Perspectives
I came across a recent article in Impressions - the BMED British Airways inflight magazine - about Freetown. It provides an interesting contrast to my experiences and may also be found here on the BMED site.
- - - -
Free Enterprise
by Alan Duncan and Anita Ferruzzi
With sprouting modern architecture, high-quality restaurants and hotels and extensive investment opportunities, it is no surprise that Freetown is drawing ever more visitors to its streets
At an altitude of 600 metres, Leicester Peak peers out over the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown and off into the Atlantic Ocean. It was here that the British chose to base their settlement in nearby Hill Station; the cool breeze at this altitude compared to the sweltering heat down in the bay had obvious appeal. Some of the old plantation-style houses are still standing in dilapidated elegance, reminiscent of an bygone era. Referred to locally as the “Harrods Houses”, these quaint structures were imported in pre-fabricated form straight from the world’s most famous department store and assembled on site.
Today this vantage point off ers more than just a stunning panorama. It’s the perfect place to gain an overall picture of the country’s economic progress over the last five years. Looking east towards the Queen Elisabeth II Port and the world’s third-largest natural harbour, there is bustling activity at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River and the freshly bulldozed path of a hillside pass aimed at reducing congestion in the city. Looking west at the fair sands of Lumley Beach, the rocks of Cape Sierra and the Atlantic Ocean, the boom in commercial and residential construction is apparent and fast creeping up towards the more affluent Hill Station and neighbouring Leicester, which now forms one new unbroken district.
In Leicester, the country’s leading architects and contractors are seemingly vying with each other to create designer homes and exclusive mansions. Taking centre stage is the new $60 million American Embassy, an imposing square-rectangular composite occupying an entire hillock. While opinions may diff er on the actual aesthetics of this landmark, the building stands as a symbol of renewed international faith in the long-term future of the country.
After more than half a decade of peace and stability, the Sierra Leonean economy, much like the country itself, has turned a corner. Freetown, once called “the Athens of West Africa” for the excellence of its academic institutes, is rediscovering its optimism. And with an annual growth rate of at least 7% forecast for the next three years, low inflation and a stable local currency (the Leone), it is little wonder that the number of people visiting the former British colony is steadily increasing.
Conscious of the need for sustainable long-term foreign investment, the government has devised investor-friendly codes. “We have created an investment code to reduce red tape and encourage investors into the country. There are huge incentives, including duty free imports and fiscal breaks”, says the Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Kadie Sesay. “What we are trying to convey to people is that Sierra Leone is open for business.”
The message is clearly getting through with the mining sector leading the country’s economic revival. Diamond export revenues have surged from $20 million in 2001 to almost $150 million in 2005. This year has also seen a resumption of exports of bauxite and rutile (otherwise known as titanium oxide, of which Sierra Leone has the world’s largest deposits), while a joint venture between Cluff Gold and Harry Winston is within two years of mass-scale gold production in the southern town of Boamahun. Yet Sierra Leone’s vast natural wealth is not all underground: there is huge potential in the agriculture sector, with an estimated 700,000 hectares of arable land and crop yields, especially rice, at their highest level in a decade.
The Chinese, as in other parts of Africa, have been quick to move in and now have a strong presence in fisheries and tourism. While they have successfully consolidated their maritime interests by donating a naval vessel to patrol the country’s rich waters, this gesture is dwarfed in comparison to their ambitions in tourism where they have unveiled plans for a $270 million hotel and casino development on Freetown’s main urban beach, Lumley Beach – an astute move if you consider that just beyond the city’s boundaries lie endless stretches of pristine beach (widely considered to be among the finest in the world), forested mountains and secluded bays.
While there are concerns that Chinese plans could ultimately create a Las Vegas-upon-Freetown monstrosity, a distinctly ornate Chinatown complex, including shops and a restaurant, is already recognisable as you drive along the beach. Meanwhile, the Bintumani Hotel (a five-minute drive away) with its presidential suites, 180º sea-facing rooms and large angular pool, has been taken over by another Chinese group and is fast emerging as Freetown’s most popular mainstream hotel, complete with its own top-floor casino.
Indeed, the four-mile stretch from Lumley to Aberdeen with its cluster of hotels, bars and restaurant is the epicentre of late-night entertainment. The old Casino Leone and the country’s leading casino, the Lagoonda, are both tucked inside Man O’War Bay. With minimum bets of Le5,000 ($1.70), gambling is as much for amateurs as it is for professionals. Recently refurbished, this complex also boasts a chic basement nightclub and is part of the same consortium that owns the adjacent Cape Sierra Hotel and the Lungi Airport Hotel on the other side of the estuary (the only two establishments in Freetown that accept credit cards).
Freetown’s vibrant nightlife tends to spill from the sand-filled floors and crackling speakers of the bamboo beach bars to the more sophisticated sound systems and VIP lounges such as in Old Skool, owned by the Sierra Leone and Monaco football star Mohammed Kallon. And somewhere between the two, nestled near the bend of Aberdeen Bridge, is the inimitable Paddy’s – a lively, open-air bar and nightclub renowned for its evenings of live music, cheap beers and most of all for the collage it presents of Freetown’s great social mix.
As well as the larger hotels like the Bintumani, Cape Sierra or Kimbima, there are a growing number of smaller hotels in the area, like the Barmoi, which off ers a warm and homely feel. Up in Hill Station is the luxurious Country Lodge, the former mansion of a diamond magnate now transformed into a boutique-style hotel with a high-end restaurant (the Eden), off ering spectacular views and wines for the connoisseur.
One foreign chef making an impact in the local culinary scene is James Sanford at the Solar. The British chef describes his menu as “nouvelle African cuisine”, presented with all the attention to detail one would expect from a world-class food sculptor. The lobster-stuffed Barracuda Solar is a unique dish, given a real depth of culture by the restaurant’s ceremonial masks, carved floors, high-backed bamboo chairs and polished tables.
Another hideaway with considerable charm is Madame Posseh’s restaurant and guesthouse. The unlikely setting, down a winding dirt track in Lumley’s Babadori, belies the excellence and wide range of the African/European menu. Expect an intimate outdoor setting, cooled by fans, surrounded by memorabilia, potted plants presided over by an entertaining hostess.
Amid a concentration of Chinese restaurants, the pick of the oriental cooking is Indochine. From its garish décor and stylised outfits, to the sight of waiters delicately balancing sizzling hot plates, this is a full-on Cambodian experience in the heart of Africa. For a more authentic taste of Sierra Leone, Balmaya at Congo Cross with its adjoining art gallery (and jazz nights on the last Friday of each month) is a great lunchtime haunt. In the centre of town, head towards Crown Bakery on Wilberforce Street, probably the most popular lunch venue for well-to-do Sierra Leoneans and expats, and a mere couple of hundred yards from the derelict City Hotel, where Graham Greene wrote The Heart of the Matter.
Life in Freetown is indeed orders of magnitude better than it was half a decade ago, and walking through the streets on a quiet evening under a multicoloured sky, one often hears the faint murmur of a hymn sung behind church walls – an appropriate reminder of a land being rebuilt through the faith of its people.
- - - -
Free Enterprise
by Alan Duncan and Anita Ferruzzi
With sprouting modern architecture, high-quality restaurants and hotels and extensive investment opportunities, it is no surprise that Freetown is drawing ever more visitors to its streets
At an altitude of 600 metres, Leicester Peak peers out over the Sierra Leonean capital of Freetown and off into the Atlantic Ocean. It was here that the British chose to base their settlement in nearby Hill Station; the cool breeze at this altitude compared to the sweltering heat down in the bay had obvious appeal. Some of the old plantation-style houses are still standing in dilapidated elegance, reminiscent of an bygone era. Referred to locally as the “Harrods Houses”, these quaint structures were imported in pre-fabricated form straight from the world’s most famous department store and assembled on site.
Today this vantage point off ers more than just a stunning panorama. It’s the perfect place to gain an overall picture of the country’s economic progress over the last five years. Looking east towards the Queen Elisabeth II Port and the world’s third-largest natural harbour, there is bustling activity at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River and the freshly bulldozed path of a hillside pass aimed at reducing congestion in the city. Looking west at the fair sands of Lumley Beach, the rocks of Cape Sierra and the Atlantic Ocean, the boom in commercial and residential construction is apparent and fast creeping up towards the more affluent Hill Station and neighbouring Leicester, which now forms one new unbroken district.
In Leicester, the country’s leading architects and contractors are seemingly vying with each other to create designer homes and exclusive mansions. Taking centre stage is the new $60 million American Embassy, an imposing square-rectangular composite occupying an entire hillock. While opinions may diff er on the actual aesthetics of this landmark, the building stands as a symbol of renewed international faith in the long-term future of the country.
After more than half a decade of peace and stability, the Sierra Leonean economy, much like the country itself, has turned a corner. Freetown, once called “the Athens of West Africa” for the excellence of its academic institutes, is rediscovering its optimism. And with an annual growth rate of at least 7% forecast for the next three years, low inflation and a stable local currency (the Leone), it is little wonder that the number of people visiting the former British colony is steadily increasing.
Conscious of the need for sustainable long-term foreign investment, the government has devised investor-friendly codes. “We have created an investment code to reduce red tape and encourage investors into the country. There are huge incentives, including duty free imports and fiscal breaks”, says the Minister for Trade and Industry, Dr Kadie Sesay. “What we are trying to convey to people is that Sierra Leone is open for business.”
The message is clearly getting through with the mining sector leading the country’s economic revival. Diamond export revenues have surged from $20 million in 2001 to almost $150 million in 2005. This year has also seen a resumption of exports of bauxite and rutile (otherwise known as titanium oxide, of which Sierra Leone has the world’s largest deposits), while a joint venture between Cluff Gold and Harry Winston is within two years of mass-scale gold production in the southern town of Boamahun. Yet Sierra Leone’s vast natural wealth is not all underground: there is huge potential in the agriculture sector, with an estimated 700,000 hectares of arable land and crop yields, especially rice, at their highest level in a decade.
The Chinese, as in other parts of Africa, have been quick to move in and now have a strong presence in fisheries and tourism. While they have successfully consolidated their maritime interests by donating a naval vessel to patrol the country’s rich waters, this gesture is dwarfed in comparison to their ambitions in tourism where they have unveiled plans for a $270 million hotel and casino development on Freetown’s main urban beach, Lumley Beach – an astute move if you consider that just beyond the city’s boundaries lie endless stretches of pristine beach (widely considered to be among the finest in the world), forested mountains and secluded bays.
While there are concerns that Chinese plans could ultimately create a Las Vegas-upon-Freetown monstrosity, a distinctly ornate Chinatown complex, including shops and a restaurant, is already recognisable as you drive along the beach. Meanwhile, the Bintumani Hotel (a five-minute drive away) with its presidential suites, 180º sea-facing rooms and large angular pool, has been taken over by another Chinese group and is fast emerging as Freetown’s most popular mainstream hotel, complete with its own top-floor casino.
Indeed, the four-mile stretch from Lumley to Aberdeen with its cluster of hotels, bars and restaurant is the epicentre of late-night entertainment. The old Casino Leone and the country’s leading casino, the Lagoonda, are both tucked inside Man O’War Bay. With minimum bets of Le5,000 ($1.70), gambling is as much for amateurs as it is for professionals. Recently refurbished, this complex also boasts a chic basement nightclub and is part of the same consortium that owns the adjacent Cape Sierra Hotel and the Lungi Airport Hotel on the other side of the estuary (the only two establishments in Freetown that accept credit cards).
Freetown’s vibrant nightlife tends to spill from the sand-filled floors and crackling speakers of the bamboo beach bars to the more sophisticated sound systems and VIP lounges such as in Old Skool, owned by the Sierra Leone and Monaco football star Mohammed Kallon. And somewhere between the two, nestled near the bend of Aberdeen Bridge, is the inimitable Paddy’s – a lively, open-air bar and nightclub renowned for its evenings of live music, cheap beers and most of all for the collage it presents of Freetown’s great social mix.
As well as the larger hotels like the Bintumani, Cape Sierra or Kimbima, there are a growing number of smaller hotels in the area, like the Barmoi, which off ers a warm and homely feel. Up in Hill Station is the luxurious Country Lodge, the former mansion of a diamond magnate now transformed into a boutique-style hotel with a high-end restaurant (the Eden), off ering spectacular views and wines for the connoisseur.
One foreign chef making an impact in the local culinary scene is James Sanford at the Solar. The British chef describes his menu as “nouvelle African cuisine”, presented with all the attention to detail one would expect from a world-class food sculptor. The lobster-stuffed Barracuda Solar is a unique dish, given a real depth of culture by the restaurant’s ceremonial masks, carved floors, high-backed bamboo chairs and polished tables.
Another hideaway with considerable charm is Madame Posseh’s restaurant and guesthouse. The unlikely setting, down a winding dirt track in Lumley’s Babadori, belies the excellence and wide range of the African/European menu. Expect an intimate outdoor setting, cooled by fans, surrounded by memorabilia, potted plants presided over by an entertaining hostess.
Amid a concentration of Chinese restaurants, the pick of the oriental cooking is Indochine. From its garish décor and stylised outfits, to the sight of waiters delicately balancing sizzling hot plates, this is a full-on Cambodian experience in the heart of Africa. For a more authentic taste of Sierra Leone, Balmaya at Congo Cross with its adjoining art gallery (and jazz nights on the last Friday of each month) is a great lunchtime haunt. In the centre of town, head towards Crown Bakery on Wilberforce Street, probably the most popular lunch venue for well-to-do Sierra Leoneans and expats, and a mere couple of hundred yards from the derelict City Hotel, where Graham Greene wrote The Heart of the Matter.
Life in Freetown is indeed orders of magnitude better than it was half a decade ago, and walking through the streets on a quiet evening under a multicoloured sky, one often hears the faint murmur of a hymn sung behind church walls – an appropriate reminder of a land being rebuilt through the faith of its people.
posted by Paul at
10:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home