Author: Emmanuel Mbemba

A Game-Theory Prism on Contemporary Economies The prisoner’s dilemma, a foundational construct of game theory, posits two rational players torn between the lure of immediate, self-centred gain and the promise of a larger, shared benefit that only materialises if both choose to cooperate. Once confined to academic seminars, the model today provides a strikingly lucid framework for decoding the behaviour of nation-states in an era of intensifying interdependence. Nowhere is the model’s relevance more evident than in the economic dialogue—often cordial, occasionally tense—between France and the Republic of Congo. France’s Fiscal Tightrope and the Congo’s Oil Reliance France enters this…

Fiscal discipline underpins renewed credibility Appointed in January 2025, Finance, Budget and Public Portfolio Minister Christian Yoka inherited a public-debt profile viewed with scepticism after two decades of market absence. Within twelve months, he reports that Brazzaville has re-established primary surpluses, embedded spending ceilings and aligned its treasury operations with a stricter governance code. These policy moves, he argues, have produced a paradox: a country posting solid macro-fundamentals yet still paying a premium for capital. “Our books are balanced and our commitments honoured, but financing conditions remain tighter than the data justify,” he concedes. Breaking the crowding-out loop in Central…

A calibrated tightening that caught observers off guard When the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) met in Yaoundé on 15 December 2025, most regional desks predicted an unchanged stance. Instead, Governor Yvon Sana Bangui emerged to announce a 25-basis-point increase in the main refinancing rate to 4.75 % and a similar rise in the marginal lending facility to 6.25 %, while keeping the deposit facility at zero. “Inflation has receded appreciably, yet our mandate requires pre-emptive action so that this achievement endures,” he declared in French before switching to English for international reporters. The…

Stakeholders reconvene in the economic hub of Pointe-Noire The Atlantic harbour of Pointe-Noire, whose quays are lined with crude tankers and timber carriers, provided a fitting backdrop on 15 December for the restitution workshop devoted to the 2021 and 2022 reports of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Presiding over the session, Christian Mounzéo, vice-president of EITI Congo, reminded the audience that hydrocarbon proceeds still account for the lion’s share of the state budget and that the disclosure exercise is no longer a mere formality but a constitutional expectation for good governance. According to the Ministry of Finance, petroleum taxes…

Strategic Funding to Match Sky-High Ambitions Meeting in Brazzaville on 12 December under the chairmanship of Ferdinand Sosthène Likouka, chief of staff to the Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation and Merchant Marine, the board of the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) approved a revenue envelope of 9 244 260 500 CFA francs and expenditures of 9 237 336 000 CFA francs for fiscal year 2026. The near-equilibrium budget, barely 0.07 % apart on the two ledgers, signals what Mr Likouka described as “the disciplined financial stewardship required to safeguard public assets while catalysing growth in the air-transport corridor”. Although the…

Diplomatic Handshake Translates into Heavy Metal In a symbolic ceremony on 12 December, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Maekawa Hidenobu placed the keys of brand-new loaders, graders and compactors into the hands of Pointe-Noire’s city hall. Acting on behalf of the Government of Japan, the diplomat described the gesture as a “tangible expression of Tokyo’s longstanding belief that infrastructure is the backbone of social progress.” His counterpart, Minister of Urban Sanitation, Local Development and Road Maintenance Juste Désiré Mondelé, stood alongside municipal officials to welcome the convoy of machines freshly unloaded at the ocean-side port. TICAD Framework and the 180 Million-Yen…

Strategic Significance of Edou Dairy Hub A mild northern sun bathed the Cuvette on 13 December 2025 when President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, accompanied by former Mozambican head of state Joachim Chissano, arrived at Edou. The locality, a short drive from Oyo, is now anchored by a dairy unit whose rise mirrors Brazzaville’s wider ambition to move beyond hydrocarbons. Conceived a decade earlier and inaugurated on 2 November 2013, the plant currently processes 12,000 litres of raw milk every day, a capacity that positions it among the most substantial agri-food installations in the region. For the Head of State, the facility is…

Historic funding underlines strategic realignment For the first time since its establishment in 2011, the National Civil Aviation Agency of the Republic of Congo (ANAC) will dispose of a budget exceeding nine billion CFA francs. Endorsed in Brazzaville on 12 December, the 2026 financial envelope is fixed at CFA 9.244 billion in projected revenue against CFA 9.237 billion in expenditure, leaving a modest operating margin designed to absorb market volatility. According to the agency’s communiqué, the priority is to reinforce operational capacity and to anchor a culture of proactive safety oversight across the national air transport ecosystem. Record allocation fortifies…

Mounting Salary Arrears Rekindle Labour Tensions An apparently uneventful morning traffic in Brazzaville often conceals the simmering unease of municipal and university employees who have awaited several months of pay. Since 17 November 2025, academic activities at Marien Ngouabi University have been largely suspended after staff opted for a “disciplined strike”, a term unionists use to underline their willingness to safeguard laboratories and libraries while pressing for overdue salaries. Within weeks, workers from the six main municipalities—Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Dolisie, Mossendjo, Nkayi and Ouesso—followed suit at the call of the Union of Elected Secretaries-General of Congo’s Town-Hall Unions. Fiscal Constraints Meet…

A Continental Snapshot of Rising Liabilities The Lomé conference convened by the African Union last May offered a rare, uncluttered view of the continent’s fiscal pulse. Delegates heard the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Clever Gatete, confirm that Africa’s external debt stock has climbed to an estimated US$1.86 trillion in 2024, almost doubling in less than a decade. The average debt-to-GDP ratio has risen from 44.4 percent in 2015 to 66.7 percent today, intensifying discussions on solvency, liquidity and growth-friendly refinancing. United Creditors Shaping the Landscape Multilateral institutions remain pivotal. The World Bank, the International…