Kisenge
Kisenge is a small town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located in the south of the country, very close to the border with Angola.[1]
City
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Climate
The climate is tropical and the city is surrounded by dense forests. Between May and September it rains a lot in the city.
Population
There are no accurate data on the city's population. However, it is estimated that the city has 3,500 people.
The vast majority of the city's population is Catholic Christian, however there are small minorities of Sunni Muslims and traditional African religions.[2]
Until 1940 the overwhelming majority of the population spoke Kisetogo or Nagakala, languages based on Bantu. However, after 1940 the French language also began to be present in the village. In 1975, with Portugal leaving its African colonies and with the independence of Angola, dozens of Angolans migrated to Kisenge. Thus, in the last decades the Portuguese language has been assimilated by the population and almost half of the population already speaks Portuguese fluently and as a first language. Another factor for the growing number of Portuguese speakers in the city is the large investment in the city by Brazil and Angola and, less by Portugal.[2]
Economy
The city's economy is sustained mainly by clearing the forest and selling wood. In 2007, a company with Angolan and Kenyan capital purchased large portions of land for deforestation, employing a large part of the population. In 2013, a Brazilian company built a complex for the exploration of minerals and metals, this complex employs almost 40% of the entire population.[3]
Recent investments by Portugal and France led to the construction of the first health center and a bilingual school (Portuguese and French). In 2011, Chinese investments led to the construction of a large paint factory, although this factory employed about 25% of the population, it polluted the village's lake. In addition, the company started building a school to learn Chinese and a small apartment complex to house Chinese workers. In 2012, the population revolted due to the pollution of the lake and distrust of Chinese immigrants and the attempt to spread Chinese culture, and destroyed the buildings in construction. Currently, the construction of these buildings has been abandoned.[2][4][5]
The United States and Taiwan have invested in improving the city's infrastructure and telecommunications.[5]
References
- ^ "Kisenge". Kisenge. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ a b c Silva, João (2017). The relationship between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Vol. 1. Luanda, Angola: Lunivris. pp. 34, 35, 36 and 37.
- ^ "Democratic Republic of Congo". Climate Investment Funds. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ "Believe in DRC". Believe in DRC - Invest in DRC. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
- ^ a b "Special Economic Zone (SEZ)". Believe in DRC - Invest in DRC. 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2020-06-18.