Guinea-Bissau’s President, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has sacked the nation’s economy minister and given his post to the head of government on a temporary basis.
The ousted Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Integration, Victor Mandiga, has been in office since 2021.
According to a presidential decree, he was replaced to “guarantee the regular functioning of institutions and for political convenience”.
It was clarified that his post has been temporarily entrusted to Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam, who heads a 31-member government.
It is important to note that Mandiga had recently denounced the involvement of the Ministry of Finance in matters under his responsibility.
Also, the ousted Mandiga had spoken out against the creation of a state secretariat for regional integration, placed under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, he no longer regularly attended government meetings.
A party official who spoke to newsmen on the condition of anonymity, said “He was given an empty shell”.
Local reports have it that Mandiga, an economist by training, heads the Democratic Convergence Party (PDC), which has one seat in the National Assembly, out of 102 in the institution dominated by the presidential camp.
Reports also said that he had supported Embalo’s candidacy in the second round of the 2019 presidential election, which Embalo won against former Prime Minister Domingos Simoes Pereira, who is also the leader of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC, former government).
