28 February 2011
The son of Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema planned to build one of the world’s most expensive yachts, a non-governmental organisation said on Monday.
The superyacht would have cost 288 million euros and featured a cinema, restaurant and swimming pool.
“This yacht would be another example of how he likes to live well while three-quarters of the population of Equatorial Guinea live below the poverty line,” Robert Palmer, an anti-corruption campaigner from Global Witness, told RFI.
Teodorin, full name Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, asked a German yacht builder to draw up the designs for the vessel. Global Witness said they investigated and visited the company, obtaining details about the price tag and client.
“Teodorin asked to draw up plans for the yacht but in the end decided not to go ahead with it, however we don’t know what the current situation is,” said Palmer.
Global Witness has been critical of the Obiang regime. Teodorin earns 5,000 euros a month as a government minister, but “despite this he owns a 35 million dollar mansion in Malibu as well as a gulf stream jet”, said Palmer.
“According to my very rough calculations it would take him over 4,000 years to pay for this yacht with his official salary, clearly he’s got a source of income that not his government salary. I think this is obscene given how poor the majority of Equatorial Guineans are,” he added.
The yacht:
Codenamed ‘Zen’ by Kusch Yachts
Design costs: 250,000 euros. Plans completed in December 2009
Length: 118.5 metres
Features
Cinema
Restaurant
Bar
Swimming pool
Security system worth 942,000 euros
Equatorial Guinea:
Per capita income of 27,470 euros
77 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line
35 per cent dies before the age of 40
58 per cent lacks access to safe water
Read or Listen to this story on the RFI website
AllAfrica – All the Time
See the rest here:
Equatorial Guinea: Obiang’s Son Ordered Pricey Yacht, Says NGO