Equatorial Guinea government resigns after failing to meet performance targets

A statement read on state broadcaster RTGE said the government had "failed to deliver structural progress" against a two-year priority list set by presidential decree. Top of the list were fiscal discipline, alignment with restarted IMF technical talks, and lifting non-hydrocarbon sector revenues. The BBC notes that Obiang has ruled the country since 1979 and tends to announce new appointments quickly after dismissing a cabinet.

Equatorial Guinea is under heavy public-revenue pressure after a decade of declining oil output and weaker gas prices. World Bank data show per-capita income has halved from its level a decade ago. Loan talks with China and the UAE are reported to be under way to fund social programmes, though they have hit technical snags.

Opposition parties called the move "symbolic," arguing that real decision-making power rests in the presidential palace. The new prime minister is expected to come from the energy ministry's technocratic ranks or from senior management at the state oil firm GEPetrol. The appointments are expected to be unveiled next week.