Published November 23, 2011 | By Tierney Anderson and Ed Nagle

Corruption and inequality is rampant throughout Guinea. Despite having at least 25% of the world’s known bauxite reserves (aluminum ore), substantial high quality iron ore, gold and uranium, Guinea remains one of the poorest, least developed countries in the world. After over 50 years of repression and dictatorship, Guinea held its first widely recognized free presidential elections in late 2010, which were absent of major violence. However, there are continuing political and ethnic tensions over the upcoming December legislative elections. Infrastructure and government institutions have historically been, and currently remain, woefully underdeveloped and are a major challenge for the new administration. The newly elected president, Alpha Condé, has taken steps to reform the mining code (Guinea’s major source of revenue) to prevent and punish corruption and reform the security sector. President Condé has also promised to rebuild Guinea’s transportation infrastructure and improve access to electricity and potable water.