THE main road from the Sierra Leone border to Guinea’s capital is lined with more than just potholes. Armed men sit in the shade at makeshift checkpoints and take turns to extort money from passers-by. Despite all the correct paperwork, your correspondent was robbed eight times in under an hour. “Your bag looks suspicious,” said one guard, clasping his Kalashnikov. It was just a bag full of dirty laundry, but the guard shook his head. Clearly stinky socks were a threat to national security. Fortunately, he had a solution. “Give me 40,000 francs ($4.50),” he said.
Despite appearances, Guinea has grown less corrupt under Alpha Condé, who has been president since 2010. In the year he was elected the country ranked a woeful 164th out of 178 countries on an index of corruption compiled by Transparency International, a watchdog. Now high-level graft has ebbed a bit. By 2017 Guinea had moved up to 148th, grabby border police...Continue reading
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