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@ KIBONGE , leta hekaya. What happened and why is it now a ghost town ?
People cannot afford them.
Oooh.
@ WuTang , the capital city Luanda, also has one of the most expensive hotel rates in the world.
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Guess it has to do with the current oil price slump.
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Until recently, the oil boom made Luanda the most expensive city in the world. Rent proved to be impossible for the poverty stricken residents. The Chinese provided solution to construct ‘‘affordable’’ housing projects. Summarily, the Chinese were paid construction money but the government cant recover their money as the units proved too expensive.
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Ni hapa nilisoma jana vile low oil prices have even fucked things further for Angolans?
@ Kibonge , understood and asante for the hekaya.
@ kibonge , are your in Angola or have you been ? because I have a small hekaya about that place.
leta hekaya tusikie sote
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Zee mtu yangu. Tuko diaspora kwengine.
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It was before the oil slump, imekuwa hivyo for more than three years.
@Deorro ,
About six years ago I went to oversee a project in Angola but because of my Kenya kihere here, I told my local contacts that no one should meet me at the airport because I would find my way around.
I arrive at the airport via Europe kitu around 5am, still dark outside, clear customs and step outside the terminal. Shock, not one single taxi in sight ! Me I am used to airports having taxis at arrival terminals. I look around confused and there was a mzungu who had been on same flight as I waiting patiently outside the arrival area. So I approach him. He told me that in Luanda, you have to call for a taxi to come and pick you up at the airport or have a friend or relative pick you up.
I swallowed my pride and asked for a ride with him to town. He did me a favour by asking his driver to drop me off first at a hotel in town. Kumbe yeye ana local Angola mrembo, mpango wa kando yake, who he stays with when in Luanda. I hope they now have taxis waiting for passengers right at the arrival terminal in Luanda.
Second shock that night, was the price ya hoteli. A hotel kama, 2 star hivi, I had to part with US$1, 000 a night. Luckily i just charged it on my employer issued business credit card, knowing I will fight with our accountant later about my accommodation expenses.
Next day, I call my colleagues on the ground pronto and asked them to provide ground transportation and find me a cheaper hotel in town. They had actually booked me an affordable hotel ahead of time but three hours outside Luanda. Three hours because of the bad roads and heavy traffic. On my way to that hotel, for those who have been to Luanda, I have never seen a whole estate built on top of a garbage landfill, full of plastic waste in the soil underneath. On arrival at the hotel, my colleagues told me if I have intentions with local beauties “nicheze chini ya maji” because the hotel may have hidden security cameras even inside the rooms.
Then when I was leaving Angola, immigration and customs officials did what used to happen in Kenya. I got pulled into a tiny office and was told ni wache hapo hapo all Angola currencies I still had in my possession. I did that but refused to part with the US$ I had in my wallet. Waka nia acha ati have a safe journey and come back soon !
I will never forget my first trip to Angola. But those days are behind me now, no international travel. Back to being a proud peasant and just happy to eat kuku kienyegi oshago.
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The government leadership (Dos Santos) should be shot dead. The government should set reasonable lease\mortgage terms for those houses thereby easing the pressure on housing in Luanda. Unless bado wanakula nyamchom
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Why? What’s wrong with having a local quail?
African leaders, waste waste waste. Donald trump should give them a wake up call. All of them except mugabe who is almost resting on peace
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Your sex tape going probably online
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The Chinese construction companies were not paid up front, those houses were constructed the way we are doing our SGR. A bank in China provides a loan, this money is not paid to the government, its paid to a Chinese contractor that has secured a contruction deal with the government. This loans are “oil backed”, this means Angola will be paying it off with oil exports to China. But then oil prices went down, so they now have to export more oil to china (relative to when the price of oil was >US $100) to service this loans. This leaves the government with less volumes of oil to export for cash, this coupled with low oil prices means Angola is getting very little income from oil sales
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@ 4makind , nothing wrong with local Angolan quail. Lakini those days Angola security bado walikuwa na KGB style of spying on foreigners.
My colleagues were looking out for me… just incase.
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