Location, location - living in Accra


So my initial optimism about living with a friend of a friend of a friend was cooled down a bit after the rent was raised from $200 to $300 per months. 5 days after arrival. Living in West Legon. Cumbersome and expensive without a car. Far away from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture ... and ultimatly and lonley place to be, if you are not part of Ghanas elite. Moving out after six weeks of stay sucked, but turned out the best solution to the greedy landlord that had no refrigerator, no bed, no wash machine, no generator... and hence mostly not even lights!

Its a long story that shall be spread one of these days, to those to care to know. Best over a beer.
Suffice to say that there are greedy people, independent of (passport) colors. This niece of Nana Akufo-Addo, sister of influential NPP man, and lady that tells you to talk to "her lawyer"for pre-paid rent she felt entitled to keep,  apparently didn't get enough... love? money? sense of justice?
 
In the end, my initial anger (and injudicious actions) was overcome by  "fuck it -forget it -generosity" - I left her the money she so desperately thought she needed :)


Still loved the chickens that visited me during the six week of stay in the fancy place without lights!


The kitchen area in West Legon. Pretty cool place to stay... if you have a car.

Amajor issue of the location was traffic. West Legon is the rich part of town. Everyone has a big car (many imported from Germany), but no traffic lights or turning lanes. If you have to wait for a Trotro its just that much worse...

My floor-bed and yoga mat/desk :)






My beautiful mess at night. #firehazard #readingwithcandlelight 





I will for sure have to right about DUMSOR!!! Electricity supply in Accra has been horrible.

... and who says books can not protect you from Malaria should see this beauty






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The unfulfilled agricultural potential of Africa's giant

Image
Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Congolese economy and ‘employs’ three quarters of the working population. As the World Bank (WB) report phrases it: “Of all sources of growth, the agricultural sector has the greatest potential for poverty reduction.” With ample amount of sunshine and rainfall, why are the markets often so empty, only offering cassava, maize, rice, plantains and beans – literally!?! Cassava (Manioc) is the country's major food crop and is grown in all parts of the DRC – often claimed as their national dish, but actually quiet new. They make Fufu balls, chikwon (like a stick of bread made out of a thick glue) and ponde (a bitter tasting big leaf sort of spinach) out of it. Just like the Europeans took to the South-American potato, corn and cassava/manioc spread with the Portuguese arrival.   By the end of the 15th century the Mexican corn and the Brazilian cassava started their conquest of Congolese cuisine. The cooking banana/pl
Read more

"Accra Accra" - how the Trotros keep the city moving

Image
Sometimes I wish I would have chosen Trotros as the center of my research.  These mini-buses/transporters that are furnished with four row of seat in the back,  and on average hold 15 + people, including a driver and a "mate" who collects the fees and tells the driver when to stop.  In the past two months I have spent most of my time either waiting for a Tro to arrive, inside one of them (waiting for the bus to fill us in one of the many stations so we can start the journey) or sitting in traffic of Accra (which has be the great majority).  Seemingly uncoordinated and superficial chaotically organized the thousands of mini-buses make Accra move.  Here a pic on one parked on the side of the road in Jamestown... probably waiting to fill up ...or taking a break More soon... 
Read more

Misplaced Priorities of the EU migration policy and its relation to aid

The idea of states with border-controls is a very recent phenomenon. Just 100 years ago people could move more or less freely across the globe. But times have changed. Borders have been erected and patrolled, and as a farmer in Northern Ghana observed in 2016: “now they turned into transparent bullet-proof walls”. Reflecting on the different stages of ‘development’ between our continents he adds: “You are already way ahead! Can’t you stop chasing the money? Don’t you know that it is all about being together? You’re just creating more pressures!” The pressures he is referring to are the ostentatious ways-of-life Westerners (and other global elites) like to flaunt via online platforms ranging from Facebook, Twitter to Instagram. At the same time progress in many so-called ‘developing-countries’ has been rather slow. Countries that the World Bank ranks as “Lower-Middle-Income” [i] , such as Ghana, where the average Gross National Income per person per year is s
Read more