water

Water for Chevron and a Lesson for the Government

18 de December de 2012 Rafael Marques de Morais

A U.S oil multinational, Chevron, recently kick-started a new venture in Luanda’s most affluent residential area, Talatona: a water well for the consumption of its employees. The first well for the rich, privileged and expats, in a luxury gated community, is about to pump water to the 100 houses of Condomínio Monte Belo (Beautiful Heights), where most of Chevron’s expat employees live. Since the August 31 elections, the Angolan capital, Luanda, a sprawling urban chaos with more than five million people, has been plagued by severe water and electricity shortages. Monte Belo is one of the extravagantly expensive gated communities that have mushroomed south of Luanda and it is worth over US $250 million. Chevron commissioned the real estate project to the Brazilian construction multinational Odebrecht, in a joint-venture with a local private company Sakus Empreendimentos e Participações, set up by Sonangol oil executives. Sakus is currently fronted by Mirco […]

Water for Everyone, Cisterns for the Elite

1 de August de 2012 Rafael Marques de Morais

The MPLA’s program for government for the 5-year period of 2012-2017 outlines extraordinary progress in the provision of socio-economic infrastructure throughout the country. Statistics presented in the election manifesto are on a scale comparable only to industrialized nations with high levels of human development. After the World War II, the European countries and Japan benefitted from the Marshall Plan. They relied on the synergy of their people and of the international community for the process of reconstruction and the launch of their development programs. In Angola, the MPLA’s program unveils only the endeavor of one party and one leader. However, this totalitarian endeavor by the MPLA, in power for the past 37 years, cannot prevent citizens from undertaking a critical analysis of the government and its success stories. After all, the MPLA proclaims that it has done everything to improve the quality of life of the people. This article analyzes, […]

Politics