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In a country flooded with oil, the poorest survive in shantytowns not far from modern and elegant apartments and family homes supposedly built to help the poor.
The Government of Equatorial Guinea presented the rows of state-subsidized housing as unprecedented opportunities to acquire housing for the poor.
But people familiar with the blocks say that homes are usually occupied by middle-clbad families and some of the most privileged families in the country.
"Just look at the cars here," said Leandro Eneme, a 42-year-old trader, showing brilliant SUVs sneaking between apartments on well-paved roads. "There is nothing poor about this place!"
He lives in the Buena Esperanza neighborhood of the Malabo capital, fruit of a state housing program that emerged after the oil price boom in the 2000s.
The president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, in power since 1979 and the oldest African head of state, promised that such developments would provide "social housing for everyone".
Over the last decade, authorities have built more than 8,600 state-subsidized housing units in the country's mainland and on the island of Bioko, according to government figures.
But with a population of 1.2 million, largely impoverished and cut off from the lavish lifestyle of an elite surrounding president, critics say the scale of the program is far too small for be effective and vulnerable to corruption.
"You can not get one of these houses if you earn less than 300,000 CFA francs ($ 500/450 euros) a month," Eneme said.
Many statistics on Equatorial Guinea are not available, but it is estimated that more than two-thirds of the population of this small state of Central Africa survives on less than $ 2 a day.
"No money to eat"
Buena Esperanza was reportedly built to relocate the inhabitants of the Nubili slum, the largest informal settlement in Malabo.
The name of the new project means "Good Hope" in Spanish – an emotion that many residents of Nubili may have felt when the project was announced.
Thousands of Nubilians are crammed into tiny shacks made of steel or rusty corrugated wood, often without clean water, sewer or electricity. Accidental fires are a known risk.
But almost ten years after its beginnings, the vast majority of Nubili's population remains stuck.
Elena Oye, a food vendor, said the cost of the house of her dreams turned out to be a nightmare.
"We lost the apartment because we did not have enough money, we did not even have enough to eat," she said.
The down payment represented the equivalent of $ 2,500, followed by monthly payments of $ 120 spread over several years, she said.
Oye said she was earning the equivalent of about $ 200 a good month, and that it was difficult to support her four children.
"Most housing (in Equatorial Guinea) does not meet minimum standards," said the Center for Financing Affordable Housing in Africa (CAHF) in a report.
"The houses are abandoned and unsafe, the sewage and garbage disposal is inadequate and there are, among other problems, overcrowding and insufficient ventilation."
A senator, a Buena Esperanza resident who wanted to remain anonymous, defended the government's record.
"Many people who once lived in barracks now have a decent home, like here," he said.
The Minister of Information, Eugenio Nze Obiang, told AFP that the government had taken action.
"When will people stop complaining? There is no country in the world where the government offers free housing," Obiang said.
"The government has done its best by building these houses and reducing prices."
"The same people benefit"
The government's room for maneuver was reduced by the drop in oil prices that began in 2014, severely affecting incomes.
Large construction projects have been reduced and many social housing projects suspended, making homes more difficult to obtain.
The economic crisis has also meant that some people who have moved into social housing have found themselves in difficult times, unable to pay monthly payments.
In February, the government sought to ease the situation by revising conditions of access to properties and extending credit, thereby reducing monthly payments.
"This is very good news for my family," said Marisol Andeme Esono, a nurse occupying an apartment on the upper floor of Malabo II, another area of the capital.
Esono said that she was paying the equivalent of 300 euros a month, which roughly corresponds to her salary, but the rate was reduced to just over 100 euros.
Rates have also been reduced to Buena Esperanza, although some still complain that prices are out of reach for many and that the market has been skewed by profiteers.
"Today, the rich buy these homes for rent," said Engono Mbo, 40, who gave up his offer for a new home. "It's always the same people who benefit from it."
"Social housing is for the middle and upper clbades," said student Estanislao Obiang.
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