On his first visit to the island, Archer Mangueira considered that the presence of buildings from the 1940s and the history of the island, located in the municipality of Tômbwa, have a historical, political and touristic value that can help boost tourism in the south of the country. For this reason, the governor expressed the will of the government of Namibe, in the short and medium term, to transform that region.
Cited by Angop, he considered that the change of island from "ghost to oasis" will attract more Angolans and tourists to that historic island, allowing people to know and learn more about the culture and way of life of the ancestors of that area.
Archer Mangueira, who visited this Thursday the Island of the Tigers Bay, passed by the chapel linked to the Catholic Church, the water tanks, the film Tigers Bay, the old hospital, the old cemetery, Vanessa's beach, the lagoon and the industrial and fishing area.
The Island of Tigres Bay was founded in 1860 by fishermen of the Algarve, in Portugal, who lived in that area until the time of the colonies, in 1975. However, housing conditions began to deteriorate and the lack of water led to the island becoming deserted.
The island, with an area of 100 square kilometers, which was once considered to be one of the largest fishing centers in the country, is now considered a ghost, isolated and uninhabited.
The houses and the hospital with symbols of Portugal from the time the Portuguese lived there were largely taken by the desert sand. A fact that could turn that area into a real oasis.
In 1999, the government of Namibe decided to begin a study of the area in order to recover the region, however, the lack of funds left the plan in the drawer.
The island is located 150 kilometers from the municipality of Tômbwa.
