Guinea Can’t Shake the Resource Curse or its Political Woes
A unit of the African country’s military says it has taken control of the government to address corruption. But failure to make the most of vast mineral wealth risks being both cause and consequence of the unrest.
Members of the Armed Forces of Guinea drive through the central neighborhood of Kaloum.
Photographer: Cellou Binani/AFP/Getty Images
For many Guineans, the scenes that played out on Sunday were a blast from the not-so-distant past: A military officer in dark glasses and fatigues on television dissolving the government and the constitution, unauthenticated videos of a disheveled-looking, apparently overthrown president, gunfire on the streets of Conakry.
The trouble for the West African nation is that the failure to make the most of its mineral resources is not just one of the causes of this latest coup — there’s a risk it could also be the consequence of the deep-rooted shortcomings on display.