The stories repeat themselves in this country. The government gives generously to public works and construction projects for public schools and villages. They pick the contractor and give him the money. The recipients of the work have no say whatsoever in how the job is done. They have no access to the cost of the […]
Tag Archives: africa
THE AFRICAN CONUNDRUM : corruption and poverty
The passageways leading from the plane to the baggage claim were actually lighted and the broken cement floors had been replaced with new ceramic tile. But the most shocking change was the disappearance of the young street boys grabbing your luggage as you chased after them, not knowing whether you would every see your bags again. […]
Discovering Mozambique
After flying into Douala’s dark, and dank 25 year old airport too many times, I was happily surprised when we landed in Maputo, disembarking into a brand new sun lite modern building. Unlike Cameroon, there were no soldiers with guns or chaos at baggage as street boys grabbed luggage, promising for a fee to get […]
Cape Town Journal april 2011
I flew in and out of O.R Tumbo International airport in Johannesburg on the same day of the week, a Tuesday, both times extremely ill, searching for a bathroom. A shiny new airport, each floor several blocks in length, had almost no seating and restrooms were miles apart. The only solace was the free luggage […]