A friend of mine in Angola sent me a bunch of pictures of construction projects in Luanda that are reportedly approved or already under construction (below are just a few of them). Obviously the changes in saw in Luanda over three years were nothing compared to what's coming. While I'm glad to see tangible signs of development coming from Angola's oil wealth, I have this lingering feeling that perhaps building a bunch of luxury high-rise buildings and sports stadiums shouldn't be the country's number one priority. I guess it's safe to assume they've already taken care of those nagging problems of child and maternal mortality, malaria, AIDS, land mines, malnutrition, water and sanitation, and the lack of economic opportunities for the poor. Otherwise they wouldn't be spending all this money on shiny buildings in Luanda, right?
But even if I forget social responsibility for a minute, as someone who spent a lot of time in Luanda and was part of the upper quintile in income, I have to ask: What the hell good are all those buildings when nobody can get to them because Luanda's streets are completely gridlocked with traffic from 5am to 9pm?! How about investing in a little public transportation?
