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Analysis & opinionOctober 1 2013

Guinea looks to meet challenges of modernisation

Guinea's austerity measures have not proven popular with the country's army and civil service, but have impressed the IMF and other international observers. Its president and finance minister explain the challenges they have met in rebuilding the newly democratic country, and how they intend to turn it into a resource-based African powerhouse.
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Guinea looks to meet challenges of modernisation

The west African country of Guinea was a broken state when president Alpha Condé came to power in 2010. Shunned by the economic community, its infrastructure was in a state of disrepair and inflation was rampant. Today, it appears to be reversing its fortunes and government officials believe it has the potential to be one of west Africa’s more dynamic economies.

Mr Condé came to power with the brief to return the country to solvency. The 75-year-old French-educated Marxist – he had taught law at the Sorbonne in France all his professional life – went straight to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic guidance and support. Their recipe was three-fold: stabilisation, consolidation and private sector investment. The IMF told Mr Condé that the country would be on probation for a year, while it assessed whether the government was pursuing its tough economic guidelines.

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