French mining company Eramet halts all operations in Gabon after coup
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France's Eramet mining company announces that it halted all operations in the country after a coup saw the president deposed.
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A general view of the manganese mining area at the Comilog (Compagnie Minière de l'Ogouée), in Moanda on November 27, 2020 (Photo by STEEVE JORDAN / AFP)
French mining giant Eramet, which owns and operates the manganese minit unit in Gabon said in the wake of the coup that took place in the country that it halted all operations.
"From this morning all Comilog and Setrag operations have been halted and train transport suspended," an Eramet spokesperson told Reuters.
France has long maintained a foothold in Gabon as its former colonizer, erecting companies there such as mining firms in a bid to plunder the country's resources while only giving back abysmal returns to the state and its institutions.
The French Foreign Ministry announced that Paris was watching the situation in the country closely.
This constitutes the eighth coup in former French colonies in Africa over the past few years, highlighting how the colonizer left these countries in a state of instability.
Meanwhile, it was reported hours after the coup that the internet was restored in the country after it was cut off for three days during the events.
Gabon witnessed an alarming morning after a group of senior Gabonese military officers went live on television channel Gabon 24 and announced that they had taken power after it was declared that President Ali Bongo won a third term.
A Gabonese military officer and members of the elite republican guards and other soldiers further declared in a televised announcement that the country's borders were closed as of now until further notice, while state institutions have dissolved and remain out of operation.
"We are putting an end to the current regime," Gabonese soldiers said on TV.
"Today, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis," the officer said on Gabon 24.
The recent election "did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible, and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon," he underlined.
"We have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime," the officer said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions.
In addition to declaring that the general election's results were canceled, the officer stressed that "All the institutions of the republic are dissolved: the government, the Senate, the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court."
