PUBLIC RELATIONS SERVICE AFRICA EQUATOIRAL GUINEA

EQUATORIAL GUINEA ON THE MOVE

Equatorial Guinean  Flag

Never had  Africa been at  a turning point  like  it is in Equatorial Guinea.

Almost twelve years ago, farming, fishing and forestry had been predominating in the making of a living for the two thirds of the population of this former Spanish colony located in the sub-Saharan Africa Nowadays, compared to what Equatorial Guinea used to be, it seems that a Cinderella-like fairy tale had occurred to the half million of  people  which are scattered in the islands off Malabo and the continent. Believe or not,  this tiny country of Central Africa had now the higher per capita income, once in the mid 90s, oil extraction had been removing it from African Middle ages.

Now, a good part of the population rely on ‘Western standards  for mobile communication  in which the Orange group predominates.  Landline is no longer a luxury since N. Obiang seized power in 1979. Although critized for  dictatorship,  the Guinean president  is backed by American groups and institutions such as  the Sullivan Foundation and   the likes. Recently, public figures and international organizations namely USIS and World Bank head Mr. Paul Wollowitz had agreed to participate at a reward ceremony for even the controversial head of state.

Things were going bad when in 1979 Obiang came to power.  A microscome entity, given its size, Equatorial Guinea became wealthy overnight.  Today its per capita income  range the …, allowing the president to envision the so-called Horizon 2020 for a better life to his people.  Housing, road infrastructure and tourism are on the rise. A paradise for fortune seekers coming from UK, Spain, Morroco and France, let alone the US, Equatorial Guinea had left a lot behind, but from a macro perspective,  an African miracle is underway beyond  the Sub- Saharan  sands. It was said that “the discovery of large  oil reserves in 1996 and its subsequent exploitation have contributed to a dramatic increase in government revenue. As of 2004, Equatorial Guinea is the third-largest oil producer in Sub –Saharan Africa. Its oil production has risen to 360,000 barrels per day (57,000 m3/d), up from 220,000 only two years earlier”. Equatorial Guinea was labeled the “emirate or the Dubai of Africa.” Furthermore, “under Obiang, the basic infrastructure of Equatorial Guinea has improved. Asphalt now covers more than 80% of the national roads and ports and airports are being built by Chinese, Moroccan and French contractors across much of the country”

From another point of view, Equatorial Guinea is also the rainbow of Central Africa. Located at a very cross roads, and being part insular and part mainland, Equatorial Guinea seems to be a place dedicated to the mixing of nationalities and races. What actually determines an open policy. Equatorial Guinea gathers “settlers of other nationalities, including British, French and Germans. There is also a group of Israelis, and Moroccans. After independence, thousands of Equatorial Guineans  started moving back and forth not only through the Black continent but also overseas, because of the dictatorship of  Francisco M.  Nguema . Some Equatorial Guinean communities are also to be found in Latin America, the United States, Portugal, and France. OIl extraction has contributed to a doubling of the population in Malabo.” Put simply, the velocity of exchanges and trade could explain this kind of the country for openness, at the core of the business sector.

Even though rumors of corruption persist and permeate public opinion in the European Shenghen  space or  in America, Equatorial Guinea is facing a bright future. That’s what concludes Mr  Emmanuel Marsigny,  the young lawyer of Obiang family   by claiming straightly “ the economic picture in Equatorial Guinea had brightened, with the country now enjoying “double-digit growth.”

That’s not so bad, that’s enough for a lot of hearts to miss a beat.

GLOBE HORIZONS GROUP  PUBLIC  RELATIONS SERVICES