It's been too long...

We've settled in rather easily to life in Cotonou over the past few weeks; it's downright pleasant. Perhaps you saw Nick Kristof's op-ed in the NYT a few weeks ago saying that buying real estate here would be wise [check it out here (and by the way, NYT, Free Times Select, you elitist jerks!)]...The man has a point: Cotonou is a main city in Africa, and West Africa at that, but it's holding it together. Public works projects as far as the eye can see-- new roads, trash cans, and...my personal favorite...sewer cleaning day! Last week, all across the city, teams of workers lifted the covers off of the sewers every 10 meters or so, and hauled out any muck that might be impeding drainage. BOOM! One day, in and out. Sure, it stank, but it was an amazing feat of coordination and quite heartwarming. Go, Benin! Ghana, take note: you, too, can cover the sewers and keep them functional!

In the spirit of fairness, if we were to organize the Pan-African Public Goods Games, Ghana would kick some serious butt in the rural electrification coverage competition. The rest of West Africa would be eating wake...but Benin wouldn't be standing still or tumbling backwards like some other countries. On that note, here is a pictoral update of the little Beninois rural electrification project that is so near and dear to me...enjoy!