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Guinea PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME: Geography People Government Economy GEOGRAPHY The coastal region of Guinea and most of the inland have a tropical climate,
with a rainy season lasting from April to November, relatively high and uniform
temperatures, and high humidity. Conakry's year-round average high is 29 degrees
C (85 degrees F), and the low is 23 degrees C (74 degrees F); its average annual
rainfall is 430 centimeters (169 inches). Sahelian Upper Guinea has a shorter
rainy season and greater daily temperature variations.
PEOPLE West Africans make up the largest non-Guinean population. Non-Africans total
about 10,000 (mostly Lebanese, French, and other Europeans). Seven national
languages are used extensively; major written languages are French, Peuhl, and
Arabic.
HISTORY France negotiated Guinea's present boundaries in the late 19th and early 20th
centuries with the British for Sierra Leone, the Portuguese for their Guinea
colony (now Guinea-Bissau), and the Liberia. Under the French, the country
formed the Territory of Guinea within French West Africa, administered by a
governor general resident in Dakar. Lieutenant governors administered the
individual colonies, including Guinea.
Led by Ahmed Sékou Touré, head of the Democratic Party of Guinea (PDG),
which won 56 of 60 seats in 1957 territorial elections, the people of Guinea in
a September 1958 plebiscite overwhelmingly rejected membership in the proposed
French Community. The French withdrew quickly, and on October 2, 1958, Guinea
proclaimed itself a sovereign and independent republic, with Sékou Touré as
president.
Under Touré, Guinea became a one-party dictatorship, with a closed,
socialized economy and no tolerance for human rights, free expression, or
political opposition, which was ruthlessly suppressed. Originally credited for
his advocacy of cross-ethnic nationalism, Touré gradually came to rely on his
own Malinke ethnic group to fill positions in the party and government. Alleging
plots and conspiracies against him at home and abroad, Touré's regime targeted
real and imagined opponents, imprisoning many thousands in Soviet-style prison
gulags, where hundreds perished. The regime's repression drove more than a
million Guineans into exile, and Touré's paranoia ruined relations with foreign
nations, including neighboring African states, increasing Guinea's isolation and
further devastating its economy.
Sékou Touré and the PDG remained in power until his death on April 3, 1984,
when a military junta headed by then-Lt. Col. Lansana Conte seized power.
GOVERNMENT Principal Government Officials Guinea maintains an embassy in the United States at 2112 Leroy Place, NW,
Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-483-9420) and a mission to the United Nations at
140 E. 39th St., New York, NY 10016 (tel. 212-687-8115/16/17).
POLITICAL CONDITIONS Political parties were proscribed. The new government also released all
prisoners and declared the protection of human rights as one of its primary
objectives. It reorganized the judicial system and decentralized the
administration. The CMRN also announced its intention to liberalize the economy,
promote private enterprise, and encourage foreign investment in order to develop
the country’s rich natural resources.
The CMRN formed a transitional parliament, the “Transitional Council for
National Recovery” (CTRN), which created a new Constitution (La Loi
Fundamental) and Supreme Court in 1990. The country’s first multi-party
presidential election took place in 1993. These elections were marred by
irregularities and lack of transparency on the part of the government.
Legislative and municipal elections were held in 1995. Conte’s ruling PUP
party won 76 of 114 seats in the National Assembly, amid opposition claims of
irregularities and government tampering. The new National Assembly held its
first session in October 1995.
Several thousand malcontent troops mutinied in Conakry in February 1996,
destroying the presidential offices and killing several dozen civilians.
Mid-level officers attempted, unsuccessfully, to turn the rebellion into a coup
d’etat. The Government of Guinea made hundreds of arrests in connection to the
mutiny, and put 98 soldiers and civilians on trial in 1998.
In mid-1996, in response to the coup attempt and a faltering economy,
President Conté appointed a new government as part of a flurry of reform
activity. He selected Sidya Touré, former chief of staff for the Prime Minster
of the Cote d’Ivoire, as Prime Minister, and appointed other technically
minded ministers. Touré was charged with coordinating all government action,
taking charge of leadership and management, as well as economic planning and
finance functions. In early 1997, Conté shifted many of the financial
responsibilities to a newly named Minister of Budget and Finance. These changes
put Guinea on a track that included solid economic growth and improved
infrastructure and services for its population.
In December 1998, Conté was re-elected to another 5-year term in a flawed
election that was nevertheless an improvement over 1993. Following his
reelection and the improvement of economic conditions through 1999, Conté
reversed direction, making wholesale and regressive changes to his cabinet. He
replaced many technocrats and members of the Guinean Diaspora that had
previously held important positions with “homegrown” ministers, particularly
from his own Soussou ethnic group. These changes have led to increased cronyism,
corruption, and a retrenchment on economic and political reforms.
Beginning in September of 2000, the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel
army, backed by Liberian President, Charles Taylor, commenced largescale attacks
into Guinea from Sierra Leone and Liberia. The RUF, known for their brutal
tactics, in the near decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone, operated with
financial and material support from the Liberian government and its allies.
These attacks destroyed the town of Gueckedou as well as a number of villages,
causing largescale damage and the displacement of tens of thousands of Guineans
from their homes. The attacks also forced the UNHCR to relocate many of the
200,000 Sierra Leonean and Liberian refugees residing in Guinea. As a result of
the attacks, legislative elections scheduled for 2000 were postponed and have
yet to be held.
After the initial attacks in September 2000, President Conté, in a radio
address, accused Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees living in the country of
fomenting war against the government. Soldiers, police, and civilian militia
groups rounded up thousands of refugees, some of whom they beat and raped.
Approximately, 3,000 refugees were detained, although most were released by
year’s end.
Since June 2001, the main political issue has been the extension of the
President’s mandate, which is currently limited to two terms and scheduled to
expire in 2003. After staying silent and above the fray for the first four
months of the debate, President Conté endorsed the referendum, which set into
motion a flurry of activity by the government and the ruling Party for Unity and
Progress (PUP). The opposition has officially come out against the referendum,
but has yet to coordinate any actions against it other than the occasional press
conference and press release. The opposition is, however, severely hampered by
their lack of access to the electronic media. The independent print media
reports on both sides of the issues, but since Guinea’s literacy rate is only
35%, a large majority of the population hears only the official government side
of the issue. The referendum has been scheduled for November 11, and the
Government of Guinea and PUP activities are in full swing to ensure the desired
result of another term for Conté. On October 17, it was announced that the long
postponed legislative elections would be held December 27, 2001.
ECONOMY Joint venture bauxite mining and alumina operations in northwest Guinea
provide about 90% of Guinea's foreign exchange. The Compagnie des Bauxites de
Guinea (CBG), a joint venture in which 49% of the shares are owned by the
Guinean Government and 51% by an international consortium (mostly U.S. and
Canadian interests), exported about 12.5 million MT in 2000. The Compagnie des
Bauxites de Kindia (CBK), a joint venture between the Government of Guinea and
Russki Alumina, produces some 2 million MT, nearly all of which is exported to
Russia and Eastern Europe. Dian Dian, a Guinean/Ukrainian joint bauxite venture,
has a projected production rate of 1 million MT per year, but is not yet under
production. The Alumina Compagnie de Guinée (ACG), which took over the former
Friguia Consortium, produces about 650,000 MT of alumina annually.
Diamonds and gold also are also mined and exported on a largescale. AREDOR, a
joint diamond mining venture between the Guinean Government (50%) and an
Australian, British and Swiss consortium, began production in 1984 and mined
diamonds, which are 90% gem quality. Production stopped from 1993 until 1996,
when First City Mining of Canada purchased the international portion of the
consortium. More recent diamond mining ventures include HYMEX and the South
African De Beers Corporation. DeBeers has operated in Guinea since 1994. The
largest gold mining operation in Guinea is a joint venture between the
government and Ashanti Gold Fields (85%) of Ghana. Other concession agreements
have been signed for iron ore, but these projects are still awaiting preliminary
exploration and financing results.
The Guinean Government has adopted policies to return commercial activity to
the private sector, promote investment, reduce the role of the state in the
economy, and improve the administrative and judicial framework. Guinea has the
potential to develop, if the government carries out its announced policy
reforms, and if the private sector responds appropriately. So far, corruption
and favoritism, the border conflict, lack of long-term political stability, and
lack of a transparent budgeting process have dampened foreign investor interest
in major projects in Guinea.
Reforms since 1985 include eliminating restrictions on agriculture and
foreign trade, liquidation of some parastatals, the creation of a realistic
exchange rate, increased spending on education, and cutting the government
bureaucracy. Since the beginning of the reform programs, both the number of
public enterprises and the civil service payroll have been cut in half. Under
1996 and 1998 IMF/World Bank agreements, Guinea continued fiscal reforms and
privatizations, and shifted governmental expenditures and internal reforms to
the education, health, infrastructure, banking, and justice sectors.
In July 1996, President Lansana Conté appointed a new government, which
promised major economic reforms, including financial and judicial reform,
rationalization of public expenditures, and improved government revenue
collection. A concerted effort by the government to implement this program had
begun to bear fruit in advancing Guinea’s economy and commercial sector into
the intermediate stages of development, expanding international trade,
agricultural production, and manufacturing capabilities. Then in 1997 the head
of that government was stripped of his responsibilities, which were mainly
economic, and finally fired in 1999. The economy has shown little progress since
and growth has slowed. Corruption and a lack of set goals in development are the
main causes of this downward turn of the economy. The informal sector continues
to be a major contributor to the economy.
The government revised the private investment code in 1998 to stimulate
economic activity in the spirit of a free enterprise. The code does not
discriminate between foreigners and nationals and provides for repatriation of
profits. While the code restricts development of Guinea’s hydraulic resources
to projects in which Guineans have majority shareholdings and management
control, it does contain a clause permitting negotiations of more favorable
conditions for investors in specific agreements. Foreign investments outside
Conakry are entitled to more favorable benefits. A national investment
commission has been formed to review all investment proposals. The United States
and Guinea have signed an investment guarantee agreement that offers political
risk insurance to American investors through OPIC. In addition, Guinea has
inaugurated an arbitration court system, which allows for the quick resolution
of commercial disputes.
Until June of 2001, private operators managed the production, distribution
and fee-collection operations of water and electricity under performance-based
contracts with the Government of Guinea. However, both have continued to battle
inefficiency, corruption and nepotism over the past year, and foreign private
investors in these operations have recently departed the country in frustration.
The Government of Guinea is giving itself one year to clean up the problems with
the companies and hopes to then search for new partners to operate these
utilities. The Government of Guinea hopes to strengthen the financial health of
the energy sector by improving invoicing and collections, containing costs and
improving services. New electric power sector regulations will pave the way for
greater private investment in the energy sector. The 1995 elimination of the
public monopoly on petroleum product importation and commercialization means
private distributors are now operating in Guinea.
DEFENSE FOREIGN RELATIONS Guinea has participated in both diplomatic and military efforts to resolve
conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau, and contributed
contingents of troops to peacekeeping operations in all three countries as part
of ECOMOG, the Military Observer Group of ECOWAS. Guinea has offered asylum to
more than 700,000 Liberian, Sierra Leonean, and Bissauan refugees since 1990,
despite the economic and environmental costs involved.
The civil wars, which engulfed Liberia and then Sierra Leone during the
1990s, have negatively impacted relations between Guinea and these two fellow
Mano River Union member countries. Guinea and Liberia have accused each other of
supporting opposition dissidents, and in late 2000 and early 2001, Guinean
dissidents backed by the Liberian government and RUF rebels from Sierra Leone
brutally attacked Guinea. These attacks caused over 1,000 Guinean deaths and
displaced more than 100,000 Guineans, and relations between the two countries
remain hostile. Recent negotiations, fostered by the Mano River Union Women’s
Peace Network, have thawed relations to some extent, but accusations by both
sides of dissident support still dominate the relationship.
Guinea belongs to the UN and most of its specialized related agencies;
Organization of African Unity (OAU); International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD); African Development Bank (AFDB); Niger River Basin (NRB);
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC); Mano River Union (MRU); Gambia River Basin Organization
(OMVG); Nonaligned Movement (NAM). Guinea was recently elected to the UN
Security Council for the 2-year term beginning with the 56th General Assembly,
which began October 2001.
U.S.-GUINEAN RELATIONS The U.S. Mission in Guinea is composed of five agencies--Department of State,
USAID, Peace Corps, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of
Defense. In addition to the providing the full range of diplomatic functions,
the embassy obligated in FY 2001 $52,900 for Self-Help projects and $75,000 for
Democracy and Human Rights projects. The embassy also manages a military
assistance program that provided nearly $1.5 million for military education,
language training, and humanitarian assistance programs.
USAID Guinea is now one of only five sustainable development missions in West
Africa, with current core program areas in primary education, family health,
democracy and governance, and natural resources management.
The Peace Corps has about 100 volunteers throughout the country. Volunteers
teach English and mathematics in high schools, assist in village development and
health education, and collaborate with USAID on a natural resources management
project. Guinea was the first country to inaugurate a full-fledged Crisis Corps
program, a new Peace Corps initiative developed to address natural and manmade
disasters.
Principal U.S. Officials The U.S. Embassy is located at 2d Blvd. and 9th Avenue, Conakry. The mailing
address is B.P. 603, Conakry, Guinea (tel: 41-15-20/21/23; fax: 41-15-22).
TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained from the Office of Overseas Citizens Services at (202) 647-5225. For after-hours emergencies, Sundays and holidays, call 202-647-4000. Passport information can be obtained by calling the National Passport Information Center's automated system ($.35 per minute) or live operators 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday-Friday ($1.05 per minute). The number is 1-900-225-5674 (TDD: 1-900-225-7778). Major credit card users (for a flat rate of $4.95) may call 1-888-362-8668 (TDD: 1-888-498-3648). It also is available on the internet. Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled Health Information for International Travel (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800. Information on travel conditions, visa requirements, currency and customs regulations, legal holidays, and other items of interest to travelers also may be obtained before your departure from a country's embassy and/or consulates in the U.S. (for this country, see "Principal Government Officials" listing in this publication). U.S. citizens who are long-term visitors or traveling in dangerous areas are encouraged to register at the U.S. embassy upon arrival in a country (see "Principal U.S. Embassy Officials" listing in this publication). This may help family members contact you in case of an emergency. Further Electronic Information National Trade Data Bank (NTDB). Operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the NTDB contains a wealth of trade-related information. It is available on the Internet (www.stat-usa.gov) and on CD-ROM. Call the NTDB Help-Line at (202) 482-1986 for more information. |
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