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Conté, who arrived following a coup we are trying to put the country back nothing. However, these compa-
d'etat. Between these were two other on track, but it is not easy. We firmly nies used our name on the financial
military personalities, President believe it will happen and we need it markets to raise funds or to increase
Dadis who had one year in office to happen because if we fail we will their value on the stock exchange
and then President Konate, who decline further. around the world by saying that they
made the transition and modernized had concessions in Guinea.
the election system. This is why we Q: You mentioned the fight
are now attempting to raise aware- against corruption. What has Since we did not benefit from the
ness and trying to demystify the been done specifically to eradi- mining code, nor the code of mora-
stereotypes about our country. We cate this phenomenon? lity that goes with it, we decided to
are trying to get out of the deadlock review the situation. We did not do
since the people have suffered. We We have already removed a lot of this to fill our own pockets, but to
want to put the country on the right problems. Each government depart- make life better for our people, to
track. ment had its own financial unit. We give them better lives and all that
have removed them and set up one can contribute to achieving this. We
Q: Your country is known to central unit. The purpose is to obtain are stakeholders. This had to be done
have vast mineral resources, traceability of the budget. I would at the expense of some fellows who
but does not seem to be bene- not say that we have overcome cor- were predators. Doing something to
fiting from them. ruption, but it has been attenuated help Guineans achieve a better life is
and we must continue to remain what we do every day, even if some
Guinea is a potentially rich country, vigilant. of our countrymen treat the Pres-
immensely wealthy, and could ac- ident and myself as "white men" and
tually be economically independent In the last eighteen months we have "communists". It is not a big task,
if it were exploiting its own natural gone from a 13% budget deficit to 2% because we are just trying to be rigo-
resources. Above all, the country in order to arrive at the completion rous, to be honest, to run the country
should have good governance of its point under the Heavily Indebted for the benefit of the people. We will
wealth and resources for the bene- Poor Countries (HIPC) programme. continue to fight for this principle
fit of the people. This is vital. The We have cancelled our foreign debts because it is a matter of belief and
president has begun a relentless on that basis. As your readers should conviction.
fight against corruption, against the know, even some European countries
predation of the country's wealth. have not managed to achieve the tar- Q: The compatriots who call you
The first difficulty with which we get of 3% budget deficit. It became a a white man, could they not be
are confronted is governance. Good main priority and some people even to some extent right, since you
governance would make us self- called our president "Mr HIPC", spent most of your professional
sufficient and no longer dependant because every time he was asked life outside your country?
on development assistance. for money he replied: "Not a penny
until we have reached our point of When a person treats me as a white
Guinea has suffered from misman- completion." That is the reality. It is man, I answer him: "If white means
agement. The First Republic wanted difficult situation for a political class integrity, yes. If white means strict,
to create a new man by introducing to accept that has been accustomed yes. If white means competent, I
collectivism in a country with a tra- to filling its own pockets. We now agree." However, we have a saying
dition of a socially individualistic have a president who has only one in my country: "A log lying in water
family vocation. Collectivism did concern: how to improve the living for a hundred years does not become
not fit. People confuse socialism and conditions of the population. a caiman." I am reminded every day
sociability. You can be friendly with- that I'm not white.
out being a socialist. African socia- Q: Your country has been in the
bility is to be of service to the other, limelight for the Beny Stein- Q: What are your visions for
to do something for each other -- but metz case. What is the satis- your country?
it does not mean that we own every- faction that you can draw from
thing in common. The First Repu- this? Visions and ambitions: to start with,
blic lasted twenty-six years. Guinea to become an emerging country,
became a closed country and lots It is important because it corres- because we have good potential. To
of people were put in prison. We ponds to a conviction. The public see the day when we send out the
lost a lot of highly educated people. goods which belong to the State, i.e. first shipment of iron ore and when
At the end of the First Republic the nation, must go the people, to we transform our bauxite into alu-
we had a military coup, and then our population. That is the way it minium. The day when we have our
Lansana Conté governed for over should be, the ultimate condition. own steel plants and when we can
twenty years. Instead of developing As soon as the new government be- export finished products instead
the country, we lived on our poten- gan its work, we started conducting of having to export our raw mate-
tial to be rich. Meanwhile, the popu- a thorough review of all the mining rials. When we manage to cultivate
lation lost more and had fewer re- contracts. We had granted conces- our 6 million hectares and make
sources; everything was in the hands sions to companies that had done our country the storehouse of West
of one class. Since December 2010, nothing and the country obtained Africa. We have the capability. We

8 International