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Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba, in his first televised speech since returning to the country after a long absence following a stroke, on Saturday called on his prime minister to form a new government.
He called for a smaller government, able to be "exemplary, honest and ethical".
Last month, Ali Bongo sacked his Vice President and Minister of Forests as a result of a scandal over the smuggling of valuable timber.
The recorded speech comes more than two months after his return to the country after an absence of five months in Morocco, where he was recovering from a stroke.
And this took place as the country marked the 10th anniversary of the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba, who led the country before him for 41 years.
Television footage showed Ali Bongo, his wife and prominent politicians at a Mbad in his memory at the Presidential Palace, on the waterfront of the capital, Libreville.
Saturday's speech was the president's first speech since his stroke.
But apart from a few words spoken on his return to the country at the end of March, he has not said anything in public since.
During his prolonged absence, the army canceled a brief coup attempt.
Upon his return on March 23, opposition members asked for a judicial inquiry into his state of health to determine if he was still able to run the country.
Ali Bongo took office after the 2009 elections that followed the death of his father.
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