Equatorial Guinea: President Teodoro Obiang appoints new Prime Minister

Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Friday named Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua, a former bank manager, as prime minister, according to a decree issued nearly three weeks after the resignation of the previous government, which he had called “ineffective”.

“I appoint Mr. Manuel Osa Nsue Nsua as Prime Minister in charge of administrative coordination of Equatorial Guinea”stipulates the decree signed by President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and published on the official website of the presidency.

At the end of July, the government led by Manuela Roka Botey, the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister, presented its collective resignation at the request of the president, only 18 months after her appointment. “It is clear that there has been a collective failure to provide effective solutions to critical issues such as the economy, social cohesion and the fight against corruption.”President Obiang said when accepting his government’s resignation at the end of July.

Manuel Osa Nsue, appointed as the new prime minister, had been at the head of the National Bank of Equatorial Guinea (BANGE) since 2012. In addition, two deputy prime ministers were appointed by decree on Friday: Don Gaudencio Mohaba Messu, president of the National Assembly, who now takes charge of the Ministry of Commerce, Business Promotion and Industry, and Don Alfonso Nsue Mokuy, appointed to the Ministry of Human Rights.

Equatorial Guinea, a small country in central Africa, is led by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 82, who has been in power for 45 years.