Brand new homes intended for Equatorial Guinea's lower-income families have cropped up across the capital Malabo, but shanty town residents say they are going to the middle class and wealthy instead.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Saturday won a sixth term in office, a much-expected result in an authoritarian country with next to no political opposition.
The 80-year-old has been in power for 43 years -- the longest rule of any leader alive in the world today except monarchs.
During his election campaign in 2009, Obiang promised "social housing for all" in the oil-rich central African state.
Obiang planned to provide enough housing to raise Malabo's shanty towns, including Nubili, a mass of tin-roofed shacks along narrow paths that is home to thousands of families in the heart of the city.
Since, some 20,000 housing projects have sprung up in the country of around 1.5 million residents.
But sitting outside his shack in Nubili, 70-year-old Julio Ondo said none of them appeared to be for people like him.
"They've made fools of the poor," he said. I've lost all hope of one day living in "dignified housing".
Most people live in poverty in Equatorial Guinea, the World Bank estimates, while wealth is concentrated in the hands of just a few families.
- 'I'll be dead' -
In some parts of Malabo today, lines of identical apartment blocks have sprung up as far as the eye can see, built with the profits of high international oil prices.
In the suburb of Buena Esperanza, some 2,300 small detached homes appeared during the 2010s, supposed to welcome families from Nubili.
But today, shiny four-wheel drives and other expensive cars line the neighbourhood's streets, appearing to indicate the wealth of its new residents.
The homes are being sold for around $15,500, payable in monthly instalments of $78.
But that is astronomical for many in Nubili.
Plantain farmer Antonio Omecha, 72, is one of many who had hoped the housing plan would allow him to leave a slum plagued with disease and frequent fires.
He said he did receive a housing coupon to go and live in Buena Esperanza.
"But we had to pay 1.5 million francs (more than $2,350)" upfront first, he said.
It was impossible on his monthly income of $30.
His neighbour Tobias Ondo, 65, said the new homes were simply too expensive.
"Do you really think someone who works seven days and barely makes 2,000 francs can afford to own such a home?" he said.
"I'll be dead before I go and live in the public housing promised by the president."
- 'Powerful' landlords -
Equatorial Guinea is the region's third richest country, with a GDP per capita of $8,462 last year, after the Seychelles and Mauritius, the World Bank says.
But in 2006, when the oil boom was in full swing, more than three quarters of the population lived in "extreme poverty", or on less than $1.90 a day, the international financial body said. There have been no new figures since.
The country ranked 172 out of 180 in Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index.
During his election campaign at the start of the month, Obiang admitted that social housing intended for "people without great means" had been snapped up instead by "people able to build their own home".
But he did not offer a solution.
Martinez Obiang, of micro-financing firm Atom Finances, says he thinks the homes should have cost no more than the equivalent of $780, payable in tiny monthly instalments of less than $3.
Sociologist Nsogo Eyi said the new homes, including those in Buena Esperanza, did not seem to be serving their intended purpose.
"Some powerful men have bought them to rent them out, including to expats," he said.
AFP reached out to several of these new owners, but they refused to comment.
sam-lad-gir-tg/ah/imm
Obiang wins sixth term as E. Guinea ruler
By AFP
November 26, 2022
Obiang had the backing of a coalition of 15 parties - Copyright AFP Pedro Rances Mattey
Samuel OBIANG
Equatorial Guinea’s ruler Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been re-elected to a sixth term as president with 94.9 percent of the votes cast, election officials announced on Saturday, putting turnout for the vote at 98 percent.
Obiang, 80, who seized power in a 1979 coup, is the longest-ruling head of state in the world excluding monarchs. He has never officially been re-elected with less than 93 percent of the vote.
Electoral commission head Faustino Ndong Esono Eyang confirmed that Obiang would serve another seven years in the top job. The commission said the turnout rate for the election was 98 percent.
The landslide result was widely expected in the oil-rich and authoritarian Central African nation, where the political opposition is extremely weak.
Obiang had the backing of a coalition of 15 parties, including his all-powerful ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE).
The PDGE, which was the country’s only legal political movement until 1991, also swept all seats in the National Assembly and the Senate.
The percentages won by the opposition candidates, Andres Esono Ondo of the Convergence for Social Democracy and Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu of the Social Democratic Coalition Party, were not announced, with both garnering just a few thousand votes.
“The definitive results of the vote find in our favour once more,” Obiang’s son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, wrote on Twitter.
“We will continue to prove that we are a great political party.”
– ‘History repeating itself’ –
Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea for more than 43 years after ousting his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, who was then executed by a firing squad.
He has suppressed dissent and seen off a string of attempted coups in the Spanish-speaking nation.
Security forces arrested opposition figures in the weeks before the result, with the regime saying it was thwarting a “conspiracy” to commit attacks in the capital Malabo and economic hub Bata.
The authorities also closed the country’s land borders with neighbouring Gabon and Cameroon before campaigning began, saying it was foiling infiltrators from disrupting the vote.
Obiang is just the second president in Equatorial Guinea’s history since it gained independence in 1968 from Spain, its colonial power for nearly two centuries.
“Equatorial Guinea’s history has been repeating itself for 43 years and the political vision established by the government will continue after this election,” Justo Bolekia, a professor at Spain’s University of Salamanca, told AFP.
“It was predictable, including for the opposition. We were even expecting a score closer to 98 percent,” he added.
The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s turned Equatorial Guinea into sub-Saharan Africa’s third-richest country in terms of per-capita income in 2021.
But the wealth has remained concentrated in the hands of a few families.
In 2006, when the oil boom was in full swing, more than three quarters of the population lived in extreme poverty, or on less than $1.90 a day, according to the World Bank. There have been no new figures since.
The country also has a reputation for graft, ranking 172 out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s 2021 Corrupti
Teodoro Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s iron-fisted ruler
By AFP
Published November 26, 2022
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been in power for 43 years, longer than any current leader apart from monarchs - Copyright POOL/AFP ludovic MARIN
Confirmed for a sixth term as president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled oil-rich Equatorial Guinea since August 1979, overseeing a regime notorious for crushing dissent and fearing coups.
The 80-year-old’s 43 years in power are the longest of any leader alive in the world today, with the exception of monarchs.
He seized power from Francisco Macias Nguema, who in 1968 had become Equatorial Guinea’s first president upon independence from Spain and later declared himself president for life. Macias — Obiang’s uncle — was executed by firing squad two months after the coup.
Obiang’s opponents say that under his iron-fisted, hermetic tenure, the country has become the “North Korea of Africa”.
The regime’s ruthlessness is regularly condemned by rights watchdogs, who have documented mass, arbitrary arrests, dissidents held in nightmarish prison conditions and frequent sweeps against suspected plotters.
In a country where there is just a single authorised opposition party, Obiang exercises near-total political control.
In 2016, he was re-elected with 93.7 percent of the vote: this time, the official result gave him 94.9 percent, on a turnout of 98 percent.
– Son in the wings –
Obiang’s son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, is widely seen as his successor, and has ascended the ranks to the position of vice president today.
In an interview ahead of the 2016 vote, the elder Obiang told the French-language Jeune Afrique magazine that this would be the last time he would run.
“I have been in power for too long, but the people want me to be their president,” he said.
Asked whether Teodorin was being groomed for power, he said: “Equatorial Guinea isn’t a monarchy… but if he’s got talent, there’s nothing I can do.”
Speculation that he would hand over the reins in the upcoming vote gained pace as his public appearances became rarer.
But those expectations were quashed after Teodorin was enveloped in scandals abroad and a conviction in France for ill-gotten gains — state assets acquired illegally.
France, Britain and the United States have ordered him to forfeit millions of dollars in assets, from mansions to luxury cars, while France also handed him a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of 30 million euros.
The storm, coinciding with a downturn in oil revenue and the economic blow inflicted by Covid, may have prompted the elder Obiang’s inner circle to advise against leadership change.
The PDGE unanimously chose Obiang as its candidate “because of his charisma, his leadership and his political experience”, Teodorin wrote on Twitter. The party’s election slogan, seen universally on posters and state TV, was “continuity”.
– Fear of coups –
Obiang graduated from military school while the country, as Spanish Guinea, was still under the rule of Spain’s fascist dictator, General Francisco Franco.
He then held a string of key jobs, including head of the notorious Black Beach prison — a place of “living hell”, in the words of Amnesty International.
His violent path to power has bequeathed a deep fear of coups.
His bodyguard comprises soldiers who are members of his clan, but — for additional security — he has a close-protection unit who are reputedly Israelis. Zimbabweans and Ugandans have also been brought in to help guard the presidential palace.
Obiang says he has foiled at least 10 attempted coups and assassinations during his long spell in power, often blaming dissidents living in exile or “foreign powers”.
The authorities closed the borders ahead of the elections to thwart suspected plotters.
Obiang has been buttressed by the discovery of oil in territorial waters in mid-1996.
The bonanza has turned Equatorial Guinea into sub-Saharan Africa’s third-richest country, in terms of per capita income.
But the wealth is very unequally distributed — four-fifths of the population of 1.4 million live below the poverty threshold according to World Bank figures for 2006, the latest available.
The country has a long-established reputation internationally for graft, ranking 172 out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index.
By AFP
November 26, 2022
Obiang had the backing of a coalition of 15 parties - Copyright AFP Pedro Rances Mattey
Samuel OBIANG
Equatorial Guinea’s ruler Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been re-elected to a sixth term as president with 94.9 percent of the votes cast, election officials announced on Saturday, putting turnout for the vote at 98 percent.
Obiang, 80, who seized power in a 1979 coup, is the longest-ruling head of state in the world excluding monarchs. He has never officially been re-elected with less than 93 percent of the vote.
Electoral commission head Faustino Ndong Esono Eyang confirmed that Obiang would serve another seven years in the top job. The commission said the turnout rate for the election was 98 percent.
The landslide result was widely expected in the oil-rich and authoritarian Central African nation, where the political opposition is extremely weak.
Obiang had the backing of a coalition of 15 parties, including his all-powerful ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE).
The PDGE, which was the country’s only legal political movement until 1991, also swept all seats in the National Assembly and the Senate.
The percentages won by the opposition candidates, Andres Esono Ondo of the Convergence for Social Democracy and Buenaventura Monsuy Asumu of the Social Democratic Coalition Party, were not announced, with both garnering just a few thousand votes.
“The definitive results of the vote find in our favour once more,” Obiang’s son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, wrote on Twitter.
“We will continue to prove that we are a great political party.”
– ‘History repeating itself’ –
Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea for more than 43 years after ousting his uncle, Francisco Macias Nguema, who was then executed by a firing squad.
He has suppressed dissent and seen off a string of attempted coups in the Spanish-speaking nation.
Security forces arrested opposition figures in the weeks before the result, with the regime saying it was thwarting a “conspiracy” to commit attacks in the capital Malabo and economic hub Bata.
The authorities also closed the country’s land borders with neighbouring Gabon and Cameroon before campaigning began, saying it was foiling infiltrators from disrupting the vote.
Obiang is just the second president in Equatorial Guinea’s history since it gained independence in 1968 from Spain, its colonial power for nearly two centuries.
“Equatorial Guinea’s history has been repeating itself for 43 years and the political vision established by the government will continue after this election,” Justo Bolekia, a professor at Spain’s University of Salamanca, told AFP.
“It was predictable, including for the opposition. We were even expecting a score closer to 98 percent,” he added.
The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s turned Equatorial Guinea into sub-Saharan Africa’s third-richest country in terms of per-capita income in 2021.
But the wealth has remained concentrated in the hands of a few families.
In 2006, when the oil boom was in full swing, more than three quarters of the population lived in extreme poverty, or on less than $1.90 a day, according to the World Bank. There have been no new figures since.
The country also has a reputation for graft, ranking 172 out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s 2021 Corrupti
Teodoro Obiang, Equatorial Guinea’s iron-fisted ruler
By AFP
Published November 26, 2022
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has been in power for 43 years, longer than any current leader apart from monarchs - Copyright POOL/AFP ludovic MARIN
Confirmed for a sixth term as president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled oil-rich Equatorial Guinea since August 1979, overseeing a regime notorious for crushing dissent and fearing coups.
The 80-year-old’s 43 years in power are the longest of any leader alive in the world today, with the exception of monarchs.
He seized power from Francisco Macias Nguema, who in 1968 had become Equatorial Guinea’s first president upon independence from Spain and later declared himself president for life. Macias — Obiang’s uncle — was executed by firing squad two months after the coup.
Obiang’s opponents say that under his iron-fisted, hermetic tenure, the country has become the “North Korea of Africa”.
The regime’s ruthlessness is regularly condemned by rights watchdogs, who have documented mass, arbitrary arrests, dissidents held in nightmarish prison conditions and frequent sweeps against suspected plotters.
In a country where there is just a single authorised opposition party, Obiang exercises near-total political control.
In 2016, he was re-elected with 93.7 percent of the vote: this time, the official result gave him 94.9 percent, on a turnout of 98 percent.
– Son in the wings –
Obiang’s son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, known as Teodorin, is widely seen as his successor, and has ascended the ranks to the position of vice president today.
In an interview ahead of the 2016 vote, the elder Obiang told the French-language Jeune Afrique magazine that this would be the last time he would run.
“I have been in power for too long, but the people want me to be their president,” he said.
Asked whether Teodorin was being groomed for power, he said: “Equatorial Guinea isn’t a monarchy… but if he’s got talent, there’s nothing I can do.”
Speculation that he would hand over the reins in the upcoming vote gained pace as his public appearances became rarer.
But those expectations were quashed after Teodorin was enveloped in scandals abroad and a conviction in France for ill-gotten gains — state assets acquired illegally.
France, Britain and the United States have ordered him to forfeit millions of dollars in assets, from mansions to luxury cars, while France also handed him a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of 30 million euros.
The storm, coinciding with a downturn in oil revenue and the economic blow inflicted by Covid, may have prompted the elder Obiang’s inner circle to advise against leadership change.
The PDGE unanimously chose Obiang as its candidate “because of his charisma, his leadership and his political experience”, Teodorin wrote on Twitter. The party’s election slogan, seen universally on posters and state TV, was “continuity”.
– Fear of coups –
Obiang graduated from military school while the country, as Spanish Guinea, was still under the rule of Spain’s fascist dictator, General Francisco Franco.
He then held a string of key jobs, including head of the notorious Black Beach prison — a place of “living hell”, in the words of Amnesty International.
His violent path to power has bequeathed a deep fear of coups.
His bodyguard comprises soldiers who are members of his clan, but — for additional security — he has a close-protection unit who are reputedly Israelis. Zimbabweans and Ugandans have also been brought in to help guard the presidential palace.
Obiang says he has foiled at least 10 attempted coups and assassinations during his long spell in power, often blaming dissidents living in exile or “foreign powers”.
The authorities closed the borders ahead of the elections to thwart suspected plotters.
Obiang has been buttressed by the discovery of oil in territorial waters in mid-1996.
The bonanza has turned Equatorial Guinea into sub-Saharan Africa’s third-richest country, in terms of per capita income.
But the wealth is very unequally distributed — four-fifths of the population of 1.4 million live below the poverty threshold according to World Bank figures for 2006, the latest available.
The country has a long-established reputation internationally for graft, ranking 172 out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index.
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