- Title: GUINEA: Guinea returns to work but questions if crisis over
- Date: 27th February 2007
- Summary: (W3) CONAKRY,GUINEA (FEBRUARY 27, 2007) (REUTERS) MARKET SCENE / TRAFFIC (4 SECONDS) VARIOUS OF GENERATOR SELLERS INSTALLING GENERATORS OUTSIDE SHOP (SOUNDBITE)(French) KABA FODE,JOURNALIST SAYING: "The Guinean were expecting the nomination of a Prime Minister and he came.I think the work has restarted and we are convinced that this man who was named as a Prime Minister
- Embargoed: 14th March 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Guinea
- Country: Guinea
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVABCYEYB9QHILLE9G6QZ1NSW7O8
- Story Text: It was business as usual in Guinea where weeks of general strike have caused widespread disruption to an economy already struggling with high inflation and widespread unrest over rising living costs. But many say the crisis is far from over.
Traffic jams blocked roads and queues formed outside banks and shops on Tuesday (February 27) as Guineans returned to work after the end of a general strike, but some doubted the country's political crisis was over.
President Lansana Conte named a respected career diplomat, Lansana Kouyate, as consensus prime minister late on Monday (February 26) under a deal to end the latest two-week-old stoppage against his 23-year rule, which has triggered widespread violence.
The unions say Conte, a reclusive diabetic in his 70s, is no longer fit to rule and had demanded he name a head of government with the freedom to hire and fire his own ministers and manage state affairs without interference from the presidency.
"The Guinean were expecting the nomination of a Prime Minister and he came.I think the work has restarted and we are convinced that this man who was named as a Prime Minister will surely arrange the situation which is good for Guinea," said Kaba Fode, a ,journalist in the sprawling oceanside capital Conakry.
Kouyate, who was one of the names on a shortlist drawn up by the unions, is a former executive secretary-general of West African regional body ECOWAS and a one-time Guinean ambassador to the United Nations.
He arrived in Conakry on Tuesday from Ivory Coast, where he works for the organisation of French-speaking countries (OIF).
Groups of youths in outlying suburbs celebrated in the streets after he was named. Opposition politicians and some diplomats said that while it was a positive step, Kouyate would only be effective if he genuinely had a free hand.
Nearly seven weeks of on-off strike action have caused widespread disruption to an economy already struggling with high inflation and widespread unrest over rising living costs. More than 120 people, mostly unarmed civilians, have been killed in anti-government protests since the start of the year.
Guinea is the world's top exporter of bauxite -- the ore used in aluminium production -- and although the industry has restarted, officials are concerned the strike could have created a major shortfall in the $500 million national budget.
In the centre of Conakry, banks were overwhelmed with customers trying to withdraw money for the first time in weeks while main road arteries, which have stood largely empty since the start of the year, were clogged.
In other parts of the city, the scars of the unrest are still visible. In the Kipe suburb the burnt-out wrecks of cars stand next to a battered police station set on fire during the protests. Hospitals are still treating those wounded by bullets.
As a diplomat who spent much of his career outside Guinea, Kouyate is seen as free from the corruption that has tainted recent administrations in the West African country.
Analysts and diplomats hope he will now be able to build a team of technocrats with similarly untainted pasts. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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