Labor unions in Guinea have threatened a nationwide strike if the government does not reduce the cost of living in the West African nation.
Guinea has been led since September 2021 by a military junta that .
The ruling junta recently increased the price of importing of basic food items into the country — which has resulted in an unprecedented price increase in markets across the country.
“Life is very expensive today in Guinea,” Mabinty Bangoura, a government worker and housewife told DW, adding that “the authorities have willingly increased the price of a bag of rice, and traders have done same, to make life difficult for us.”
The price of oil and other cooking items has also spiked — just weeks before , Islam’s holy month of fasting, spiritual reflection and prayer.
Spiraling cost of living
Fatoumata Fofana, a female trader in one of the markets in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, said the abrupt and significant increase has left citizens struggling to cope.
“Today, you can only buy a small quantity of goods and you hardly make a profit because what was to be profit has been added to the cost,” Fofana told DW.
Citizens like Fofana have accused the junta leaders of to improve the worsening living conditions.
“Doumbouya, you should try to improve the living conditions of people in Conakry,” she said, refering to Guinea’s coup leader Mamady Doumbouya. “If the husband is not working and the wife’s business is not flourishing, our existence is threatened.”
Bangoura shared a similar sentiment.
“I am not accusing anybody but the government that is incapable of saving its people. The price of all the goods such as rice, oil, sugar and flour have been increased by the government, and it comes just a month to Ramadan,” she told DW.
But Mory Kaba, a civil society activist accused the government of colluding with importers.
“In our own analysis the government has connived with importers to punish the Guinean population, but we won’t accept it,” he said.
Global rice prices increasing
Guinea’s ruling junta has the economic hardship in Guinea, citing a hike in global rice prices after last year that impacted millions of consumers around the world.
Rice prices have soared to the highest in a decade as curtails exports and erratic weather wreaks havoc on Asian rice fields
Kaba, however, questioned why Guinea’s neighboring countries had not implemented similar policies.
“Why have the Ivorians, the Malians and the Nigerians not increased the price of rice? They say the price of rice has increased in India, is it India that is supplying us sugar, oil, and other foodstuffs?” he said.
Mohamed Camara, an economic expert in Guinea has also of price hikes — emphasizing the urgent need to enhance local production.
“Guinea is likely to face high-level inflations if nothing is done to augment local productions to imported ones,” he said.
Camara further explains that middle-income households will be the hardest hit.
“The low-class Guineans spend 60% of their revenue on food, so if the price increases it will directly affect them,” he told DW.
Are there any solutions?
Citizens and experts alike believe that the lies in the government adopting fiscal policies that favor ordinary citizens.
“So, he has to improve the living conditions by allowing the free flow of money in the country,” Fofana said, refering to the junta leader.
Although the junta’s policies might have contributed to the price increase, it is impossible to disregard external influences and pre-existing problems.
Elsewhere in Africa, inflation and the high cost of living in have prompted many people to eating rice grains that millers often reject after processing or sell to farmers to feed their fish.
Experts like Camara believe that acknowledging the problem and working together is key to providing food security for the people of Guinea.
Credot: Deutsche Welle (DW)
