Too shy shy, hush hush, eye to eye

Well I've been in Ouagadougou for nearly a day but there's still no sign of Limahl.

Never mind. Things are a bit costly here compared to Ghana so I'm quite glad that this will be a reasonably short visit. We'll be leaving Africa in just over a week - the plane flies from here sometime next Friday, although the airline's being all coy about exactly when.

Burkina's a lot less developed than Ghana. Coming over the border there was almost no transport heading to the capital at all. There's also no electricity in most of the towns en route, although there are some amazing mudbrick houses painted with monochrome geometric designs. A procession of shiny metal electricity pylons marches overhead without giving any power to the houses squatting beneath. Given that Burkina has few mineral resources and decent quantities of timber, the use of metal for these stinks of misdirected aid money. I'd bet that some rich-country government gave a wodge of cash to Burkina on the condition that it was spent on this vital infrastructure project and on condition that the contract went to a rich-country construction company with close links to said government.

That sort of thing is depressingly common. Near Dobiso (see previous) there was a long roadside stretch of electricity poles which were put up a few years ago. However, there was no electricity running through the wires and it's doubtful whether such a poor area could come close to affording it if there was. You suspect that the whole project was just set up so that some people in positions of influence could push some kickbacks their way. The road to Dobiso was constructed in 1978, but in 1979 heavy rains washed out some of the roadway close to a couple of bridges and nothing's been done since. In the dry season, vehicles can drive across the dry streambed, but in the wet the place is cut off to motor transport. The road has never been repaired, and there are now trees as tall as houses growing on the bridges.