Akon City: tumbleweed rolls through site of rapper’s Wakanda-inspired dream
GuardianJUL 2023
Senegal: Akon's Multi-Billion Dollar City Project Abandoned
Above: Stone commemorating the start of construction of Akon City is pictured in Mbodiene on Aug. 30, 2021. Image copyright: John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
Charter cities projects such as the Akon City are doomed to fail as they perpetuate colonial exploitation patterns and remove agency from indigenous communities to serve wealthy elites. Whether good-intentioned Black investors like Akon are behind such plans, they effectively reinforce white supremacy at the expense of local people and their needs. It's good news that the Akon City has now been abandoned.
Right narrative
Akon City failed because the project prioritized flashy architecture over fundamental economic foundations like job creation and sustainable business development, lacking clear plans for generating employment opportunities for local people, as well as for promoting entrepreneurship and reducing regulatory barriers. Charter cities are what Africa needs to unlock its true entrepreneur potential, but they must be better built.