The PFDJ junta is advertising the sale of housing units in three sites around Asmara, (1) Halibet, (2) Sembel, and (3) Space2000. These sites will comprise of 1048 modern apartments, 376 residential houses, and 256 business units.

What is the catch?

The junta needs money. They need it NOW. In the past they promised similar projects for single, duplex, and quadruplex homes, but failed to deliver (actually there was no genuine attempt made to deliver any). Many citizens paid in full in advance something unheard off in the free World for either homes or land; these are besides the war and government bonds that have simply vanished into thin air. In order to make themselves credible they have innocuously and casually mentioned that the few people who have paid in other projects (single residential houses, land, government and war bonds) in the past and did not receive any yet can make their claims or transfer their investments into these new units in the latest scam. This means one pays for a single home and receives an apartment unit in a congested residential complex, in the USSR style. To these thugs anything and everything goes they do not make any distinctions in what they say or do to the people.

Who is going to construct these homes?

None of these homes are going to be constructed; it is not in the plan at all. There are no engineering, contracting or constructions firms in the country that can handle, let alone these gargantuan and complex projects, they the existing PFDJ junta owned firms cannot even fix or remodel the existing government and privately owned buildings that are falling apart throughout the Capital. Many of the engineers, architects, construction contractors, subcontractors, and skilled personnel have already fled the country, or they are held incommunicado, maybe some of them might still be in Issaias’ Gulags. They can NOT afford to give these projects to the South Koreans again maybe the North this time as we shall see below.

How much revenue will they produce? What are the profits of the PFDJ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to maximize their profits the labor component of the construction will be handled by inmates from the Gulags and conscripts from the endless military service (Issaias Afewerqi’s self reliance). Since the great PFDJ donor Muaammer M. Al Qaddzafi does not exist anymore, therefore skilled labor and professionals (engineers and architects) will have to be procured from other repressive, soul, and guileless Nations in the OF form Developmental AID (so much for self-reliance). Candidates include low-cost-professionals from North Korea, China, or Iran in that order. Given these possible scenarios then the PFDJ thugs will construct these unites to the tune of at least $291 million USD or 219 million Euros of pure profits to wage their endless wars and payoff their massive proxy armies.

What are the hidden expenses and liabilities to the new homeowners?

In the tradition and nature of the PFDJ, the ultimate goal is to make money and have the leverage to extort more. Since ‘self reliance’ to the head of the PFDJ, Issaias Afewerqi, is to con, steal, cheat, rob, beg, starve the people and reduce the country to rubble then they have to target the weakest people in Eritrea, PFDJ members and their sympathizers.

From the mouth of the beast we read that, “Potential buyers are nationals who have fulfilled their national obligations.”

These are the suckers who chant, “he is us and we are him”. These are those who have an updated list of receipts, continue to pay up the 2% remittance tax, and the other numerous forced PFDJ designed “People’s Pledges”.

And maybe some who are gullible and naïve with minimum or limited faculties of human accessories.

What are the other swindling ploys of the PFDJ?

Buyers are expected to make an upfront payment of 25% of the total price of their units as a deposit and are expected to completely payoff the rest of the cost within a stringently TWO short years. Why the rush? Well the Eritrean people are not people to the junta but low level subjects, thus they do not deserve the respect and protection guaranteed to citizens of a civilized nation. And this project is not meant to provide service to anyone nor is it carefully planned in its logistical and economic feasibility. It is a ploy to extort immediate cash from the junta’s subjects for other ventures in the grand scheme of things still unveiling themselves.

What does the 25% upfront deposit of the total sales price and the rush to completely payoff the total cost in two years provide the junta? This warrantees them an immediate liquid cash of $73 million USD or 55 million Euros just during registration, without raising a finger. Does completing the remaining payment of $212 million USD or 156 million Euros in the next two years close the deal? Not a chance.

The next phase of the conning ploys is guised under the auspices of utilities connection expenses and cost overruns. The former are expenses for connecting sewer pipes or centralized cesspools, installing electrical step-down transformers and cables, connecting to the municipal aqueducts, extending asphalt or dirt roads to the units, and finally inclusion of garbage collection routes. This utilities phase will later be an excuse to come up with an additional cost overrun tag that will be incurred on the buyer’s homeowner deed. By this time the cost of these homes will jump up from 50% to 100% more; the typical past experience of previous buyers from the same PFDJ developer is that people were charged an extra $75,000 USD for a deal originally closed at $150,000 USD hiking the final price to $225,000 USD, an increase of 50%. This in return generates the juntas extra revenues and the total will jump to $509 million USD or 383 million Euros.

The ‘silver lining’ is in the final phase and the knock-out blow where the dazed buyer is placed and connected to a funds sucking intravenous tube permanently. This is when the real PFDJ game begins. Buyers will be requested to provide documentation of their 2% remittance receipts going back to 1992. This will be immediately followed by requests of “numerous PFDJ set-up pledges” ranging in titles from (1.) pledge to fund national defense, (2.) pledge to assist war disabled, (3.) pledge to assist families of martyrs, (4.) pledge to assist orphaned children, (5.) pledge to house war veterans, (6.) pledge to assist war veterans (7.) pledge to fund soil & water conservation, (8.) pledge to education funds,…etc.,. All these pledges have a minimum lower bound and buyers will be encouraged to top other people’s pledges in order to expedite the completion of the construction of their homes. The muscle of this leverage has proven to be successful in previous projects to the PFDJ junta, where many buyers regretted ever buying a home. This latter step by itself is the real bread and butter of the regime to fund and sustain its control of both its subjects (the masses) and its ruses (the veterans, martyrs, disabled, orphans, etc.,).

Please, be careful and inform friends and relatives.

I am my brother’s keeper.

N.B.: All the cost analysis are made at the lowest level in the PFDJ’s GREED scale. I expect them to charge much more than my estimate, multiply my figures by the correction factor of “k = between 1.75 to 3.75”.

Yonas Ghebregzi