It’s no coincidence that one of the richest men in the Central African Republic is a politician. His name is Fidèle Gouandjika and he was a former Minister of Communications here. He likes to describe himself as “the billionaire of Boy-Rabe”.
Boy-Rabe is the neighbourhood in the Central African capital, Bangui, where Gouandjika grew up and where he now owns a lot of real estate, including a five star hotel. As the former director of the telecommunications company, Socatel, he was involved in a number of scandals. He embezzled money from the business and it ended up in his own pocket. While many people in his country are starving, Gouandjika is happy to be chauffeured around the Bangui streets in his American limousine. Like many other politicians here, he is far too accustomed to abundance.
Utter poverty amid a wealth of resources has been the reality in the Central African Republic for decades. How did the country become the poorest in the world even though it abounds with gold, diamonds and uranium?
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An interview with the demographer on French voters, the power of the president and the role of education in France.
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Extract from "Nago et sa grand-mère" (Copyright: L'Harmattan, Paris, 2017).
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Around 88 percent of those working in Qatar are migrant labourers. Bal Krishna Gautham is one of them.
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What are these five figures, formerly in the centre of public discourse, doing today?
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Once central Africa was in the grip of western colonial powers. Today Russia is using the region to restore and amplify its political clout.
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