GABON

officially Gabonese Republic, French Gabon, or Rpublique Gabonaise, country of central Africa straddling the Equator on the west coast of Africa. The capital is Libreville. It is bordered by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) to the south and east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west (So Tom and Prncipe lies off the coast). Area 103,347 square miles (267,667 square km). Pop. (1993) 1,011,710; (1997 est.) 1,190,000. officially Gabonese Republic, French Gabon, or Rpublique Gabonaise, country lying on the west coast of Africa, astride the Equator, with a total area estimated at 103,347 square miles (267,667 square kilometres). It is bordered by Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; the island state of So Tom and Prncipe is situated off the coast. Gabon's capital is Libreville. Gabon remains strongly attached to France, its former colonizer, and to the French language and culture. Additional reading Roland Pourtier, Le Gabon, 2 vol. (1989), provides an introduction. Institut Pdagogique National (Gabon), Gographie et cartographie du Gabon (1983), is an illustrated atlas. Two studies of the Mpongwe are Henry Bucher, The Atlantic Slave Trade and the Gabon Estuary: The Mpongwe to 1860, in Paul E. Lovejoy (ed.), Africans in Bondage (1986), pp. 137154, and The Village of Glass and Western Intrusion: An Mpongwe Response to the American and French Presence in the Gabon Estuary: 18421845, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 6(3):363400 (1973). James W. Fernandez, Bwiti: An Ethnography of the Religious Imagination in Africa (1982), examines the most important syncretic cult. Pierre-Claver Maganga-Moussavou, Economic DevelopmentDoes Aid Help? (1983; originally published in French, 1982), critiques French economic involvement in independent Gabon. Marc Aicardi de Saint-Paul, Gabon: The Development of a Nation (1989; originally published in French, 1987), discusses economic policies and conditions. David E. Gardinier Administration and social conditions Government Under the frequently revised constitution of 1961, Gabon is a republic under the executive direction of a president elected by direct universal suffrage for a period of seven years and a Council of Ministers appointed by the president. Provision is also made for a prime minister (appointed by the president) and a National Assembly (elected by direct suffrage) to assume legislative responsibilities and for an independent Supreme Court. After the French intervention of 1964, power became concentrated in the presidency. In 1968 the president's party, the Gabon Democratic Party (Parti Dmocratique Gabonais; PDG), was declared the only one legally permitted. But in May 1990 transitional constitutional arrangements reestablished a multiparty system. A committee was appointed to formulate a new constitution. The judicial system consists of a series of customary law courts at the lowest level, above which are a criminal court, a court of appeals, and the Supreme Court (all located in Libreville). The High Court, which is composed of members elected from the National Assembly, has the power to try the president and members of government. An audit office (cour des comptes) was created in 1977 to oversee the government's finances. Administratively, Gabon is divided into nine provinces, which are further divided into prfectures and sous-prfectures (subprefectures). The provincial governors, the prefects, and the subprefects are all appointed by the president. Education The educational system continues to be modeled closely after that of France. French remains the sole medium of instruction; Bantu languages are studied as electives at the secondary and higher levels. While education is officially mandatory from the ages of 6 to 16, the bulk of children do not attend long enough to achieve literacy or numeracy. The Omar Bongo University, founded in 1970, has two- and three-year programs in most fields and some advanced studies. The University of Science and Technology of Masuku, near Franceville, opened in 1986. Many Gabonese study abroad, particularly in France, at the university and graduate levels. Cultural life A great deal of the cultural life of Gabon continues to be derived from or influenced by France. Gabon's contemporary writers express themselves almost exclusively in French. At the same time, there has been continued interest in the precolonial history and traditions of Gabon's peoples. Examples are the research on the Fang epic (mvet) and the art of the Mpongwe, Fang, and Kota. In 1983 the International Centre for Bantu Civilizations (Centre International des Civilisations Bantu; CICIBA) was created, with its headquarters at Libreville. Gabon has newspapers in French, national and provincial radio stations broadcasting in French and local languages, and television broadcasting from Libreville that can be received as far away as Lambarn. French publications circulate extensively, and television programs are relayed from France. Brian Weinstein David E. Gardinier