According to the final communiqué published by the Presidency of the Republic, the Council of Ministers of Tuesday 12 August 2025 adopted the ordinance creating the Gabon Central Purchasing Company (CEAG), a mixed-economy company 37% owned by the State and 63% by national distribution operators, under the technical supervision of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. It is to purchase, store, transport and distribute essential goods, such as foodstuffs and building materials, in order to pool volumes, negotiate directly with exporting countries and curb price increases.
The Council decided to bar foreign operators from certain small-scale activities, including neighbourhood retail, unlicensed money transfer, phone repair, street hairdressing, unauthorised artisanal gold panning and informal brokerage in crop purchases. The measure will be applied gradually, with a transition period, and accompanied by support for the formalisation of national operators. The regulations on trades reserved for nationals are to be revised, and the head of state announced the creation of a national freight forwarder.
The Council also examined an ordinance authorising a 138,700,000 euro loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), signed on 18 July 2025, to finance the Gabon Urban Development Project. In his opening remarks, the president reaffirmed the goal of a growth rate of at least 10% in the medium term, driven by the non-oil sector, and backed the preparation of a fiscal adjustment plan that protects vulnerable households. Resolutions of the government seminar of 10 and 11 August include the regularisation of 50,000 property titles and a state monopoly on aggregate production.
