VZCZCXRO3210
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0004/01 0021124
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 021124Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2003
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000004 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GV
SUBJECT: RESTRUCTURING DECREE ALTERED FROM WITHIN THE 
PRESIDENCY 
 
REF: A. CONAKRY 1326 
 
     ¶B. CONAKRY 1327 
 
Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (C) Both Finance Minister Ousmane Dore and a contact at 
the Prime Minister,s office confirmed that the presidential 
restructuring decree signed in early December by President 
Conte (reftel A) had been altered from within the presidency. 
 Widespread rumors have pointed to the Secretary General of 
the Presidency, Mr. Sam Soumah, as the likely author of such 
alterations, which grant Mr. Soumah,s position reportedly 
disproportionate and inappropriate powers of state.  Despite 
widespread discussion of the issue in the press, Minister 
Dore remains happy that the document was finally signed and 
confident that the prime minister will be able to get the 
president to accept returning power to the PM.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
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PRESIDENTIAL DECREE ALTERED 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) After several months of waiting for President 
Conte,s signature on the government restructuring decree 
(reftel A), Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate,s senior economic 
advisor, Fofana Lamine, told poloff on December 27 that the 
signed document had been altered.  Lamine provided the 
Embassy with a copy of the official decree, which includes 
President Conte,s initials on each of the 59 pages as well 
as his signature on the final page.  Lamine pointed 
specifically to Section XIX, which details the 
responsibilities of the Secretary General of the Presidency, 
a position held by Mr. Sam Soumah.  &This is not the same 
document we submitted to the President,8 Lamine said. 
Lamine suggested that some parts of the document looked to 
have been &cut and pasted.8  When asked who might have 
altered the document, Lamine refused to specify a name, but 
said that it had to be someone within the presidency. 
 
¶3.  (C) According to Lamine, the altered Section gives Sam 
Soumah powers that should normally be granted to the Prime 
Minister, as head of government.  He noted that the text 
states that the Secretary General is responsible for 
&conceiving and orienting the general policies of the 
Nation8 and that &he controls government action and assures 
regular government functions and the continuity of the 
State.8  Clearly irritated, Lamine said &Soumah isn,t even 
a minister, he,s a secretary general ) he should not have 
these powers.8  Another point of contention, Lamine said, is 
that the decree leaves the Central Bank under the Presidency, 
and specifically, under Sam Soumah,s jurisdiction. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Lamine also commented on the lack of mention of the 
prime minister within the decree document.  He noted that out 
of the 59 pages, the prime minister is specifically mentioned 
in only one sentence, under Section XX, which deals with the 
power of the Secretary General of the Government, where it 
states that the &Secretary General of the Government, 
appointed by the Prime Minister is responsible for 
coordinating the actions of the government.8  Lamine said 
that this section refers more to administrative 
responsibility than to powers of state.  However, Lamine 
acknowledge that the initial letter signed by President Conte 
in March that appointed Kouyate as prime minister adequately 
defines the prime minister position and the powers delegated 
by the president. 
 
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WE,LL GET IT FIXED 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  (C) During a December 28 meeting with the Ambassador, 
Finance Minister Ousmane Dore acknowledged that the document 
had been altered, but was less concerned than Lamine.  Dore 
confirmed that the signed decree is not the same one the 
Prime Minister originally submitted to the Presidency. 
However, Dore said Kouyate,s administration had caught the 
error and is in the process of correcting the problem, noting 
that the prime minister will be meeting with the president 
privately to discuss the matter.  Dore commented that the 
fact that the Central Bank is under the presidency is not a 
big deal since it has traditionally always been under the 
presidency.  However, Dore said that the prime minister,s 
proposed corrections include removing the Central Bank from 
the president,s jurisdiction and making it completely 
independent. 
 
 
CONAKRY 00000004  002 OF 002 
 
 
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WIDESPREAD PRESS SPECULATION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) The press, both printed and electronic, has widely 
speculated on possible alterations to the decree,s original 
text in recent weeks.  The delay between Dore,s announcement 
of the president,s signing of the decree on public radio on 
December 6 and the public release of the actual text to the 
press on December 12 (reftel A) raised a number of questions 
regarding the content of the document.  The press has 
commented on the significant powers granted to Secretary 
General Sam Soumah as well as the almost complete lack of 
mention of the prime minister and his powers as head of 
government.  There have been a few press reports suggesting 
that the decree had been altered in order to preserve power 
within the presidency.  Rampant rumors suggest that Secretary 
General Sam Soumah is responsible for the alterations. 
 
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LABOR UNIONS WEIGH IN 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Union-Intersyndicale, the blanket organization 
representing Guinea's labor unions, issued an open letter on 
December 28 in which union leaders criticized the 
restructuring decree.  Citing inconsistencies with the 
January 27 Accords, union leaders wrote that the powers 
granted to the Secretary General of the President seriously 
violate the spirit of the verbal negotiations leading to the 
January 27 Accords and Prime Minister Kouyate's appointment. 
In addition, union leaders suggest that the Secretary 
General's stated powers are inappropriate since he does not 
hold ministerial rank. 
 
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KEY PROVISIONS 
-------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) The bulk of the decree details the individual powers 
of each ministry and reportedly grants each minister the 
ability to reorganize his/her respective institutions. 
According to Embassy contacts, the document also gives the 
Ministry of Interior the ability to appoint government 
officials throughout the interior, including governors, 
prefects and sous-prefects.  (Comment ) While Kouyate 
appointed new governors and prefects in July 2007, many 
contacts have stressed that the government needs to review 
and/or replace the 313 sous-prefecture positions throughout 
the country.  End Comment). 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶9.  (C) While government sources confirm that the 
restructuring decree appears to have been altered, Finance 
Minister Dore seemed confident that the prime minister will 
be able to resolve the problem quickly.  Despite critical 
press reports and strong reactions from the unions and 
others, it is important to recognize that the decree has 
finally been signed and it does reportedly give Kouyate,s 
ministers the ability to reorganize their respective 
ministries, the lack of which has hampered Kouyate,s reform 
efforts since his appointment in March 2007.  The fact that 
the document does not address Kouyate does not appear to be 
especially problematic since Kouyate already has a legitimate 
document detailing his appointment and his powers as head of 
government.  However, concerns over what should have been in 
the decree may create an unwelcome diversion as ministers and 
others focus on getting the decree changed rather than 
capitalizing on their newly defined authorities to advance 
the PM's reform agenda. 
 
¶10.  (C) A greater concern may be that the document appears 
to have been altered within the presidency.  In an earlier 
meeting with the Ambassador (reftel B), Finance Minister Dore 
said that Sam Soumah had sat on the decree for months and 
never presented it to the president.  Now, the Embassy is 
hearing that Mr. Soumah may have altered the signed decree in 
order to grant himself additional powers.  If Kouyate 
succeeds in getting the decree revised, it should send a 
clear message to Sam Soumah and others of Conte,s inner 
circle.  At the same time, the decree,s alteration suggests 
that the &old guard8 is capitalizing on opportunities to 
manipulate the current political situation and preserve its 
power base.  END COMMENT. 
CARTER