Did you know that Sofonie Dala was born in Cazenga?

 

Happy birthday Cazenga 

🎉 Happy Birthday, Cazenga — 9 January 🎉

This monthly we celebrated another year of Cazenga, a municipality whose history, people, and resilience go far beyond its borders. This anniversary is more than a date on the calendar — it is a reminder of the urgent mission aligned with SDG 11: making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Cazenga deserves dignified housing, organized urban spaces, preserved cultural heritage like the old casas redondas of Nzamba 1, accessible public services, and infrastructure that respects both people and history. Celebrating Cazenga means committing to transform density into opportunity, informality into planning, and memory into a foundation for sustainable urban growth. May this new year be one of rehabilitation, inclusion, and pride for all cazenguenses.

Yes — Cazenga.

One of the most vibrant, historic, and densely populated municipalities of Luanda.

I’m Sofonie Dala, born in 1991, natural of Cazenga.

That means something interesting: I’m three years older than the legal constitution of the Municipality of Cazenga (1994) — yet I was born inside a place whose history goes much further back than any administrative decree.

And that contrast says a lot about Cazenga.

Cazenga: older than its papers, richer than its image

Long before becoming a municipality in 1994, Cazenga already existed:

• as land cultivated by Miguel Pedro Cazenga,

• as home to his descendants, including Pedro Guilherme Cazenga,

• as a strategic place in Angola’s history,

• and as a refuge for thousands of families during decisive moments of our nation.

Cazenga is not “new”.

It is deeply historical — but still becoming.

Nzamba 1 and the old casas redondas

If you know Nzamba 1, you know the story.

The old casas redondas (round houses) are more than structures:

• they are architectural memory

• symbols of pre-urban Cazenga

• evidence of how people lived, built, and adapted before concrete took over

These houses are cultural assets.

With proper rehabilitation, they could become:

• community heritage points

• cultural tourism attractions

• living museums of local history

Instead of disappearing, they should be reimagined.

A municipality with challenges — and massive potential

Let’s be honest:

Cazenga does not look good at all in many areas today.

• degraded infrastructure

• lack of urban planning

• insufficient rehabilitation

• housing pressure

• poor road networks

But here’s the other side of the coin 👇

Cazenga has:

• energy

• youth

• entrepreneurial spirit

• strategic location in Luanda

• nearly one million people

That is not a problem.

That is potential.

SDGs in focus — especially SDG 9 🚧🏗️

This is where the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) come in, especially:

SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Cazenga urgently needs:

• modern road infrastructure

• rehabilitation of housing

• sustainable construction

• innovation hubs for youth

• local industries and services

Investing in Cazenga means:

• investing in inclusive growth

• building resilient infrastructure

• transforming density into productivity

Other related SDGs:

• SDG 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth

• SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities & Communities

• SDG 1 – No Poverty

A message to investors and tourists

💼 To investors:

Cazenga is not saturated — it is underdeveloped.

There is space for:

• housing projects

• rehabilitation contracts

• commercial centers

• cultural and creative industries

• smart urban solutions

🌍 To tourists and cultural explorers:

Cazenga is raw, real, and historical.

It tells stories you won’t find in polished brochures — stories of resilience, identity, and urban Angola.

My Final thought

I was born in Cazenga before it was legally a municipality.

Cazenga was born long before it was legally recognized.

Now, both of us are still growing.

The question is not whether Cazenga can change —

the question is who is ready to build it properly.

🧱✨