{"id":644050,"date":"2019-06-23T08:23:01","date_gmt":"2019-06-23T08:23:01","guid":{"rendered":"
\"Gabonese<\/p>\n
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\"Gabonese<\/div>\n

Gabonese President Ali Bongo delivered his first speech since returning to the West African country following a long absence after a stroke he suffered in October.<\/p>\n

In the recorded speech televised on Saturday \u2013 more than two months after his return to the country following a five-month recovery period in Morocco \u2013 Bongo called on his prime minister to form a new government.<\/p>\n

Bongo, 60, sacked his vice president and forestry minister last month over a scandal involving the smuggling of precious timber.<\/p>\n

In late February and early March, authorities uncovered and seized 392 containers with 5 000 cubic metres of illegally felled kevazingo wood, worth some $250m, in the port of Owendo.<\/p>\n

Bongo said the new government would be \u201cexemplary, honest and ethical\u201d.<\/p>\n

The speech came as Gabon marked the 10-year anniversary of the death of Bongo\u2019s father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country before him for 41 years.<\/p>\n

Television images on Saturday showed Ali Bongo, his wife, and senior politicians at a mass in Omar Bongo\u2019s memory at the presidential palace on the seafront of the capital, Libreville.<\/p>\n

In power since 2009, Bongo suffered a stroke while attending a summit in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

After initial treatment at a hospital in Riyadh, he was transferred to Morocco and returned home after a small group of renegade soldiers briefly tried to stage a coup.<\/p>\n

The army quickly quashed the attempted putsch.<\/p>\n

Apart from a few words on his return in late March, Bongo has not publicly addressed the oil-rich country.<\/p>\n

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