On January 14th Mr Bongo conducted his second cabinet reshuffle, with six new or returning ministers and five changes of portfolio, to enlarge it by one member to 21 as part of the process of bringing in younger personalities and retiring the old guard in a bid to quicken the pace of reform in the country. The secretary-general, the director of the cabinet and the chief-of-staff were also replaced. Defying expectations, however, Mr Bongo retained the prime minister, Paul Biyoghé Mba, despite growing tension between the two (October 2010, Outlook for 2010-11), and also appointed no opposition members despite signs of a rapprochement with the UPG. Mr Mba's putative replacement, Julien Nkoghé Békalé, was demoted from the Ministry of Mines, Oil and Hydrocarbons to the Ministry of Transport because of the president's waning confidence in his handling of the strategically important ministry.