TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY CELIA LEBUR (FILES) This file photo taken on August 12, 2016 shows Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba gesturing as he speaks to journalists during an interview in Libreville. To modernize an oil rent economy out of breath, Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba launched an ambitious diversification plan based on large projects. Often attributed to Asian groups, they would have had only a "superficial effect" according to his opponents. / AFP PHOTO / STEVE JORDANSTEVE JORDAN/AFP/Getty Images