Meet Africa's Top Oil Expert and ZLECAF Specialist Sylvestre Ossiala

Sylvestre Ossiala, a specialist in the oil industry is professor of petroleum economics at the University of Brazzaville in Congo. He also served as the second vice-president of the National Assembly from 2012 to 2017.

Sylvestre Ossiala, an accomplished Congolese politician and former High Commissioner for Hydrocarbons, has extensive experience in oil management and legislative affairs. A graduate in the 1980s from the University of Caen and the French Institute of Petroleum (IFP), Ossiala played key roles in the oil industry before entering politics.

Elected member of the National Assembly in 2002, he defended youth employment initiatives, the development of road and especially energy infrastructure and the promotion of post-oil policies, the materialization of which is the Zlecaf, this mechanism of incentive for intra-African trade.

Ossiala’s political journey included a transition from the Rally for Democracy and the Republic through the ruling Congolese Labor Party. His remarkable contributions have earned him leadership positions and the interest of institutions such as the World Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) where he is a consultant and advisor, marking a dynamic and influential career.

Intra-African trade is a key factor in maximizing the potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).The importance of this collaborative effort is illustrated in particular by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), rich in important minerals which must be processed locally to increase their added value and sold as a priority to the African market.

The exploitation of the resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo through the AFCFTA mechanism promotes economic growth, fuels intra-African trade, creating a symbiotic relationship in which nations benefit from shared resources.

The strategic use of geostrategic minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo not only contributes to economic development, but also highlights the transformative impact that intra-African trade can have on realizing the full potential of the AFCFTA.

Before concluding let us remember that Sylvestre Ossiala encourages African people and leaders to understand that the success of Zlecaf rests essentially on the love and praise of African businesses and SMEs that must be created, structured and organized. Indeed, for Sylvestre, Zlecaf symbolizes African economies as vehicles with three particularities:

1/ the drivers are African SMEs;

2/ the fuel lies in the good management of national budgets by competent, powerful and feared finance ministers;

3/ the four wheels are (i) the electrification of countries; (ii) the mandatory implementation of Special Economic Zones; (iii) adoption of the value chain approach in the production process; (iv) the formation of human capital. The spare wheel is the involvement of free and ethical media which inform major parliaments.

To conclude, we inform that:

Sylvestre Ossiala has published several books on the economic problems of the Republic of Congo including: