Pretoria - A new era in Guinean politics has been officially ushered in as Alpha Conde was inaugurated as that country's new president on Tuesday.
The presidential inauguration was held after Conde won the second round of elections on November 7, clinching 52.52 percent of the vote.
Several African heads of state and government, including President Jacob Zuma, witnessed the installation of Conde as president.
President Zuma was accompanied by Minister of International Relations, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, whose presence there was within the context of consolidating and strengthening the African Agenda.
Other heads of state included Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade, Mali's Amadou Toumani Toure, Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, Sierra Leone's Ernest Bai Koroma, Liberia's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Gabon's Ali Bongo and Angola's Eduardo Dos Santos.
The West African country had no president since Lansana Conte died in December 2008, when a military junta took over power in a coup.
Ruled by strong-arm leaders since independence, Guinea has been seen as a bulwark against instability in neighbouring Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. However, it has also been implicated in the conflicts that have ravaged the region.
Although Guinea's mineral wealth makes it potentially one of Africa's richest countries, its people are among the poorest in West Africa.
This has been attributed to poor governance and political turmoil that have kept mining revenues from reaching ordinary Guineans.
Mining is the backbone of the economy, as the country is the world's biggest exporter of bauxite, the raw material in aluminium.
The new Guinean president has pledged to form a government of national unity, fight corruption and tribalism, and undertake a thorough reform of the country's army.
