Guinea’s president Alpha Conde sacked over the weekend the west-African nation’s Communication Minister and three others for criticizing his speech.
President Conde who described the three ministers from the Malinke tribe as a “bunch of dishonest” people vowed to expose those engaged in financial malpractices within the government.
Responding to the president’s action, the sacked ministers expressed surprise, describing his speech as misplaced.
Alpha Conde, 77, was re-elected in October in only the second democratic presidential contest since Guinea gained independence from France in 1958.
Guinea is a major producer of bauxite, an aluminium ore, but growth has been hamstrung by a slump in metals prices and a two-year Ebola epidemic that killed more than 2,500 people and has driven away some investors.
Also, poor governance and political turmoil have kept mining revenues from reaching ordinary Guineans, most of whom eke out an existence on less than $1 a day, according to the UN.
Rights campaigners in the country have urged Conde to use his second term to intensify the fight against impunity, strengthen the judiciary and promote equal respect for the rights of all Guineans.