Libreville, Tuesday 30 June 2026 – For years, the debate around the water and electricity crisis in Gabon has focused only on the consequences: endless outages, water shortages, load shedding, public anger. But a fundamental question was rarely raised: have the people who truly understand the networks, the facilities and the technical constraints been listened to enough?
The meeting held this week between President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema and SEEG staff at the Jean Violas Training Centre in Owendo could mark a turning point in the national understanding of this crisis. For nearly three hours, the head of state accepted to hear directly from those who live the daily realities on the ground.
The staff assessment was unambiguous. Beyond ageing infrastructure, one of the deepest problems at SEEG lies in the progressive marginalisation of technical expertise in decision-making processes.
Technicians’ voice at the heart of the diagnosis
One of the memories shared by an experienced operator was telling. In the 1990s, he recalled, each major investment decision was systematically validated by a technical committee made up of engineers and field specialists. Over time, this practice has lost its importance.
His testimony summed up what many employees have been saying for a long time. Technicians observe failures, identify risks, propose solutions, but their recommendations are not always taken into account in strategic trade-offs.
Behind this criticism lies a reality observed in many public companies around the world: when decisions gradually move away from operational realities, dysfunctions accumulate until they become structural.
Other staff members echoed the same point. Electricians, electromechanics, network engineers, water specialists and maintenance experts described a system where technical expertise does not always occupy the position it should along the decision chain.
The parallel with some major international companies is striking. The crises experienced by Boeing, often cited by industrial management specialists, have shown what happens when administrative or financial imperatives gradually take precedence over technical requirements. Conversely, groups like Mercedes have long built their success on the determining influence of engineers in strategic choices.
Water, a challenge of design as much as of production
The exchanges also shed light on several realities little known to the general public.
Concerning water supply, the staff explained that difficulties do not only come from outages or ageing installations. Pressure is a key factor. When available volumes become insufficient, pressure drops mechanically, preventing water from reaching certain neighbourhoods or certain floors of buildings. This situation worsens during the dry season. The resource currently exploited from the Ntoum river naturally undergoes low-water levels, a phenomenon that reduces the volume and flow of available water.
This reality revives a strategic question: why not use the current sector reform to launch a reflection on a larger catchment directly connected to the Kango river, whose volumes remain much more abundant and stable throughout the year? Such an orientation would obviously require considerable investment. But it fits precisely with the logic of structuring infrastructure that must support the needs of a growing country.
Reform will only succeed with skills
The upcoming creation of the Gabonaise des Eaux and Électricité du Gabon represents a historic opportunity. Rarely has the country had such an important chance to completely rebuild two strategic companies.
But the success of this transformation will not depend solely on funding or equipment. It will rely above all on the ability to put technical skills back at the heart of the system. The direct exchange between the head of state and the staff demonstrated one essential thing: answers often already exist inside the organisations themselves. They lie with the women and men who design, maintain and operate the infrastructure every day.
The real lesson of this meeting may be this: the future entities that will succeed SEEG must rely more on their engineers, their technicians and their specialists. Because in sectors as sensitive as water and electricity, infrastructure can be financed by the state. But only expertise, listening to the field and competence can guarantee public service sustainably. This is probably the most important lesson Gabon can draw today from its energy and water crisis.
