Corruption Allegations Cause General Strike in Guinea

For the third time in twelve months, Guinea is once again in the throes of a general strike which has resulted in the closure of most shops and offices and brought public transport to a standstill.

Yesterday, security forces were sent onto the streets to enforce a ban on public rallies. In retaliation, youths damaged cars and blocked off streets with barricades of burning tyres and debris. There were even reports of attacks on a police a station to steal arms.

The strike was sparked off when it was reported that President Lansana Conté had personally freed two high-profile corruption suspects: the tycoon Mr Mamadou Sylla, and the former Minister of Sports and Presidential campaign manager, Mr Elhadj Fodé Soumah, who are accused of illegally siphoning millions of dollars from the Central Bank of the Republic of Guinea at a time when Mr Soumah was Deputy Governer of the bank.

In a country where the escalating cost of living is making life extremely difficult for most people, the Unions have jointly declared a general strike and are adamant that the strike will be maintained until the two suspects be returned to prison and measures are taken to improve the standard of living of the population as a whole.

Although negotiations commenced before the strike started on 10 January 2007, no progress has been made so far.

Given that the unpredictability of the situation in Conakry, we would recommend that any new matters be addressed to our Marseille office in the first instance (general.marseille@budd-pni.com, tel: +33 491 33 58 33, Fax: +33 491 33 13 31).

30 Oct 2007 - 09:57:39