| inbluevt | Date: Wednesday, 2013/07/24, 3:31 AM | Message # 1 | DMCA |
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Mahmoud Thiam is convinced that someone has been going through his rubbish bins. His
Manhattan residence is 4,000 miles from his native Guinea, where he was mining minister under the military junta that ruled until December 2010.
A probe by Guinea’s elected government into mining deals struck by past dictatorships has restarted a tussle for some of the planet’s most coveted mineral stocks. Mr Thiam believes the hunt for any shady dealings, the latest twist in a 15-year saga of politics, business and bloodshed, has led all the way to his doorstep.
Tens of billions of dollars, as well as the future of a woebegone west African nation of 10m people, hang in the balance, as rivals from six continents vie for Guinea’s treasure. The showdown over the country’s minerals could prove a test case in a continent where natural resources make up two-thirds of exports but have tended to generate strife rather than prosperity. One prize glitters above the rest: Simandou, the mountain that sits on top of arguably the world’s best undeveloped iron ore deposit.Supporters of Alpha Condé, the president whose high-profile advisers include billionaire investor George Soros and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, say his public commitment to transparency breaks with a past sullied by alleged corruption.
“Guinea has an opportunity to become an open, democratic society and to use its mineral wealth to help its citizens escape poverty,” says Mr Soros in a statement to the Financial Times. “But Condé faces an uphill battle; bribery and corruption are deeply ingrained in Guinea.”
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Message edited by inbluevt - Wednesday, 2013/07/24, 3:33 AM |
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