{"id":59423,"date":"2022-12-24T20:19:39","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T20:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinegh.com\/?p=59423"},"modified":"2022-12-24T20:19:42","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T20:19:42","slug":"akons-wakanda-grazing-goats-and-a-crumbling-crypto-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinetv.com\/?p=59423","title":{"rendered":"Akon\u2019s Wakanda, grazing goats and a crumbling crypto dream<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dave Simpson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jonathan Griffin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BBC Trending<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RnB singer Akon says his much-delayed plans for Akon City \u2013 an African metropolis on the Senegalese coast \u2013 are \u201c100,000% moving\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although goats are currently grazing on the site, he says that critics will look \u201csuper stupid\u201d in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, the Smack That singer also assured supporters waiting for refunds from his Token of Appreciation cryptocurrency campaign that they will receive their money back, even if he has to pay them out of his own pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Widely known for his string of noughties chart hits Akon, who was born in the United States but partly raised in Senegal, announced two ambitious projects in 2018 that were supposed to represent the future of African society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first was a reported $6bn (\u00a35bn) city with boldly curvaceous skyscrapers. It was to run on the second initiative \u2013 a brand new cryptocurrency called Akoin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But several years on both projects have faced difficulties and delays and the site where the city is proposed to be built remains a waste ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Architectural<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On an overcast day in September 2020 Akon, dressed in a powder blue suit, strode confidently onto a dusty red patch of disused land. There to meet him was a gaggle of journalists from around the world who had assembled for the hitmaker\u2019s latest launch: a supercity packed with stunning architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local people clapped as a veil was pulled back on a plaque marking the future building site. But two years on the question of whether the plans will ever come to fruition divides communities in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe thought we could work on it but at this pace, maybe our children will,\u201d one resident of the area tells the BBC. \u201cWe remain hopeful for the project. We hope that our children will stay here to work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another resident says they no longer believe in the project before adding \u201cwhen it comes, if it finds us here, we\u2019ll see how we can contribute\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akon City was initially compared in the press with Wakanda, the amazing African metropolis featured in the Black Panther movies and comic books. Phase one of the city containing roads, a campus, a mall, residences, hotels, a police station, a school, a waste facility and a solar power plant was supposed to be complete by the end of 2023. But after multiple delays, little on the ground appears to have changed since the launch ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m only here in the presence of goats\u201d local journalist Borso Tall tells me. \u201cIt\u2019s completely empty\u2026 no sign of building just a long line of green trees and red earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But Akon remains adamant that his ambitious plans will still be realised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we meet in central London, he admits that with hindsight \u201cI would have gotten more things in place before promoting it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also blames Covid, which he says meant \u201ceverything would be pushed back two years\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the world was already in the grip of the pandemic when he held the ceremony promoting Akon City to international media in August 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI plan to retire in that city,\u201d he says confidently. \u201cI don\u2019t like to use the word the king of the city. But that\u2019s what it will turn out to be.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get the city built as fast as possible,\u201d he says, adding that he has a lease on the land for the next 50 years and that his project has \u201cbeen co-signed by the current president\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senegalese government\u2019s tourist board SAPCO recently reaffirmed their commitment to the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe believe in Akon city and we are all supporting Akon so the Akon city will come to life,\u201d said Me Aliou Sow, CEO of SAPCO. \u201cIt will attract tourists and investors in the region and SAPCO is fully committed to the success of this project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akon says he has changed both the construction firms and architects he is working with on the project, adding that his new partners understand Africa, the terrain and have \u201creal credibility globally\u201d. His overall goals remain ambitious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want the big skyscrapers. My goal is to try to build something that people deem impossible in Africa, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Architectural<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Several celebrity finance websites estimate Akon\u2019s net worth to be between $60-80m, leading some to question where the money will come from for a project of this size. His team claim they have an international consortium in place who will fund it with private investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Akon said that excavation work on the site will finally start before the end of the year, adding that further announcements will be made at a youth centre he has built for residents in a local village. Construction work on Akon City he acknowledges \u201cis yet to be fully calendered\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initial plans for Akon City, dubbed it \u201cCrypto City\u201d and in August 2020 Akon said the city\u2019s financial infrastructure would be \u201cbuilt off\u201d his own Akoin cryptocurrency. But the cryptocurrency has been plagued by its own delays and struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t being managed properly,\u201d he concedes. \u201cI take full responsibility for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before launching his Akoin cryptocurrency, the Akoin website announced a pre-sale opportunity called the Token of Appreciation (TOA) campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign was announced over two years before the Akoin cryptocurrency itself was available. It was a fundraiser to cover the costs of launching Akoin later down the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Money sent for TOAs was framed as a \u201cdonation\u201d on the Akoin TOA website page but there was a special incentive to put money in during this period. Contributors were told that for every $1 they put in they would receive up to four Tokens of Appreciation which would later convert to proper Akoin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI did genuinely believe in the ecosystem that they were looking to build,\u201d says Marcus (not his real name) who lives in the UK. \u201cEvery now and again I\u2019d put in a few thousand pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Token of Appreciation campaign concluded in October 2019. The official Akoin Twitter feed claimed it had raised $290,000. Over two years later TOA donors were presented with a choice in the official Akoin Telegram group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Architectural<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now able to give TOA holders a choice,\u201d wrote the admin. \u201cReceive a refund of their original donation or receive an Akoin MasterCard which will have the value of their initial donation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some TOA donors have decided to wait for their promised rewards. For now they have notice of a Token of Appreciation but it doesn\u2019t have any functionality. Others have tried to claim their money back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t ask for the refund, they offered the refunds,\u201d notes Marcus, whose faith in the project was starting to flag. \u201cThe refund was meant to come a few weeks later. We are now over a year. And we\u2019re back at the same situation we were years ago with the lack of communication and now everybody\u2019s up in arms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marcus is not alone. In the Akoin Telegram groups I\u2019ve spoken to a number of other people around the world who say that they have asked for refunds but are still waiting to receive their money back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s extremely frustrating,\u201d says Reggie, an American living in Asia who also donated to the campaign. \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve gotten upset about this, you know, a number of times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I put cases like Marcus\u2019 and Reggie\u2019s to Akon, who denied knowing that donors to the Akoin campaign were still waiting for refunds. He claims he will get involved in rectifying the situation until TOA donors are happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if I gotta go in my own pocket,\u201d he adds. \u201cI\u2019m dead serious. I would do a world tour just to pay them all back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This video can not be played<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Akoin cryptocurrency itself launched on Bitmart in September 2021. Its value at that time was \u00a30.23 ($0.28) but it has fallen significantly since, preceding a crash in the wider cryptocurrency market. Today Akoin\u2019s price is just \u00a30.01.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have also been questions over whether it would even be legal for Akoin to operate as the primary payment method at Akon City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current legal tender in Senegal is the CFA franc, which is regulated and issued by Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which share the money. Yahoo Finance reported last year that the \u201cinstitution warned of the dangers of adopting cryptocurrency and termed it illegal\u201d. We approached the BCEAO to comment on the legality of a city running on cryptocurrency but they didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose are a lot of the concerns even I have,\u201d acknowledges Akon. \u201cI want to make sure that however we involve crypto within the city is in a way that it lines up with all the rules and regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So will ordinary transactions in Akon\u2019s proposed \u201cCrypto City\u201d still take place with his own crypto? It seems unclear. \u201cWe\u2019ll have it figured out by the time the city\u2019s up, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But after two years of waiting, not everyone is convinced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think a lot of us we\u2019ve done our research but it panned out like nothing is going on,\u201d says Reggie. \u201cI would like to get my funds back and just walk away\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen to BBC Trending: Akon\u2019s Wakanda and a crumbling crypto dream on the World Service. Download the podcast or listen online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More on this story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n