Ça va? Quick French lessons to kick this off. Voyager is "to travel," vivre is "to live," and expérience is to "have a feel of / to experience." Maintenant, on y vas is "now let's go on."
Time they say flies. It does when you are having fun – others have often clarified. Fact is life cannot be all fun and the opposite cannot also be wholly true, a bit of the sweet and the bitter brings out the real taste of the buffet called life.
So as I have repeatedly blasted in a number of my blog posts, February 2018 marked two years since I stepped foot on Congo soil. Subtract my holiday between March – April 2017 and it’s been 23 full months of hustle, struggle, highs and lows and eeeerm…. good life and cool cash.
Twenty – three months if you ask me is a good enough length of time for a person to make at least basic observations about the Congolese society – the good, the bad, the shocking and of course the ugly.
Under the purview of this piece, I look at the good sides of the French – speaking Central African oil producer juxtaposing it to what I had known of Ghana and Accra for all the years that I grew up – schooling and working in the capital of my birthplace.
I’m based in Pointe Noire (as if you didn’t already know), it’s the equivalent of Ghana’s oil – rich Western Region. But let’s agree to equate Pointe Noire to Accra in the context of this piece, deal? If you didn’t know capital of Congo Republic is Brazzaville.
Now to the substantive matters. In the first of two parts, I present 5 top reasons why Congo (Pointe Noire) is superior in terms of standard of living, comfort and peace of mind.
1. Price Stability – #Breathtaking
90% of the stuff I bought in March 2016 still bear the same price, worse case they have marginal – very marginal increase. If a person fails to plan and project his finances whiles living in Congo – he’d possibly not be able to do so anywhere.
Ghana and price sprinting, week in – week out even if the sun ‘delays’ a little before rising fuel will take a step and all the rest shall, will, must follow.
2. Paper and foil packaging vs. Ghana’s rubber and rubber – #PolytheneDiscipline
Waakye (beans and rice cooked together) is one of the main foods in Ghana so let’s use it. If you wanted to buy waakye in Congo, it will be put in a foil nicely wrapped and put in a brown or white paper envelope. For those that buy in multiples, you will get a cloth bag for your load. Mind you waakye no dey Congo.
Our waakye equivalent is called manioc - cassava-based delicacy cooked and eaten like Ga kenkey - with grounded pepper, mayonnaise, chicken or fish plus ketchup. Chai!
Whereas in Ghana, the waakye can be in a plain olonka rubber with pepper and stew. Another rubber for macaroni and gari. All put in a black polythene then in a more colourful one. Even entering Congo with polythene, they’ll seize it, smuggle in but thy shall not be caught.
3. Transport fares: Rooted like Egyptian pyramids #StableAndUniform
Okay so in Congo, taxis are taxis and trotros (commercial buses) are taxis. The mass transport is called cent – cent (100 CFA, 100 CFA) and shuttles you within most parts of town. For those that prefer to charter a roving taxi, you dish out a standard 1000 CFA except in rare cases when you pay more.
Another leg of uniformity is, aside the state – run white buses, 99.9% of commercial vehicles are Toyota and they are all painted in shades of blue and white. In the capital Brazzaville, they are painted/sprayed green and white.
4. Apartments for rent are in abundance
In Ghana, you are not even sure that you’d get an apartment of your choosing. Rent spaces are limied and when you get it, man must pull the hair outta your nose to fund it – at least for a young man like me.
Shocker! Apartments in Congo are literally begging to be occupied. And there is an array to choose from. I have had friends move in and out of about six different places in the last two years. Try it in Ghana.
5. Zero Rent Advance, two month caution
Take Ghana’s throat cutting rent advance illegality, doesn’t exist in Congo. You pay two months of your monthly rent as ‘caution – a sort of guarantee.’ Then you pay agree whether to pay rent at beginning or end of the month.
Two years on, whiles I learnt I dish out a monthly amount known to be on the high side 150,000 XAF. The landlord would dare ask for a raise. I’ll hunt for a new place and get one in less that 24 hours and move – most likely at a cheaper price.
Read also: Narkwor, Juliet, Ama, Nii, Akwei, Shaban: Ghana "Big Six" avec 'Je m'en fou' swag
The travel and see mantra has never made as much buzz to me as in the last two years. You cannot but admit that you’ll be strange to others as they they’ll look, be and sound to you. How on earth can people live without waakye and kenkey for example?
Time they say flies. It does when you are having fun – others have often clarified. Fact is life cannot be all fun and the opposite cannot also be wholly true, a bit of the sweet and the bitter brings out the real taste of the buffet called life.
So as I have repeatedly blasted in a number of my blog posts, February 2018 marked two years since I stepped foot on Congo soil. Subtract my holiday between March – April 2017 and it’s been 23 full months of hustle, struggle, highs and lows and eeeerm…. good life and cool cash.
Twenty – three months if you ask me is a good enough length of time for a person to make at least basic observations about the Congolese society – the good, the bad, the shocking and of course the ugly.
Under the purview of this piece, I look at the good sides of the French – speaking Central African oil producer juxtaposing it to what I had known of Ghana and Accra for all the years that I grew up – schooling and working in the capital of my birthplace.
I’m based in Pointe Noire (as if you didn’t already know), it’s the equivalent of Ghana’s oil – rich Western Region. But let’s agree to equate Pointe Noire to Accra in the context of this piece, deal? If you didn’t know capital of Congo Republic is Brazzaville.
Our Chinese built dope roundabout Rond Point Lumumba leading to Grande Marche.
1. Price Stability – #Breathtaking
90% of the stuff I bought in March 2016 still bear the same price, worse case they have marginal – very marginal increase. If a person fails to plan and project his finances whiles living in Congo – he’d possibly not be able to do so anywhere.
Ghana and price sprinting, week in – week out even if the sun ‘delays’ a little before rising fuel will take a step and all the rest shall, will, must follow.
2. Paper and foil packaging vs. Ghana’s rubber and rubber – #PolytheneDiscipline
Waakye (beans and rice cooked together) is one of the main foods in Ghana so let’s use it. If you wanted to buy waakye in Congo, it will be put in a foil nicely wrapped and put in a brown or white paper envelope. For those that buy in multiples, you will get a cloth bag for your load. Mind you waakye no dey Congo.
Our waakye equivalent is called manioc - cassava-based delicacy cooked and eaten like Ga kenkey - with grounded pepper, mayonnaise, chicken or fish plus ketchup. Chai!
Whereas in Ghana, the waakye can be in a plain olonka rubber with pepper and stew. Another rubber for macaroni and gari. All put in a black polythene then in a more colourful one. Even entering Congo with polythene, they’ll seize it, smuggle in but thy shall not be caught.
People's delicacy, the affordable cassava staple a.k.a. Manioc
3. Transport fares: Rooted like Egyptian pyramids #StableAndUniform
Okay so in Congo, taxis are taxis and trotros (commercial buses) are taxis. The mass transport is called cent – cent (100 CFA, 100 CFA) and shuttles you within most parts of town. For those that prefer to charter a roving taxi, you dish out a standard 1000 CFA except in rare cases when you pay more.
Another leg of uniformity is, aside the state – run white buses, 99.9% of commercial vehicles are Toyota and they are all painted in shades of blue and white. In the capital Brazzaville, they are painted/sprayed green and white.
Pointe-Noire blue Toyota taxis and taxis (trotro)
4. Apartments for rent are in abundance
In Ghana, you are not even sure that you’d get an apartment of your choosing. Rent spaces are limied and when you get it, man must pull the hair outta your nose to fund it – at least for a young man like me.
Shocker! Apartments in Congo are literally begging to be occupied. And there is an array to choose from. I have had friends move in and out of about six different places in the last two years. Try it in Ghana.
5. Zero Rent Advance, two month caution
Take Ghana’s throat cutting rent advance illegality, doesn’t exist in Congo. You pay two months of your monthly rent as ‘caution – a sort of guarantee.’ Then you pay agree whether to pay rent at beginning or end of the month.
Two years on, whiles I learnt I dish out a monthly amount known to be on the high side 150,000 XAF. The landlord would dare ask for a raise. I’ll hunt for a new place and get one in less that 24 hours and move – most likely at a cheaper price.
CFA - Congo dollars, I can use this across Francophone Central Africa. Y(our) cedis cannot cross Togo border well.
Read also: Narkwor, Juliet, Ama, Nii, Akwei, Shaban: Ghana "Big Six" avec 'Je m'en fou' swag
The travel and see mantra has never made as much buzz to me as in the last two years. You cannot but admit that you’ll be strange to others as they they’ll look, be and sound to you. How on earth can people live without waakye and kenkey for example?
I can't tell when but sometime this month, I tell my other five reasons why life and living it in Congo Pointe Noire is as Trump would say such a yuuuuge deal. As our national motto goes: Unité. Travail. Progrès - Unity (Nkabom), Work (Edwuma), Progress (Nkorsuor).
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