GUINEA: Transition Plan Agreed

• by Saliou Samb (conakry)
• Thursday, January 21, 2010
• Inter Press Service

The Ouagadougou Agreement has prompted general enthusiasm from the population, but some key figures are more reserved.

General Konaté returned to Conakry on Tuesday after spending a week in the Burkinabé capital Ouagadougou, where he met with a convalescing Captain Camara, as well as the Burkinabé president, Blaise Compaoré and drew up a political agreement for a transition to civilian rule.

The agreement, signed on Jan. 15, calls for elections to be held in six months' time, and asks the injured Camara to stay out of politics - in fact, it states that no member of the junta or active member of the armed forces can contest the elections.

The agreement accounts for almost all the concerns raised by the opposition parties, unions and civil society organisations grouped under the umbrella Forum des Forces Vives (FFV), including appointment of one of the group's most prominent members, Jean-Marie Doré, as the prime minister who will lead a 101-member transitional government.

The only major FFV proposal not included in the Ouagadougou Agreement is the dissolution of the junta's ruling National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD).

Alpha Condé and Cellou Dalein Diallo, leaders of the two largest opposition parties in the country, have welcomed the agreement, hoping it will lead to 'free and transparent' elections.

But Doré himself - whose selection as interim prime minister is not unanimously supported within the opposition - expressed caution.

'We require prior consultation before any decision on the structure and composition of the government can be taken. We feel that the recent decisions are agreements concluded between President Blaise Compaoré and the junta - to the exclusion of the FFV,' Doré told the press. He was referring in part to the naming of union leader Rabiatou Serah Diallo - a rival candidate for the prime minister's position - and the CNDD's General Mamadouba 'Toto' Camara as deputies.

Diallo, leader of the National Confederation of Workers of Guinea (CNTG), also denounced the junta's unilateral decision to appoint a transitional prime minister and his two deputies.

'We must be consulted properly and not simply dictated to. We will request a meeting with General Sékouba Konaté,' she said.

There was some uncertainty after Idrissa Cherif, a spokesperson for Konaté, told the press the posts of deputy prime minister were to be dropped. On Jan. 20 Konaté duly met with several leaders from the FFV in Conakry, the Guinean capital, but no public announcement of the outcome was made.

For political analyst Madani Dia, the underlying problems remain.

'It is imperative Konaté convinces both the FFV and the CNDD to rally behind him for a successful transition. It will be very difficult, especially amongst the military where certain officials do not want to embrace an end to the crisis. This might even jeopardise Konaté’s plans for military reform.'

The Guinean Armed Forces comprises around 15,000 soldiers following ill-controlled recruitment in recent years.

'The second obstacle is related to the proposed make-up of the Prime Minister's office,' Dia asserted. 'We have a politician (Doré) who is not unanimously accepted, a union official who never should have been appointed (Diallo) and a senior officer ('Toto' Camara, the CNDD's number two) whose presence clearly tells us the junta is not ready to bow out,' says Dia.

'I think we have good reason to be pessimistic about the successful completion of this transition, especially in the six-month deadline. Even the consultations on the formation of the government are likely to be long drawn-out affairs and that is not a good thing,' he adds.

Despite the pessimism of these opposition voices, most people prefer to remain hopeful.

'I’m crossing my fingers in the hope things will for once be normal in Guinea. For several months, it’s been impossible for me to run my business,' says Naby Diallo, who imports tiles for construction.

'Before, I could bring up to thirty containers of tiles into Guinea each month. Since these (difficult) events, I’ve not even been able to manage two per month,' he laments.

For his part, Boubacar Diallo, an executive in a Nigerien bank in the process of establishing a Conakry office, says, 'Confidence has been restored to the country with the agreement negotiated by Konaté. We expect that the situation will soon allow us to conduct business profitably.'

Conakry businessman Moussa Dioumessy said, 'I think we shouldn’t confuse things. The appointment of a prime minister from the opposition should not cause us to lose sight of the fact that we have to be serious about the appointments of members of the government. But we must first appreciate that this is an unexpected step forward.'

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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