Guinea Conakry Support | Guinee Conakry Trade and Support. (GCT&S)

Company

GCTS provides the Republic of Guinea Conakry in their basic needs. On behalf of the President, Alpha Conde, GCTS provides support in purchase, sales, import and distribution in the country. GCTS has a unique concept to which it contributes to the development of
education, employment, knowledge and the promotion of the democracy. In addition, GCTS has a prominent role in the further development of international trade relations. Through an agreement GCTS is authorized to act on behalf of the Republic and to involve new trading partners.

History of Guinea

The area of northern Guinea was under the control of successive African empires (Ghana, Mali and Songhay). European traders were
active since the 15th century along the coast, but did not settle in this area earlier as the late 17th century. In the 18th century there
was a kingdom called Genni along the banks of the Niger. France claimed the southern island of Tumbo and Guinea (Conakry now) in 1783 and 1885. The area was run from Dakar (Senegal) till 1891, in this year France declared Guinea as an autonomous colony of France. In 1958, a referendum was held in order to decide if Guinea would join a newly formed self-governing community, as French overseas territory. French Guinea was the only colony voted against such membership.

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A prominent role was played by Ahmed Sekou Touré, Secutary general of the Parti Démocratique de Guinée-Rassemblement Démocratique Africain (PDG-RDA). Ahmed Sekou Touré demanded an independent state. This led to retaliation by France, financial support and investments were suspended. Ahmed Sekou Touré became the first president of the new Republic Guinea. The country was led by a socialistic regime in which no opposition was accepted.

The diplomatic relation between France and the Republic of Guinea were restored in 1976. In 1979 the Republic of Guinea became a people’s republic, Ahmed Sekou Touré declared he was willing to deal and cooperate with other countries. By violent oppression, Ahmed Sekou Touré ruled until 26 March 1984, when he died unexpectedly. By a quick coup d’état, Lansana Conté leader of the Comité Militaire de Redressement National (CMRN) became the new President.

Conte alleged economic and political changes, and started a democratization process. The CRMN was replaced by a transitional party, the Comité Transitoire de Redressement National (CTRN). In 1991 the “Third Republic” was proclaimed, a new party led by Conte, the Parti de l’Unité et du Progrès (PUP) replaced the transnational party. After the cold war, countries in Africa, including Guinea, continued the democratization process, several opposition parties were founded, including the Parti pour le Renouveau et le Progrès (PRP) and the Union pour la Nouvelle République (UNR). Demonstrators from all different parties clashed, the country was in chaos and there was no possibility to have elections. Up untill 1994, due to the riots in the Republic, no elections were held. Conte was inaugurated as the president of the Republic of Guinea.

The relationship between the government and the opposition did not improve. In 1995 parliamentary elections were held, the PUP had the majority of votes. Shortly thereafter, a newly formed opposition front including twelve opposition parties were represented in the Coordination de l’Opposition Démocratique (CODEM)

Four months later, the army started a revolt against Conte. The revolt culminated in a coup, but failed. In order to prevent a new revolt, Conte reorganized the army. In 1998 New presidential elections took place under tight security. Alpha Conde, the main rival of the president, was arrested. Due to his arrest, Conte won the elections with a significant amount of votes. The opposition was furious about the arrest of Alpha Conde and the outcome of the election, new riots started but did not result in any changes.

Conte remained in power while the democratization process stopped, Guinea did not succeed to become a democracy. The Constitution of the Third Republic stated that a person could only run for president twice. In 2002 at the end of Conte’s second term, Conte organized a fraudulent referendum to change the constitution in order to apply for the presidential elections of December 2003. His reelection was a foregone conclusion. The pressure on President Lansana Conte to resign increased. Thousands protested against the appointment of his confidant Lousana Kouyate as prime minister. In January 2008 demonstrations and strikes organized by the unions, forced the president to relinquish power to a prime minister. Despite all the effort, Conte did not surrender. In May 2008 Conte replaced Lansana Kouyate and declared Ahmed Tidiane Souaré as the new prime minister.

At the end of 2008 President Conté died, power passed into the hands of the military, led by Moussa Camara Dadis. He declared Cabin Komara as the new prime minister of the republic. In August 2009 Dadis Moussa Camara promised that elections will be held in 2010. In December 2009, Moussa Camara Dadis was shot by a former employee.

Dadis Moussa Camara survived the attack but decides to leave Guinea, and moves to Burkina Faso. In January 2010 he is replaced by Sekouba Konate. Jean-Marie Dore of the democratic opposition is the interim prime minister in order to achieve a transmission to a civilian government. On June 27, 2010, is the first presidential elections without any corruption. In the first round there is no candidate with sufficient votes to be declared as the winner.

After the earlier attempt in 1998, Alpha Conde was again one of the leading candidates for President of the Republic of Guinea. In December 2010 it turned out Alpha Conde had the majority of votes. After 25 years of dictatorship, and military regime for 2 years, Guinea finally had a democratically elected president, Professor Alpha Conde.

Population

Guinea’s 10 million people belong to twenty-four ethnic groups. The most prominent groups are the:

The Fula (or Fulbe) with a percentage of 40%.
The Mandinka (or Mandingo) in the Eastern part of Guinea, with a percentage of 30%
And, the Susu (or Soussou) in the Western part of Guinea, with a percentage of 20%.

The official language is French, but all ethnic groups speak their own language.

Religion

Over 85% of the population is Muslim (Sunni), 10% are Christian (mainly Roman Catholic) and 5% are Animist (natural religions).

Economy

Guinea is one of the least developed countries in the world. The economy depends mainly on tropical agriculture, fishing and mining. Guinea is the world’s second country for bauxite production. Richly endowed with minerals, Guinea possesses over 25 billion tonnes (metric tons) of bauxite – and perhaps up to one-half of the world’s reserves. In addition, Guinea’s mineral wealth includes more than 4-billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore, significant diamond an gold deposits, and undetermined quantities of uranium.