Flashy façade hides abuse, poverty

Landing in Equatorial Guinea’s capital of Malabo, a short drive from the airport brings any road user onto an impeccable six-lane asphalt highway. Driving further, the visitor is stunned to see gleaming tower blocks, rows of government housing, a state-of-the-art hospital and a giant conference centre.

“He will not benefit from the infrastructure; it’s not for himself. It’s for the next generation and for the everyday citizen.” Sarah Saadoun, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, says the squandering of oil wealth is so brazen it’s “in your face” and made all the more deplorable when compared to the plight of the average citizen.

The Universidad Americana del Africa Central, a sprawling campus in the new capital, is expected to welcome its first students this month and is hoped by the government to serve the surrounding Central African region. Attracting foreign capital through prestige projects is a key strategy for Equatorial Guinea after its oil-dependent economy tanked in 2014 when commodity prices dropped.

Infrastructure and stability, in stark contrast to neighbouring Cameroon and Nigeria, are two key selling points to international oil companies looking to carve a slice of the oil wealth. Now the economy has contracted, the government claims to have diversified into areas such as fishing, tourism and agriculture. But, hard evidence of serious investment in key diversification areas is difficult to come by.

Government officials and citizens alike frequently cite the brutal rule of Equatorial Guinea’s first president, Francisco Macías Nguema, as an existential justification for Obiang’s iron fist.

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