipe line that was to go through the region may have to pause too.
In such situations is where such countries adopt the BRICS currency to trade internationally and export as well as import products seamlessly.

The purpose of these coups, I will separately highlight - CONTROLLED, is DESTABILIZATION. Now huge forces of the whole world are thrown to fight the new brown plague of the 21st century - Rashism. And the carriers of Rashism do not like it. Sabotage in the EU - did not pass, sanctions are pressing ... There is only one way out - it is necessary to "divert" attention, and ideally - to influence the key players in the anti-Putin coalition. For example, France. And preferably the entire EU.  I wrote about a year or two ago - expect active provocations in Africa, expect provocations and attempts to destabilize the borders of the anti-Putin coalition countries, prepare for terrorist attacks - you are dealing with an international terrorist country. But some countries have chosen the position - let's negotiate, let's sign agreements with terrorists. You cannot communicate with terrorists. But the understanding of this comes late, and now for 2--5-10 years some African countries are waiting for very difficult times....

[Lucius]

~snip~
But some countries have chosen the position - let's negotiate, let's sign agreements with terrorists. You cannot communicate with terrorists. But the understanding of this comes late, and now for 2--5-10 years some African countries are waiting for very difficult times....

The saying "We do not negotiate with terrorists" is well-known, but I think that after the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, it became completely meaningless, considering that the terrorists became good guys literally overnight. Even your president is starting to change his rhetoric a bit when he talks about possible political negotiations with a "terrorist state" when the conditions are met, referring to successes in the military field.

If we take into account the number of people who die in this war, negotiations are something that is logical and humane, but on the other hand, until the Ukrainian soldier stands on every meter of Ukraine and drives away the occupiers, we cannot say that Ukraine has succeeded.

Africa has always been exploited in the past, and this is the case even now, only Europe may not do that anymore, but Russia will take the main role - and the people who live there obviously do not understand that they must free themselves from all foreign influences if they finally want to start living as the rest of the world.

[kryptqnick]

I'm really sorry for people who happen to live in such unstable countries and regions that are prone to coups. I don't think a military takeover is normally a positive thing, but they had pretty much a dynastic rule in that country, it seems, and this coup is a chance of a change. As it's a small country with a population of less than 3 million people, I don't think it'll have any economic impact on the world. As for Gabon itself, it is strongly reliant on France, so if France decides to stop trading with the country following the coup, and if Gabon loses international aid, the impact can be very negative. I know it's a bad thing that they're reliant on their former colonizer, but transitioning from that reliance to something different can take time, and a sudden cut-off can be devastating.

[DrBeer]

The saying "We do not negotiate with terrorists" is well-known, but I think that after the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, it became completely meaningless, considering that the terrorists became good guys literally overnight. Even your president is starting to change his rhetoric a bit when he talks about possible political negotiations with a "terrorist state" when the conditions are met, referring to successes in the military field.

If we take into account the number of people who die in this war, negotiations are something that is logical and humane, but on the other hand, until the Ukrainian soldier stands on every meter of Ukraine and drives away the occupiers, we cannot say that Ukraine has succeeded.

Africa has always been exploited in the past, and this is the case even now, only Europe may not do that anymore, but Russia will take the main role - and the people who live there obviously do not understand that they must free themselves from all foreign influences if they finally want to start living as the rest of the world.

You do not quite understand what the "Russian world" is. Terrorism is a part. Moreover, this is the "womb" of all world terrorism. And in this case, there can be no negotiations ...
The second feature of the "Russian world" is total lies and deceit. Russia does not fulfill any treaty if it suddenly stops liking it. Moreover, it will openly lie - and we comply. It was like with my Ukraine, where an agreement on "brotherhood and friendship" was signed between Ukraine and Russia, and Russia signed an obligation to respect and maintain the integrity of the borders of Ukraine ... And it was the agreements, instead of preparing to protect the state from a crazy neighbor, that led to such huge victims in Ukraine from rashism.

The African countries are also waiting, which will "sign the treaties." At first, they will be deceived quietly and accurately, and then they will cynically steal, kill, capture, and say that "this is NATO, they provoked us, the United States is to blame for everything...." and other propaganda nonsense

Do not repeat such mistakes - save your countries, your citizens, your cities ....

[Fiatless]

What would have happened if the "West" did not entered these countries and not provided jobs for millions of people? Would they have had the latest technologies (Cars / cellphones / TVs .....) if the developed countries did not use those raw minerals?

It is sad to see all that suffering and how the citizens are exploited by their own leaders. 

It is a known fact that the Europeans have contributed to the economic development of Africa. Without them, many resources in Africa would have been untapped and redundant. But they should do more because we have passed the years of colonialism and economic exploration. We know Europe is helping Africa to exploit their natural resources but they should all go a step further by building industries in Africa. Africa shouldn't only be treated as a raw material mine but Europeans can help to industrialize Africa. If Africa is empowered to produce raw materials and finished goods, more jobs with be created and the number of illegal immigrants will reduce.

European companies and politicians should not assist corrupt African leaders in stealing the commonwealth of Africans. Most of these leaders keep stolen wealth in European banks and they are shielded from persecution. An investigation into the money laundering and stealing against the Bongo family was dropped in France because of lack of evidence. I guess it was dropped for political patronage. Europe can help Africa limit corruption if they show a little commitment. 

[Mate2237]

Military coups are almost always accompanied by violence against civilians and chaos in the country. If, after a short time, the military hands power over to a civilian government that respects democratic principles, then further economic progress is quite possible. If power remains in the hands of the military, it usually turns into a military dictatorship with all the ensuing consequences. External forces are certainly at work in Gabon, and it is difficult to predict anything here. But it looks like things are going to be pretty bleak.

Military can't take over power without without violent. I just thank God all the recent coups in Africa, I didn't hear any killing though it might be but I have not heard because that is one thing they normally do to over power the security of the civilian government. They killed all the top corrupt politicians. And one thing I also discovered from this recent happenings, the citizens of the countries are more happier when the military take over power. And that is to show the level of leadership failure in Africa.

But one thing the citizens must know that, military government can't do anything like the civilian government which they were suffering. The military government is there for their own interest and not for the citizens interest. So the civilian government is still much more better than the military regime.

[Yogee]

[.....]
Africa shouldn't only be treated as a raw material mine but Europeans can help to industrialize Africa. If Africa is empowered to produce raw materials and finished goods, more jobs with be created and the number of illegal immigrants will reduce.

This is the best case scenario - extract the resources then process within the country and sell the product to France and other countries. It's probably more profitable that way but the problem is that the newly installed military leaders can't just nullify signed agreements with companies without any repercussions. Maybe they can renegotiate and add terms that will give the Gabon government more leverage.

[Lucius]

You do not quite understand what the "Russian world" is. Terrorism is a part. Moreover, this is the "womb" of all world terrorism. And in this case, there can be no negotiations ...
The second feature of the "Russian world" is total lies and deceit. Russia does not fulfill any treaty if it suddenly stops liking it. Moreover, it will openly lie - and we comply.
~snip~

I understand that phrase very well, because I felt on my skin what the phrase "Serbian world" meant when they tried to create a Greater Serbia in 1991, and they partially succeeded in that by occupying 49% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which today is practically part of Serbia, although still not formally on paper.

If you look at what happened then in the area of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, you will see that Russian tactics are almost identical to Serbia's, whether it is the political or military action of both countries towards their neighbors.

What happened in my country should never happen in Ukraine, namely that 99% of all crimes were amnestied, and that war reparations were never paid, and that those who participated in the worst crimes became part of society. That's why I said that real peace and justice can only be achieved if you drive away the aggressors by military means, but for that you will have to pay the highest possible price.

[justdimin]

Like a system global economy is interdependent and interconnected and dysfunctioning in a a country can affect the global economy. Have you considered why the price of cereal has been going up recently?

Do not compare Gabon to Ukraine. Ukraine was invaded and there was war. It is different from what is happening to Gabon.

We do not know what Gabon military will do, they may lead the country well or not. But I just know that Africa is Africa, be it military or civilian, I am not expecting much good delivery.

I agree, I do not think that there will be that much of a big change in the end result as people may expect. Not in a good way or not even in a bad way, it happens in Africa all the time and that's why it's like this right now. Gabon wasn't some advanced high tech nation that was rich, it was a poor nation and it will stay a poor nation and nothing will change.

Regular people may end up with some more banned stuff and all that, but that doesn't mean their life was any better before, they were poor and starving before the coup, and they will be poor and starving after the coup as well. I think that should be the important thing, unless something fundamentally changes, that's not going to be really that important.

[Mpamaegbu]

What's happening in Africa now is long overdue. In fact, it's coming a bit late than it should've happened. The poverty and anger on the continent of Africa is such a one that is very rare. Political leaders who steal our collective patrimony continually dare us to do our worse, forgetting that they're in the minority. This tide of coup d'etat that's sweeping across nations in Africa and causing corrupt presidents to panic has been well received by the citizens of those country. We saw how Nigeriens took to the streets to celebrate the ousting of a so-called democracy. It's the same thing we saw too in Gabon, of Gabonese in full celebration of the overthrow of Ali Bongo and ending his family reign of over five decades. There are speculations that this coup could spread to other neighbouring countries like Cameroon and Nigeria with the type of undemocratic leadership going on in those two countries.

[DrBeer]

You do not quite understand what the "Russian world" is. Terrorism is a part. Moreover, this is the "womb" of all world terrorism. And in this case, there can be no negotiations ...
The second feature of the "Russian world" is total lies and deceit. Russia does not fulfill any treaty if it suddenly stops liking it. Moreover, it will openly lie - and we comply.
~snip~

I understand that phrase very well, because I felt on my skin what the phrase "Serbian world" meant when they tried to create a Greater Serbia in 1991, and they partially succeeded in that by occupying 49% of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which today is practically part of Serbia, although still not formally on paper.

If you look at what happened then in the area of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, you will see that Russian tactics are almost identical to Serbia's, whether it is the political or military action of both countries towards their neighbors.

What happened in my country should never happen in Ukraine, namely that 99% of all crimes were amnestied, and that war reparations were never paid, and that those who participated in the worst crimes became part of society. That's why I said that real peace and justice can only be achieved if you drive away the aggressors by military means, but for that you will have to pay the highest possible price.

Such crimes must not be repeated. But unfortunately we have to accept the reality - international corruption, corrupt presidents, corrupt and sometimes criminal "international humanitarian organizations" and so on. Therefore, the world must reorganize and adapt to such events and learn to effectively resist "hybrid" wars, state terrorism - both military and economic, provocations.
Unfortunately, many countries and alliances, in this situation pretend that it does not concern them, and the interests of the economy, and often PERSONAL interests, above the tragedy that such regimes bear....
Therefore, I would recommend African countries not to have relations with such regimes, it will end badly, although they will tell and promise very nicely.
 
PS I am very sorry that you had to live through such events....

[moneystery]

quite sure that the coup d'état that occurred in several countries in africa was an action based on the reason that they wanted to break away from the colonial influence of the past and the influence of external parties who incited them to carry out attacks on legitimate government for various reasons. coupled with the unstable global geo-political conditions and the increasingly strong influence of russia and china in the african region, this will trigger military rebellions against governments in various countries in africa that still have links with european countries.

actually what the military was doing was quite reasonable, because most governments in africa were still tied to their colonial countries and there was no equality in the economy to their people. however, if the coup d'état occurs repeatedly, it will hamper economic growth in the african region and it might make poverty even worse there.

moreover, russia and china are the same countries as america and europe who only want to exploit africa's natural resources, but perhaps their approach is more humane and there are big benefits that russia and china can give to these african countries. hopefully these military leaders can bring better solutions to their country and can pay good attention to improving the economy for the welfare of their people.

[Silberman]

Military coups are almost always accompanied by violence against civilians and chaos in the country. If, after a short time, the military hands power over to a civilian government that respects democratic principles, then further economic progress is quite possible. If power remains in the hands of the military, it usually turns into a military dictatorship with all the ensuing consequences. External forces are certainly at work in Gabon, and it is difficult to predict anything here. But it looks like things are going to be pretty bleak.

It is unlikely the military is going to give up their power just after they got it, and if this coup is the result of external interference then this is even more unlikely, as that external party will not want the same to happen and for Gabon to then move in the opposite direction and cooperate with their political enemies, and like always the average citizen is trapped right in the middle without any say or way to influence those events and they have no other option but to navigate them as well as they can.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Military coups are almost always accompanied by violence against civilians and chaos in the country. If, after a short time, the military hands power over to a civilian government that respects democratic principles, then further economic progress is quite possible. If power remains in the hands of the military, it usually turns into a military dictatorship with all the ensuing consequences. External forces are certainly at work in Gabon, and it is difficult to predict anything here. But it looks like things are going to be pretty bleak.

Some of the African countries are taking lead to show display in the way of how they were been governed by their elected leaders, which means what the people expects is in opposite direction of what is happening with them, we don't know which country is next in line for another coup since they seemed to have all gone silenced for long over the hardship the innocent people were passing through and their leaders aren't doing anything about it, but are the military taking over too to give the expected change instead of constituting more nuisance.

[be.open]

Like a system global economy is interdependent and interconnected and dysfunctioning in a a country can affect the global economy. Have you considered why the price of cereal has been going up recently?

Do not compare Gabon to Ukraine. Ukraine was invaded and there was war. It is different from what is happening to Gabon.

We do not know what Gabon military will do, they may lead the country well or not. But I just know that Africa is Africa, be it military or civilian, I am not expecting much good delivery.

Why not compare Gabon with Ukraine? In Ukraine, in 2014, an anti-constitutional coup took place on the Maidan with the overthrow of the legally elected president. The current coups in Africa are made according to the same methodology of "color revolutions". Just because you don't see a direct analogy doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Huppercase]

Just early this morning some group of soldiers in Gabon declared that they had overthrown the democratically elected government in Gabon, Africa. President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been placed under house arrest and there are also celebrations on the streets of the capital  Libreville.

Some observers believe that these coups in these former French colonies like the Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger is to reduce France's economic influence in Africa. Gabon has the largest manganese mine in the world and it is controlled by the French mining group Eramet. Manganese is a major raw material used to produce steel and batteries. The company that employs about 8,000 workers has suspended its operation due to this coup. There have also been concerns about the continuity of uranium mining by French-based Orano after the coup in Niger. Niger supplies about controlled 15% of France’s uranium needs.

The argument from the citizens of these African countries is that France is only concerned about exploiting raw materials and doesn't care about the development of the local economy. Others are also stimulating  that these coups are sponsored by some external forces that want to replace France. What is the economic effect of the coup in Gabon on the global economy?

What are we going to call a country that says they practice Democratic government for decades and only 3 presidents have been elected in the country in the history of Gabonese. The father rule the country as the country government for 42 years and died without any achievement in the country, no welfare, decreased and worst standard of living, the number of poor homes is more than half the population of the country. As if we that was not the end, the son took over to rule for 14 years, is that a democracy or monarchy, it would have been better if it was a monarch system of government, they need that coup than anything mate.

African countries are power hungry, once they see power, they see it as a generation opportunity to leach, embezzle and steal without thinking about the people, they rather see citizens die than put citizens tax into good use. If you have been to Gabon to see how they are been coping with this family that have been ruling the country for years now, you will support the coup and provide the ammunition to send those guys out of the presidential for another fresh election.

You see the rate at which the coup has been around African countries, it's a going to be a signed and warning to other countries that have enslaved their citizens and corrupt officials into doing bad things, if they don't change in this short time and improve, believe me this coup will reach their country and they will be brought to justice with time.

[posi]

What would have happened if the "West" did not entered these countries and not provided jobs for millions of people? Would they have had the latest technologies (Cars / cellphones / TVs .....) if the developed countries did not use those raw minerals?

It is sad to see all that suffering and how the citizens are exploited by their own leaders. 

It is a known fact that the Europeans have contributed to the economic development of Africa. Without them, many resources in Africa would have been untapped and redundant. But they should do more because we have passed the years of colonialism and economic exploration. We know Europe is helping Africa to exploit their natural resources but they should all go a step further by building industries in Africa. Africa shouldn't only be treated as a raw material mine but Europeans can help to industrialize Africa. If Africa is empowered to produce raw materials and finished goods, more jobs with be created and the number of illegal immigrants will reduce.

European companies and politicians should not assist corrupt African leaders in stealing the commonwealth of Africans. Most of these leaders keep stolen wealth in European banks and they are shielded from persecution. An investigation into the money laundering and stealing against the Bongo family was dropped in France because of lack of evidence. I guess it was dropped for political patronage. Europe can help Africa limit corruption if they show a little commitment. 

But the question is the EU, especially France, really helping those African countries or are they appropriating Africa's resources? If they bring technology and knowledge to help these countries, why after all these years is Africa still a land full of disease and poverty while they are countries with abundant resources? I don't trust what the EU is doing in Africa, which is supposed to be helping the African continent develop as the western media is saying. Every coup has its reason.

[Sim_card]

OP, if you say that the president of Gabon has being ruling for 56yrs now,then I don't see this as democracy, because the people are not allowed to put the leader of their choice,so I will call such government semi-military government, sorry for putting it this way. Anybody that is fighting for power or that doesn't want to give up power for the right person to take over is a corrupt leader and will treat the people the way he likes. We have seen so many leaders in the past like this. I also heard it that the citizens are happy,it means that they have wanted such action for a very long time due to bad leadership from Former President Bongo Odimba. It is true that the Colonial masters are always after the benefits of these poor countries rather to improve the economy of that country.