VOA标准英语2009年-Pirate Booty Causes Kenya Property Prices to Sk

Property prices in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya have skyrocketed in the past few years, partly because more money may be finding its way there from pirate activities in neighboring Somalia. A local analyst¹ says buying property is a popular and easy form of money laundering³ in Kenya.

According to real estate agents in Nairobi, property prices in many neighborhoods in the capital have doubled, and in some cases tripled, since 2006. They say the situation is the same in the coastal⁴ city of Mombasa, where new residential⁵ and commercial buildings are being sold for unprecedented⁶ prices, even before the buildings are completed.

A survey of property prices in Nairobi shows prices here have climbed not only in upscale areas, but in low-income areas as well. That has kept land, houses, and even the most basic of apartments unaffordable for many Kenyans.

Economists⁷ say the current property bubble can be attributed, in part, to the decision of local city councils to change the status of some streets and neighborhoods from residential to commercial. Developers have bought up single-family estates at premium⁸ rates to make room for apartment buildings, offices, and shopping malls.

Another reason for the property boom is linked to overseas Kenyans, including Kenyan Somalis, who are using the money they have earned outside the country in recent years to invest in property at home. Businessmen from Somalia, Congo Kinshasa, and Burundi are also said to be buying property in Kenya as long-term investments.

A Mombasa-based architect, Ayub Mwangi, says Somali nationals have acquired numerous properties there in recent years, sometimes paying as much as 50 percent or more above the asking price.

"A plot that was costing 30 million [Kenyan shillings $360,00] is now costing about 60 to 70 million [$860,000]. They seem to have a lot of money to spend," he said.

An analyst on Kenyan economics and public policy, Robert Shaw, says a large chunk⁹ of the money used to buy property in Kenya these days is believed to be a part of the millions of dollars in ransom¹⁰ ship owners have paid to Somali pirates.

In 2008 alone, pirates seized 42 vessels¹¹ and their crew in the Gulf¹² of Aden and the Indian Ocean, possibly earning as much as $150 million.

"One should be cautious unless one has direct facts," said Shaw. "But one way to look at it is to look at some of the areas which would be potentially attractive to Somalis and Eastleigh is one. Eastleigh now has a property price tag on it that is way higher than some neighboring areas."

The Somali community of Eastleigh in Nairobi is one of the fastest-growing communities in the capital. International law enforcement officials believe pirates are using Eastleigh's cash-based money transfer network to launder² at least a part of the ransom money here.

The officials believe drug traffickers, who launder an estimated $100 million through Kenya's financial system every year, are also heavily invested in Kenya's property market.

Shaw says Kenya has become a major money-laundering hub because it is easier to do it here than in many other places.

"There are two factors. One is that we still do not have in place an anti-money laundering legislation," he said. "And secondly¹³, the government's stand on corruption¹⁴ is very weak."

Last April, Kenya's parliament put forth¹⁵ a bill to combat money laundering, but it has yet to be enacted¹⁶ into law.

1 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

2 launder   

v.洗涤；洗黑钱（把来路可疑的钱弄得似乎合法）

参考例句：

• She wore a freshly laundered and starched white shirt.她穿一件刚刚浆洗熨烫过的白色衬衣。
• The gang launders the steal money through their chain of restaurants.这帮匪徒通过他们的连锁饭店洗赃款。

3 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

5 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

9 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

10 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

11 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

13 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

14 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

15 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

16 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹