P 090742Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2029
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000022 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON ELAB GV
SUBJECT: HOW CAN THE PRESIDENT CONTINUE TO WORK UNDER THESE 
CONDITIONS? - THE OLD GUARD SUPPORTS CONTE 
 
 
¶1.  Summary. On January 8, Ambassador Carter met with the President 
of the National Assembly and several senior officials to discuss the 
political standoff between President Lansana Conte and Prime 
Minister Lansana Kouyate and the threat of a general strike January 
¶10.  The Assembly leaders displayed unwavering support for Conte and 
were highly critical of the Kouyate government.  They claimed that 
Kouyate is not governing by consensus and that the economic 
situation is even worse under Kouyate than it was before.  They said 
that the unions called the strike without consulting business 
leaders or civil society, and they don't expect the strike will be 
widely followed.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Ambassador Carter met with the President of the Guinean National 
Assembly, Aboubacar Sompare, and several senior officials, including 
the 4th Vice-president, Almamy Fode Sylla, and the head of the 
Finance Commission, Yassine Barry.  The Ambassador thanked Sompare 
for the audience and said that he is in the process of meeting with 
everyone involved in the current political situation, including the 
government, unions and civil society.  The Ambassador described this 
as a political process and an internal question that requires a 
Guinean solution. 
 
¶3.  Sompare described the origins of the current situation as the 
botching of the release of President Conte's New Year's message. 
According to Sompare, the text described the weakness of the 
government and the need for some restructuring.  Conte reportedly 
told the Minister of Communication, Justin Morel Junior, not to 
broadcast the message.  Sompare alleges the director of RTG put the 
message on the internet, and the director was sanctioned.  Sompare 
noted that in the speech the President stated he was retaking some 
of his constitutional powers, leading the Prime Minister to believe 
that his own powers were being taken away.  When Morel Junior was 
fired, the unions called a strike, but Sompare claims they did not 
consult with the business leaders (Patronat) or others in civil 
society. 
 
¶4.  The Ambassador noted that according to the Accords of January 
27, 2007, this is a consensus government, and the Accord defines the 
structure of the government.  Even though the position of Prime 
Minister is not in the constitution, the President accepted the 
Accords and thus the authority of the Prime Minister.  Sompare 
responded that it is also the unions who have a responsibility to 
consult with the Patronat and civil society, which they failed to 
do. 
 
¶5.  Sompare also complained that under the government of Prime 
Minister Lansana Kouyate, the Ministries are overly concentrated 
with too heavy a workload.  He noted that the Minister of Education 
is now in charge of primary, secondary and university level 
education.  He said that these functions need to be dispersed.  The 
Ambassador noted that this is similar to the situation in the United 
States, and wondered if it wasn't more efficient.  Sompare said that 
the job was too difficult under this structure and less efficient. 
 
¶6.  Barry, the head of the Finance Commission, noted that the 
January 27 Accord has been in place for one year and the President 
has applied the Accord.  He claimed that there is a lack of economic 
management under Kouyate which gives the impression that things are 
worse off now than they were before.  He noted that while official 
perdiem rates for GoG travelers is between $140-$240, Kouyate's 
ministers have claimed perdiem for as high as $800.  He stated that 
there has been a lack of transparency and "consultation" with the 
National Assembly on the manner and allocation of public contracts. 
He cited the example of a sole source bid issued by the government 
to a Lebanese firm to provide energy services as a very high cost. 
He claimed that the contract's issuance was completely opaque. 
Sylla, the 4th Vice-president, observed that the government spends 
money to pave the roads in front of an upscale hotel but not to pave 
the roads in the surrounding neighborhood.  Barry also noted the 
transfer of the proceeds from mining royalties (mining fund) from 
Credit Suisse to BNP Paribas, and observed that there was no 
consultation before that decision was made.  The GoG has used the 
Swiss bank for over 30 years and now everything was transferred to a 
French bank.  When the Ambassador asked what it mattered if the GoG 
changed accounts as long as it was done transparently, Sompare 
exclaimed that the GoG has put the countries resources in the hands 
of their former colonial rulers and that now France has some 
leverage over Guinea.  He added that the transfer threatened 
Guinea's sovereignty.  He asked the rhetorical question, "How can 
the President continue to work under these conditions?" 
 
¶7.  Ambassador Carter noted that the macro-economic conditions are 
better now than they have been in the past and there is more control 
of he economy.  He cited the better control over moneary 
aggregates at the Central Bank, stronger budetary control at the 
Finance Ministry and the aproval of an IMF program.  Barry 
responded that te GoG financing gap is the largest in the country's 
history and that it reflected poor financial leaership by Kouyate's 
government.  The Ambassador oted that he disagreed this assessment 
completel. Sompare interjected that the economic improvemen is 
visible, but that there is less financial indpendence, returning to 
the BNP Paribas issue.  H reiterated his view that the actions of 
the Kouate government undermine Guinea's sovereignty.  Bary 
worried that the Guinean government was gettig too close to Libya, 
 
and. 
 
¶8.  When the Ambassador asked what they thought would happen with 
the strike, the consensus in the room was that people will not 
follow the strike.  Barry said this was a political strike, not an 
economic one, and that there is nothing in the strike that will help 
the workers.  He said people want to work and they are fed up with 
strikes.  Sompare concurred that there is no interest in a strike 
and Guineans always succeed when they are more detached from these 
situations. 
 
¶9.  Comment: The mood in the room among these Conte supporters was 
one of yearning for the "good old days" when Conte ruled with little 
or no opposition.  Their devotion to the President and dismissive 
attitude towards Kouyate seems to blind them to the fact that many 
of the economic woes that they attribute to Kouyate were created 
when they were in government and responsible for the country's 
economic condition.  It is clear that this group represents the 
interest of the old guard and that their sights are on getting 
Kouyate out and themselves back in.  On a more positive note, the 
meeting afforded Ambassador Carter an excellent opportunity to lay 
out the position of the United States as a neutral observer and to 
encourage dialogue and a peaceful resolution to the political 
impasse.  This message was also delivered to a national television 
audience in a brief interview following the meeting.  End comment. 
CARTER