   |
|
afrol.com, 28 October - President Teodoro Obiang has demanded the resignation of the existing Government, thus supporting demands from his first-born son and heir. The power struggle for the succession of the diseased President thus comes to a head. AFP confirms that there have been direct talks between Obiang and Prime Minister Ángel Serafín Seriche Dougan, where the President demanded his resignation. On 17 October, President Obiang demanded that Seriche Dougan and his Government stepped down. This supposedly happened in an unofficial Cabinet Meeting in Bata, the new administrative capital, where Obiang had indicated that "the popular voice expressed in the Parliament asks for his resignation".
The President claimed that Seriche Dougan showed a "very passive attitude towards the numerous cases of corruption, which undermine the public function". Sources from the opposition relate Obiang's attitude to the hard attacks made by his son Teodorín against the Prime Minister. Teodorín publicly accused Seriche Dougan of "jeopardizing the national sovereignty" only few months ago. Teodorín made this statement after it was known that the Government had signed a contract with an English company to improve the the port of Luba, the second town on the island of Bioko, which is of growing importance due to its strategic position close to the offshore oilfields. On Tuesday, further, the official radio of Equatorial Guinea read an open letter from Teodorín, which is also Minister of Water and Forests, to the Parliament, where he "strongly recommended" that the MPs (which almost exclusively are from the governing PDGE) asked for the resignation of the Government. According to the President's first-borne, "the Members of Government [...] work for their private interest instead of worrying about the well-being of the people." He went on: "The Parliamentarians must use all means at their disposal to avoid that their worthy action is seen as an act of theatre." This information has been confirmed by AFP, the Equatorial Guinean opposition and the Spanish Radio Exterior. These new, bold statements by Teodorín (his real name being Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangué) demonstrate his constant campaigning for the Office of President in the country. In fact, the movements of Teodorín are not well known, there only are reports of his businesses after they have occurred, mostly concerning his sudden appearances abroad, demagogic gestures and declarations and often combined with scandals and the waste of large amounts of money. Recent news involving Teodorín include the plans of spending US$ 16 million (or 12 billion franc CFA) in a Falcon aircraft. Further, during his August vacation on the Spanish island of Mallorca, Teodorín reportedly rented a boat and a fleet of luxury cars (Rolls Royce and Italian sports cars), spending more than US$ 25,000 - a day... Until recently, political analysts screening the situation in Equatorial Guinea, strongly doubted that President Obiang would support Teodorín becoming his "successor to the throne". His son's playboy reputation, his involvement in numerous scandals and his alleged lack of good sense spoke against it. The President, suffering from cancer, has hitherto been known to support the "candidature" of General Ndong Oná for his succession - although the official version is that Obiang "stays in his office until his seven years mandate runs out in 2003," and that "his health would permit him to stand for another mandate". The initiative by the President, thus, indicates that he is about to
change his mind and support the candidature of his first-borne. Obiang's support to his son's attacks on fellow members of the Executive might prove crucial in the on-going power struggle in Equatorial Guinea. It is therefore likely that Obiang's succession, in practical terms, will be decided within short time. Sources: La Diáspora, opposition parties, AFP, REE
|
