DADIS CAMARA "SUSPENDS" MINFIN

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000094 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EAID PREL ASEC GV SUBJECT: DADIS CAMARA "SUSPENDS" MINFIN ¶1. (U) On 7 February, Moussa Dadis Camara, President of the National Council for Democracy and Development (CNDD), announced during a state television broadcast that he was suspending the Minister of Finance, Captain Mamadou Sande. Dadis Camara did not state a reason for issuing the suspension. ¶2. (SBU) A Customs contact told POL LES that Dadis suspended Sande because the MinFin disagreed with the junta leader's decision to detach the Customs and Taxation Bureaus from the Ministry of Finance and place them under the direct control of the President's Office. Contact said Sande had also reportedly complained that documents requiring Dadis' signature were routinely delayed at the presidency. As MinFin, Sande had been responsible for maintaining relations with the Bretton Woods institutions and overseeing Guinea's progress toward HIPC debt relief. Last week, the World Bank issued a notice of non-payment to Guinea for failure to make a scheduled loan repayment. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Though Sande has been relieved of his duties after only one month in office, it remains unclear if his "suspension" is merely temporary. Longtime observers of the political scene in Guinea say that ministers in the past have simply been sacked. By moving two other sources of revenue under his direct control and essentially sacking a comrade-in-arms, Dadis appears to be signaling that he will brook no opposition as he further consolidates his control over the country's financial resources. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC