US EditionEquatorial Guinea Leader Orders Shock Move of Capital
The capital move aims to ease urban strain and regional inequality while modernizing infrastructure, with a one-year transition planned, government officials said.
- On Friday, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo signed a surprise decree relocating the capital from Malabo to Ciudad de la Paz at a ceremony attended by top officials.
- The presidential decree on Saturday said the move aims for deconcentration and decentralisation of state functions, citing rapid urban growth in Malabo and Bata that strained services and increased inequality.
- Local media say it will take one year to transfer administrative services, and Ciudad de la Paz offers potential for urban expansion and modern administrative infrastructure.
- The government argued the move will help modernize outdated colonial-era structures, and the Information and Press Office said, `'The relocation of the nation's capital, from a security standpoint, is a crucial step, given that the government has been the victim of several attacks originating from abroad via maritime routes.'`
- President Obiang's long rule means rapid growth in Malabo and Bata could reshape their administrative and economic roles amid criticism from human rights organisations and the European Union.
23 Articles
23 Articles
The regime is notorious and now the country of Equatorial Guinea is changing its capital.
Ciudad de la Paz officially became the new capital of Equatorial Guinea following the issuance of a presidential decree on Saturday, 3 January. According to the authorities, the abandonment of the historic capital located on an island must allow Malabo to be removed by a rebalancing of the development of the national territory and a better distribution of public services.
In a decree issued over the weekend, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Africa's only Spanish-speaking country, unexpectedly declared Ciudad de la Paz, located in a forested area on the mainland, the capital of Equatorial Guinea in West Africa, instead of Malabo, located on Bioko Island. The change was justified by decentralization efforts. The previous capital, Malabo, and the most important city on the mainland, Bata, have also un…
JeuneAfrique.com
gabonactu.comThe President, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, launched the project in 2008. Equatorial Guinea officially moved its capital from Malabo to Ciudad de la Paz, in the province of Djibloho, in the east of the country.
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