Discussion on other cities of Africa and the World

bandundu said:

Has any of you been to Kigali ,I have never been to before but from what I have head it's just the cbd that is beautiful (only five buildings), the have no high way like boulevard, they have few villas for the elite, a small clean airport.Beyond that it's poverty Apperently it's one of the most boring city in africa, not much freedom because the city has to be kept spotles. One positive thing it's well maintain. I am not suprised many of them keep on flocking to the DRC for better life, despite their much publicised economic success. That why I don't much faith in all these global indicators

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I haven't personally been to Kigali, matter of fact I was last in Kin just over 3 years ago - some minor changes have been made since. Kinshasa's competition will will come from Cairo, Lagos, etc in the near future because imo we will easily surpass the Kigalis and Luandas without too much effort but until then, Kin is not in a good position to even smaller cities like Kigali, relatively speaking.

Have a look at this video, and let me know what you think.

I was slightly impressed so that's why I said you be surprised if you saw pictures of Kigali, mind you the business climate there is also very progressive. have a look at Nairobi too when you get a chance, decent too.

The only city I can claim to know like the back of my hands is London, England.

In Africa, I have lived in Kinshasa, lived briefly in Lagos and Accra. I have passed through Cotonou (Benin) and Lome(Togo) as well.

From the cities that I have been to, the city closest to Kin in terms of its hustle and bustle lifestyle is Lagos. The driving culture is an exact carbon copy of Kin. The electricity situation is similar, only difference is Kin has gotten worse since the 90s whilst lagos has improved/stood still. Cuts out at least once a day guaranteed, in Kin now it "cuts on" rather than cut off. Kinois are a bit more friendlier than their counterparts.

The major difference was the roads, Lagos and Accra have better road insfrastructure, by far. Hopefully, I will again be in Kin in the coming month or early next year.

For anyone not raised in Africa, you will be laughing everyday at some of the things you see on the streets, always something happening in each of those cities

preme3000 said:

I haven't personally been to Kigali, matter of fact I was last in Kin just over 3 years ago - some minor changes have been made since. Kinshasa's competition will will come from Cairo, Lagos, etc in the near future because imo we will easily surpass the Kigalis and Luandas without too much effort but until then, Kin is not in a good position to even smaller cities like Kigali, relatively speaking.

Have a look at this video, and let me know what you think.

I was slightly impressed so that's why I said you be surprised if you saw pictures of Kigali, mind you the business climate there is also very progressive. have a look at Nairobi too when you get a chance, decent too.

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That the thing this video is selective, the must show us the entire Kigali , I might as well post a video of boulevard du 30 juin, place the cinqtenaire etc.

bandundu said:

That the thing this video is selective, the must show us the entire Kigali , I might as well post a video of boulevard du 30 juin, place the cinqtenaire etc.

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Fair point. Check out the Kigali thread and let me know what you think then.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=387734

To me, they have built up their one city on the back of Congolese minerals from the east yet we have not one city in the east that looks like that. Makes you think what have the Congolese been doing for the decades we had control of the export earnings from those same minerals?

bandundu said:

That the thing this video is selective, the must show us the entire Kigali , I might as well post a video of boulevard du 30 juin, place the cinqtenaire etc.

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There's no point of comparing Kinshasa to any other city right now. Kinshasa has a couple of nice spots. A couple only. That's sad. Comparing to Kigali, from the pictures that I saw, Kinshasa is quite behind. Sidewalks, gardens, road infrastructures etc. I would like to know what is the situation of electricty in Kigali.

BUTEMBO21 said:

Kigali being very clean. but its not the safest.

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After the massacre, calling Kigali the safest capital in the world, that's something ironic.... You never know what people have on their mind, just be careful, the danger comes from where you don't expect it....As a Rwandese friend told me one day: "tout peut explosé à n'importe quel moment, c'est un calme apparant et la haine est latente......"

Karavia said:

After the massacre, calling Kigali the safest capital in the world, that's something ironic.... You never know what people have on their mind, just be careful, the danger comes from where you don't expect it....As a Rwandese friend told me one day: "tout peut explosé à n'importe quel moment, c'est un calme apparant et la haine est latente......"

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I know. Its those Tourists who have nothing to fear. but Rwandese themselves live in fear all day every day and be very careful what you say or who you criticize . especially , don't dare criticizing the mighty president. not even those close to him dare or they will end like his former general who survived assassination in South-Africa.:lol:. Kagame also arrested a brother of someone who was opposing him.:lol: and some people call that the safest city. when the state itself is the menace.lol

BUTEMBO21 said:

Perhaps you do need their view because i don't. i know that country in n out.

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You might not know it like they know it. Their point of view will bring more light to this discussion, making it much more interresting.
Just to know, how long have you lived in Kigali and when was the last time you were there?

Broda-Man said:

I think the best thing for this discussion is to get te point of view of 2 or 3 rwandese that live in Kigali. It would be much better.

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La seule chose qui maintient l'ordre c'est la terreur, la peur d''être dénoncé et le souvenir des "massacres" et Kagamé est tellement manipulateur qu'il a maintenu la date d'anniversaire du " génocide" non pas pour dénoncer les erreurs du passé mais plutôt pour garder vivace la haine des uns envers les autres. Vous devriez voir pendant la période qui précède et suit ces commémorations comment les gens sont à fleur de peau....

preme3000 said:

Fair point. Check out the Kigali thread and let me know what you think then.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=387734

To me, they have built up their one city on the back of Congolese minerals from the east yet we have not one city in the east that looks like that. Makes you think what have the Congolese been doing for the decades we had control of the export earnings from those same minerals?

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I have checked the thread, It's definitely no way near Singapore, it's looks like Bukavu or Goma. Few nice building standing next to dusty roads.

Broda-Man said:

There's no point of comparing Kinshasa to any other city right now. Kinshasa has a couple of nice spots. A couple only. That's sad. Comparing to Kigali, from the pictures that I saw, Kinshasa is quite behind. Sidewalks, gardens, road infrastructures etc. I would like to know what is the situation of electricty in Kigali.

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You are being to harsh, are these side walks , gardens , road infrastructures in every corner ok Kigali, please take a look at the Kigali thread and you tell me. As Congolese we need to start giving ourselves more credit. We do not acknowledge our acheivements, yet quick to point out the acheivement of others

Karavia said:

After the massacre, calling Kigali the safest capital in the world, that's something ironic.... You never know what people have on their mind, just be careful, the danger comes from where you don't expect it....As a Rwandese friend told me one day: "tout peut explosé à n'importe quel moment, c'est un calme apparant et la haine est latente......"

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There has never really been any legitimate dialogue between the majority Hutus and the ruling Tutsis, the problems have been pushed across the boarders and abroad. In the demise the current power structure, since DRC or the neighbouring countries are not strong enough to intervene, hopefully we will not see the same type of events but you never know.

bandundu said:

You are being to harsh, are these side walks , gardens , road infrastructures in every corner ok Kigali, please take a look at the Kigali thread and you tell me. As Congolese we need to start giving ourselves more credit. We do not acknowledge our acheivements, yet quick to point out the acheivement of others

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Being to harsh? Hahaha, well, do you think i feel good when I say that? It's a fact. Kinshasa is still lacking loads of stuff but it will come and surpass other cities that's for sure. But right now, it's not at the level. But I still keep my opinion that Kigali looks better thn Kin, from what I've seen. I will keep this point of view until i'm proven wrong.

preme3000 said:

Kigali is better than Bukavu or Goma in terms of what is built. It is reckless to compare it to Singapore.

Tell us about cities you have been to?

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The reason why I mentioned Singapore is because people always refer to Rwanda as the Singapore of Africa. From the pictures that I have seen from the thread its certainly looks like Bukavu to me. Most of the city I have been to are in the south. Gaborone, Maputu, Lilongwe , durban and Johannesburg.