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Conakry - Culture |
Conakry Guinea is not a tourist destination. Its only tourists are
business people who only stay in Guinea from 3 to 7 days. There are only 1957 hotel rooms in the whole country. Tourism and hotel trade account for only 0.17% of the GDP. Conscious of the underdevelopment of the sector and the great potential it entails, the government created in October 1997 the Ministry of
Tourism. At middle term, Guinea expects to attract 35,000 Tourists per year. However, before that number can be reached, quite a few things need to be changed. Roads need to be improved. Photography is almost virtually prohibited. New regulations allowing to take photographs were announced in 1992, but the population is still conditioned by dictatorial times prohibiting the taking of photographs of literally anything. Along the countryside there are so many corrupt police controls that travelers will easily be discouraged by their greed and prepotency. After midnight, when all restaurants and night clubs are teeming, police controls springing everywhere, turning Conakry's nightlife into a nightmare. If the government does not solve these serious obstacles, travelling around the country will hardly be worth the pain. The Republic of Guinea suffered for too long under one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. Sekou Tour, the despotic dictator who ruled the country for 26 years (1958-1984), left deep scars in one of the richest countries in Africa. It is only recently that Guinea has started healing its wounds and has opened up to the world.
Today, 40 years after its independence Guinea has still a long way to go. Since Presidency is held for a 5-year term, Mr. Cont‚ is confronted with new elections in December 1998, shortly after the 40th anniversary of independence (October 2nd 1998). The PUP (Parti de l'Unite et du Progres) the presidential party, does not face serious opposition, thus assuring political stability for at least 5 more years. International observers are expected during the elections to insure total transparency of the voting process. The passage from communism to capitalism has not been easy. Supported by the Bretton Woods institutions (IMF, World bank) and by donor countries a structural program (PREF) was set up in order to help the economy grow.
During the dictatorial regime inefficient state monopolies controlled every aspect of the economy. These companies, instead of being productive, lived from state subventions, eating up large chunks of the State budget. Under the structural program public enterprises were either sold or liquidated. From a total of 378 public companies, only 10 remain fully in control of the state. However the State still owns shares in key businesses.
Sweeping reforms were introduced following the agreements signed with the IMF. Changes in monetary and banking policies were introduced including the devaluation of the currency, the introduction of a new national currency - the Guinean franc - liberalization of money exchange, and the restructuring of the banking system. All state banks were closed, being replaced by 6 private banks. Trade was liberalized. A new investment code was issued and price controls were eliminated. Since civil service was overcrowded - hundreds of ghost workers were included in the payrolls -, civil servants have been reduced 42% since 1986 passing from 90,300 to 52,000 presently. This has allowed a better service and a reduction in budgetary expenses.
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