Alpha Condé satisfied with the fight against COVID-19 in Guinea

04 Octobre 2020

Conakry, Guinea, October 4 (Infosplusgabon) - Guinean President Alpha Conde on Thursday hailed the "collective effort" made in recent months in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the first case of which was detected on March 12 in the country.

In his broadcast message for celebration of Guinea's 62nd independence anniversary,  President Condé noted that resilience has been constant and that many initiatives have been deployed by the government to help stop the progression of the disease.

"Our country has been able to manage the impacts of the pandemic thanks to the great experience of the Ebola virus epidemic that Guinea faced from 2013 to 2015.

"The lessons learned from the Ebola period have prepared us better to face today's difficult challenges," he said.

He welcomed the "encouraging results" obtained in the fight against Covid-19 and emphasised strict compliance with the instructions that should lead to the eradication of the pandemic.

Referring to the new constitution, adopted on 22 March, he said Guinea had made "decisive progress" on gender issues, including the prohibition of forced marriages and female genital mutilation.

The new basic law, he continued, also enshrines the principle of equality between women and men, making a real political conquest. The law now provides that the government and the Assemblies must be composed of at least one-third women.

Within the framework of the empowerment of women and young people, he said that the State ensures through specific funds, the preparation of youth for future  challenges.

Thus, school becomes compulsory until the age of 16, without forgetting the care of disabled people.

On the presidential election of October 18, the head of state said that Guinean democracy knows no exclusion, no man or woman politician suffers from imprisonment, banishment or forced exile for his or her opinions.

"I hope that this election, supervised by an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), composed on a parity basis between the presidential majority and the opposition, is an illustration of the vitality of democratic debate in our country, in order to revisit together the achievements and gains of this decade on the political, economic and social levels," he said.

Guinea was the first French-speaking  African country to free itself from colonial rule in 1958 after the NO vote in the referendum of September 28, following a majority vote to leave the French Community.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/PLM/GABON2020

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