Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has accepted the resignation of the country’s government, calling it ”one of the worst ever,” national television reported Saturday.
Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obnama Nfubea, who was the president’s personal lawyer and in power since August 2006, submitted his government’s resignation on Friday saying it ”was not able to achieve the wishes of his excellency, the president of the republic, to make our country a developed and prosperous one”.
Obiang has ruled the West African nation with an iron fist since a 1979 coup which ousted his uncle from power and has often been accused by rights groups of violating human rights.
In a television broadcast, Obiang called the outgoing government ”one of the worst ever formed”, accusing it of corruption, irregularities and mismanagement, and declaring ”we must change the entire government”.
He also claimed that some in government had tried to destabilise the country, alluding to allegations that one minister was involved in the 2004 coup attempt with British mercenary Simon Mann, who was tried last month in Malabo and is awaiting the court’s verdict.
The president’s Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and his allies control 99 of the 100 seats in Parliament.
Equatorial Guinea currently ranks as sub-Saharan Africa’s third crude oil producer and has had double digit economic growth for several years.
But the population enjoys little of the wealth generated.
Most live in dire poverty and the country ranks 127th out of 177 countries in the UN Development Programme’s human development index rankings, despite a per capita gross domestic product of $7 874 dollars, making it the 73rd richest country in the world. – AFP
