Metro

Former Miss France charged over $752,000 gift from late Gabon President Omar Bongo

Published

2 years ago

June 3, 2022

A former Miss France Beauty Pageant winner, Sonia Rolland, has been charged with accepting a $752,000 gift from Gabon’s former dictator, the late Omar Bongo, who is subject to a long-running inquiry over alleged ill-gotten wealth, alongside several of his children, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Rolland who is originally from Rwanda, is being charged with “receipt of embezzled public funds for accepting from Bongo an apartment worth 800,000 euros ($752,000) in the chic 16th Arrondissement of Paris in 2003,” a report said.

French prosecutors also charged four of Omar Bongo’s children with “embezzlement and corruption on suspicion that they knowingly benefited from a fraudulently-acquired empire of real estate and other assets worth at least €85 million.”

“The real estate and assets included
apartments and buildings in Paris and the Mediterranean city of Nice as well as luxury cars, several of which have been seized by French authorities,” the report said.

According to authoritive French daily Liberation, Rolland who was the first African to win the Miss France pageant and I’d now an actress, told investigators last year that the apartment was a gift for her patronage of beauty contests in Africa.

Her lawyer, Charles Morel, who spoke to newsmen on the charges, said Ms
Rolland who was 22 at the time, had “obviously recognised that she was naive but contests any wrongdoing.”

“My client was 22 years old, she was coming out of a period in which she had been thrown into a world she knew nothing about, neither its codes nor its sordidness.

“At no point did she know the source of the funds nor the financial arrangements,” Morel said.

Omar Bongo who ruled Gabon with an iron fist for 42 years, died of cardiac arrest while being treated for intestinal cancer in 2009. He became president of the Central African country in 1967, seven years after Gabon gained independence from France.

Omar Bongo’s four decades reign over Gabon was mired by allegations of corruption including his family members and close associates.

At his death, his son Ali Bongo swiftly took over from him, further accentuating the Bongo dynasty.

Related Topics:corruption Featured Gabon Omar Bongo

Click to comment

Metro

World Bank pledges $3b to support Zambia’s development goals

Published

10 hours ago

November 14, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The World Bank Group has pledged to avail Zambia with approximately $3 billion to support the country’s development goals under the new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for 2025-2029, with nearly half of the funds already disbursed.

World Bank Country Manager, Achim Fock, who made this known at the CPF launch at the Mulungushi Conference Centre in Lusaka on Wednesday, outlined the global lender’s focus areas, which included enhancing jobs, human capital, and climate resilience.

Fock highlighted that $200 million had been approved to strengthen Zambia’s social protection programs, including the Refugee and Host Community Project.

He also expressed optimism for upcoming approvals, including the Climate and Economic Resilience Financing and the Zambia-Tanzania Interconnector.

Zambia’s Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, who also spoke at the event, noted that 2.3 million Zambian households have so far benefited from social protection interventions such as the Cash for Work Programme, emphasizing the government’s commitment to safeguarding lives amid crises like the recent drought.

Musokotwane further reiterated the government’s commitment to protecting lives during times of crises such as the recent drought.

“More than two thirds of the Zambian population was affected by the drought. It was the government’s view that the first priority was to save lives,” Musokotwane stated.

Metro

Chinese mining giant CNMC set for $1.6 billion investment in Zambia

Published

1 day ago

November 13, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Chinese mining giant, China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company (CNMC), has announced the investment of over $1.6 billion in Zambia, following successful discussions with President Hakainde Hichilema at the State House on Tuesday.

CNMC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Wen Gang, who held the discussions with Hichilema along with the Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, Han Jing, confirmed the company’s commitment to furthering Zambia’s economic development.

“We are actively investing in critical sectors of Zambia’s economy,” Gang said after the meeting.

He noted that CNMC was currently pumping water from Shaft 28 at Luanshya Copper Mine, where 29.9 million cubic liters have been cleared as part of intensified dewatering efforts, adding that the company plans to inject an additional $200 million to develop a greenfield mine on the Copperbelt.

President Hichilema who welcomed CNMC’s commitment, highlighted the potential economic impact of the firm’s investment which will include job opportunities for Zambians.

“This $1.6billion investment, alongside advanced technology and expansion, will extend operations and create more jobs and opportunities for Zambians, especially in mining contracting and supply,” the President said.

He also expressed gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government for their shared commitment to fostering growth and cooperation between the two countries.