Théodore Dabanga (born 25 October 1956) is a Central African banker and economist who served as Minister of Finance and Budget during Bozize's administration.

Early life and education

Belonging to Gbaya, Dabanga was born in Yaloke on 25 October 1956. He studied economy in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and banking in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

in 1983.

Career

Dabanga commenced his career by joining the finance department of the International Bank for West Africa (BIAC) Bangui Branch in 1983. In 1988, he worked at the Central African Pharmaceutical Office (OPC) for three years. Subsequently, he moved to the Central African Cigarette Company (SOCACIG) in 1991. Patassé nominated Dabanga as head of the Standing Technical Committee for Monitoring Structural Adjustment Programs (CTPPAS). On 15 January 1999, he was appointed as Deputy Minister of Finance and served until 5 April 2001. Afterward, he became the director general of Commercial Bank Centrafrique (CBCA) on 20 April 2001, replacing Etienne Djimarim. While serving as CBCA's director general, he also worked as chairman of the Central African Textile Development Company (SOCADETEX) from 2001 to 2004 and the African Fund for Guarantee and Economic Cooperation (FAGACE) from 2002 to 2004. In 2004, he got involved in the establishment of the

National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa" The National Convergence "Kwa Na Kwa" (), popularly known as simply Kwa Na Kwa or KNK ( in Sango), is a political party in the Central African Republic, built around support of François Bozizé. The party was originally an alliance of several ...

and supported Bozize during the 2005 Central African general election. He then served as the Minister of Finance and Budget from 19 June 2005 to 2 September 2006 and Central African Republic's representative on the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF) board of governors. When he served as the minister, he promised to restructure public finances by taking "courageous measures" due to the monthly budget deficit. Furthermore, he also became the witness for Simon Kouloumba's trial in the Libyan Oil Case. Upon resigning from the ministerial position, he worked as Bozize's financial adviser from 2006 to 2008 and then as Director of General Control at the

Bank of Central African States The Bank of Central African States (, BEAC; ) is a central bank that serves six central African countries which form the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and ...

(BEAC) from July 2008 until his dismissal on 7 June 2010 as a result of BEAC's meeting in

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

. While serving as managing director, he led the complementary audit mission to Paris to investigate alleged BEAC's fund embezzlement.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book , last1=Bradshaw , first1=Richard , last2=Rius , first2=Juan Fandos , title=Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic (Historical Dictionaries of Africa) , date=2016 , publisher=Rowman & Littlefield , location=Lanham Living people 1956 births People from Ombella-M'Poko Finance ministers of the Central African Republic