Africa: The other side of the coin

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Africa: The other side of the coin#13439951

By flickerstorm - 08 Jul 2010 12:03

- 08 Jul 2010 12:03 #13439951

We are all used to hearing all kinds of terrible news coming from Africa. If its not a Famine of drought, its a war or cases of massive corruption. But "The Hopeless Continent" does not describe every country in Africa. The 16 year old holding an AK47, or the bullet-ridden buildings in the dilapidated high street do not represent the average African city. The pictures broadcast by the western media are not true of Africa today.

Africa as a whole is expected to grow by 6.2% in 2008, significantly higher than the United States at 2.2%, the European Union at 2.3% Japan at 2.5% and Latin America at 4.9%. Only China, India and Russia have higher growth rates.

Africagoodnews.com Is the site to go to if you want accurate and positive news about Africa.

Now, I created this thread to show and discuss the POSITIVE side of modern Africa. Most people already know all the negatives that are going on on the continent, I want to show you the positive side for a change. Although I couldn't possibly tell you all the projects that are going on in Africa, you can find most of them at skyscrapercity.com. That is not a political forum, so please refrain from posting any threads on race as you will quickly get a notice.

Now, on to the pictures. I wanted first to show you the pictures of African cities I have in my collection. You can find plenty more on the site I posted above.

First up is Luanda, Angola. This place has recently been undergoing a reconstruction after 20 years of civil war. The economic growth rate in Angola regularly reaches 10%

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8334 ... ngola2.jpg
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/8296 ... angola.jpg
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/5190 ... ngola3.jpg

Dar es salaam Tanzania
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/7223 ... alaam7.jpg
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/8801 ... alaam3.jpg
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5724 ... alaam6.jpg
http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4778/daressalaam.jpg
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/7061 ... alaam2.jpg
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4467 ... alaam1.jpg

Cairo, Egypt
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3720/cairoegypt4.jpg
http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/457/cairoegypt3.jpg
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/3913/cairoegypt2.jpg
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4625/cairoegypt1.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/6228/cairoegypt.jpg
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/4530/cariro1.jpg

Abidjan, Ivory coast. Also underwent civil war post colonialism. Now out of it, but it still has a long way to go before it regains its former title as the pearl of west Africa :*(

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2151/a ... coast3.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9559/a ... coast4.jpg
http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/272/ ... coast2.jpg
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/1530/a ... ycoast.jpg

Alexandria, Egypt
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8388 ... aegypt.jpg

Nairobi, Kenya
http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/4028/kenya004.jpg
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/6089/79851f08.jpg
http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3481 ... lpark2.jpg
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2329 ... 8612eo.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4107/nairobi1.jpg
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/6268 ... kapene.jpg

Lagos, Nigeria
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/1923 ... eria10.jpg
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/755/ ... geria9.jpg
http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/3641 ... geria4.jpg

Casablanca, Morocco
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/4721 ... rocco5.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1807 ... rocco2.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/1807 ... rocco2.jpg

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia One of the worlds poorest nations, but with a growth rate that reaches 8% on average and a large population, the future looks bright for this country.
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3392/addisababa3.jpg
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/478/addisababa6.jpg

Annual race (the great Ethiopian marathon)
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/3439/addisababa5.jpg

Harrare, Zimbabwe
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5670 ... abwe10.jpg
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/3580 ... babwe5.jpg
http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/2667 ... babwe4.jpg
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/6210 ... babwe2.jpg
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/572/ha ... babwe0.jpg[/img]
It saddens me to see what dictator Robert Mugabe has done to this beautiful country

Gaborne, Botswana (sorry, I only have this one photo)
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/413/ga ... swana1.jpg

Next up, highways and motorways.

I would also like to put this link here.

http://headleefamily.net/how-big-is-africa/

Just so you see how Africa compares to the likes of China and the United states in size.

#13439973

By flickerstorm - 08 Jul 2010 12:58

- 08 Jul 2010 12:58 #13439973

#13440416

By Quantum - 08 Jul 2010 21:31

- 08 Jul 2010 21:31 #13440416

Excellent pictures. Although I am not particularly fond of skyscrapers in general, I suppose it's better than nothing and the roads look impressive. Kudos to you flickerstorm for sharing this. :up:

"This world ain't nothing much than a big brothel anyway. Prostitutism is the dominant ideology." - Noelnada

#13440796

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 03:48

- 09 Jul 2010 03:48 #13440796

Quantum wrote:Excellent pictures. Although I am not particularly fond of skyscrapers in general, I suppose it's better than nothing and the roads look impressive. Kudos to you flickerstorm for sharing this.

Thank you quantum! :cheers:

#13440802

By Zyx - 09 Jul 2010 03:56

- 09 Jul 2010 03:56 #13440802

Oh wow, I forgot what year it was. Thanks for the reminder . . ..

#13440803

By politburo player - 09 Jul 2010 03:59

- 09 Jul 2010 03:59 #13440803

Now, I created this thread to show and discuss the POSITIVE side of modern Africa. Most people already know all the negatives that are going on on the continent, I want to show you the positive side for a change. Although I couldn't possibly tell you all the projects that are going on in Africa, you can find most of them at skyscrapercity.com. That is not a political forum, so please refrain from posting any threads on race as you will quickly get a notice.

Why didn't you mention how the downtown areas of Johannesburg, the financial and political heart of the only G20 nation in Africa, are turning into a boarded up squatter camps like Detroit?

The Carlton Hotel

ONCE the Carlton Hotel was a rich status symbol for Johannesburg; an internationally renowned establishment where the moneyed and the famous wined, dined and slept in style. The five-star hotel - in an upside-down Y-shape that abutted the lofty Carlton Centre, South Africa's tallest building - was always a proud reminder to Joburgers that their hospitality was among the best in the world. Henry Kissinger, Francois Mitterand, Hilary Clinton, Margaret Thatcher, Whitney Houston and Mick Jagger were among the hotel's guests during its 25-year history. The 600-room hotel, which took seven years to build, opened in 1972 - and closed in 1997 -- because it became too dangerous for people to stay there, attacked as they were if they dared venture out into the surrounding streets.

(http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/955/51/)

Joubert Park
Joubert Park was one of the first open spaces for Johannesburg's inner city, proclaimed in 1906 but planned in 1887 and named after Boer War hero, Commandant-General PJ Joubert. It used to be a place where the city council put up Christmas lights, where choirs would sing Christmas carols . . . nowadays it's just a slum with squatters living there... First, a picture from the Old South Africa, showing what Joubert Park USED to look like...

The View From the Gauteng Legislature Building

This is the view one has to the south, I think it was a department store in the 'bad' old days, but now it's just another empty ruin, partially occupied by squatters.

Last edited by politburo player on 09 Jul 2010 20:42, edited 2 times in total.

#13440831

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 04:27

- 09 Jul 2010 04:27 #13440831

politburo player wrote:Why didn't you mention how the downtown areas of Johannesburg, the financial and political heart of the only G20 nation in Africa, are turning into a boarded up squatter camps like Detroit?

Because as I said, I created this thread to showcase/discuss the positive side of modern Africa.
Your post has been reported as off topic!

Now I will show you guys something called "matatu culture" which is pretty unieaque to Kenya. Tanzania has it too, but to a lesser extent. Personally I couldn't imagine Nairobi without it.

I can positively say that we have the most pimped out public transportation in Kenya.

#13440845

By politburo player - 09 Jul 2010 04:38

- 09 Jul 2010 04:38 #13440845

Because as I said, I created this thread to showcase/discuss the positive side of modern Africa.

You can't sweep major problems under the rug...which is what you are doing. Like the slow agonizing death of South Africa's biggest city.

This is a political forum. You can't just post pictures of a bunch of wildly painted vans and say they are proof of 'African progress'... :lol:

#13440864

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 04:57

- 09 Jul 2010 04:57 #13440864

It is african culture. It may seem weird to you, but it is exactly like these trams are to the young people of their respective countries.

#13440869

By politburo player - 09 Jul 2010 05:01

- 09 Jul 2010 05:01 #13440869

That subculture is repugnant, and it is destruction of public property. The criminals who defaced and destroyed the exterior of those trains belong on the first boat back to where they came from, they obviously have no respect for their host countries.

#13440870

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 05:02

- 09 Jul 2010 05:02 #13440870

I could tell you all day about South Africas problems, but instead I'll let this guy do it:

You and him have a LOT in common IMO.

#13440871

By XAdamX - 09 Jul 2010 05:03

- 09 Jul 2010 05:03 #13440871

Nice pictures. How did you get the opportunity to travel all across the continent?

#13440872

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 05:04

- 09 Jul 2010 05:04 #13440872

OH, and it is white kids that did those paintings on the trams. They dont "deserve to get sent back to where they came from" because that is where they were born! Unless you mean stuff them back up their moms ****.

PS: if you can't put up with urban culture then I'm sorry to say it but you are old.

#13440877

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 05:08

- 09 Jul 2010 05:08 #13440877

XAdamX wrote:Nice pictures. How did you get the opportunity to travel all across the continent?

I did not travel all across the continent. http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=372

That website is where you can find the truth about Africa. The good, the bad, they post it there. There are lots of people, and the community is quite active (I think even more active than this one) and they love taking photographs!

#13440883

By Kaspar - 09 Jul 2010 05:11

- 09 Jul 2010 05:11 #13440883

Because parts of Johannesburg are changing and becoming more impoverished, doesn't mean the city is failing, politburo player.

Recently the Johannesburg portions of Gautrain were finished, an important commuter railroad that will link Pretoria with Johannesburg and its surrounding suburbs. Gautrain's bypass over the R21 (I think) motorway in eastern Johannesburg, linking the rail network with Johannesburg's airport.

The planned route for the commuter network:

While it may seem like downtown Johannesburg is becoming impoverished (largely as a result of the abolition of the Group Areas Act), in northern Johannesburg another a financial centre is forming, in the neighborhood of Sandton. Sandton is also the location of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

And an interesting video on Kenya's increasing middle class.
[youtube]HyNztfyen7Q[/youtube]

#13440886

By politburo player - 09 Jul 2010 05:22

- 09 Jul 2010 05:22 #13440886

Because parts of Johannesburg are changing and becoming more impoverished, doesn't mean the city is failing, politburo player.

That's why I said "downtown Johannesburg". The razor wire, electric gate, security camera and private police industries are booming in your country. This alone should summarize the 'harmony' achieved over the last 16 years.

#13440889

By Kaspar - 09 Jul 2010 05:26

- 09 Jul 2010 05:26 #13440889

That's why I said "downtown Johannesburg"

Ok, but I still fail to see what point you're trying to prove by saying that a city has an impoverished neighborhood. What city doesn't?

#13440896

By politburo player - 09 Jul 2010 05:43

- 09 Jul 2010 05:43 #13440896

Ok, but I still fail to see what point you're trying to prove by saying that a city has an impoverished neighborhood. What city doesn't?

That 'impoverished neighborhood' being discussed is downtown J-burg. If this is OK with you then that's fine. I would have thought a guy like you would want a vibrant urban core, not one characterized by rampant crime, empty streets, garbage everywhere, and squatters living in abandoned buildings. The downtown of J-burg when it was filled with first class hotels and lined with botiques and restaurants used to be the pride and joy of South Africans. The same couldn't be farther from the truth now.

#13440899

By flickerstorm - 09 Jul 2010 05:45

- 09 Jul 2010 05:45 #13440899

politburo player wrote:That's why I said "downtown Johannesburg". The razor wire, electric gate, security camera and private police industries are booming in your country. This alone should summarize the 'harmony' achieved over the last 16 years.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File: ... icient.svg

Take a good long look at that map. You will notice how unequal SA is.

The problem with South Africa is that is HAS a GDP per capita that would allow it to become a first world nation, but that money is not well distributed. Most of it is in the hands of the top 10% richest people, who are mostly white. When you have REALLY wealthy individuals, living right nets to really poor individuals, you will have crime. The same is true for every country you see there with high inequality. In the case of South Africa, the ANC is making steps to try and equalise the playing field a little by giving black people more rights to jobs and so on. The same thing is true for Brazil.

#13440933

By politburo player - 09 Jul 2010 06:35

- 09 Jul 2010 06:35 #13440933

$5,600 GDP per capita is hardly 'first world'... :lol:

I'm sure Kaspar was going to chime in with that claim until he saw this:

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb- ... l=en&dl=en

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Africa: The other side of the coin

Africa: The other side of the coin#13439951

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