AFP, Luanda :
After the end of Angola’s long civil war in 2002, the capital Luanda became an unlikely African version of Dubai as oil money poured in and a clutch of skyscrapers sprang up along the coast.
But many new office blocks now stand empty or unfinished as the country suffers the painful aftermath of a boom that came crashing down with the fall in oil prices two years ago.
Last month, after the local kwanza currency plunged in value, Luanda lost its top spot as the world’s most expensive city for expats as rated by Mercer’s annual survey.
The city still sits at number two, just below Hong Kong, thanks to the pumped-up price of everything from imported bottled water and restaurant seafood to renting modern apartments.
At the upmarket Candando supermarket in Talatona district, customers like Katia Carreta say the economy’s rollercoaster ride has left even wealthier families uncertain of whether they have a future in the country.
After the end of Angola’s long civil war in 2002, the capital Luanda became an unlikely African version of Dubai as oil money poured in and a clutch of skyscrapers sprang up along the coast.
But many new office blocks now stand empty or unfinished as the country suffers the painful aftermath of a boom that came crashing down with the fall in oil prices two years ago.
Last month, after the local kwanza currency plunged in value, Luanda lost its top spot as the world’s most expensive city for expats as rated by Mercer’s annual survey.
The city still sits at number two, just below Hong Kong, thanks to the pumped-up price of everything from imported bottled water and restaurant seafood to renting modern apartments.
At the upmarket Candando supermarket in Talatona district, customers like Katia Carreta say the economy’s rollercoaster ride has left even wealthier families uncertain of whether they have a future in the country.
