When security operations disrupt Owendo’s informal economy

The security sweep carried out on the night of June 28, 2026, in Owendo mainly targeted night-economy businesses including bars, maquis and small shops. For hundreds of low-income families in this populous district of Greater Libreville, these places are a crucial source of earnings.

Behind the security imperative, a silent economic cost is emerging: temporary closures, lost revenue, and the arrest of informal workers.

When will the night sector face proper regulation?

With youth unemployment still high and the informal sector absorbing a large share of the workforce, an exclusively repressive approach risks further impoverishing operators who, for the most part, have no safety net.

Securing without impoverishing: a challenge Gabon’s leaders can no longer ignore

The real issue is not choosing between security and the economy but thinking them together. This calls for regulated oversight of the night sector, dialogue with those involved, and support mechanisms — fiscal, administrative, social — to move these activities out of the gray area where they thrive for lack of alternatives.