MANIEMA

Just returned from Maniema, one of the DRC's poorest provinces. In the capital city, Kindu the only trace of a paved road stretches for about 100 meters!

Like so many places in this vast expanse of a country it has enormous potential, especially for tourism. As I always say, Africa does not have to become like the West to become touristically attractive, it just has to bring out its many gifts, attributes and charms.

In Maniema's case, the capital Kindu is situated on the stunning Congo River. There seems to be no end to this River as every where I go, it is there!! I walked from my hotel down to the river and found fishermen and hordes of other marketers just at the shore.

Also there was an abandoned attempt to create a restful spot from where to appreciate the wonders of this extraordinary river.

It's almost as if the people of Kindu and Maniema in general are either too poor or too hot to follow through on such developments. The profound lack of a roadway system connecting provinces to one another is also certainly a major disincentive. If no one can get there than why bother!

A real shame as I could almost reach out and touch its potential as a charming getaway place. The remnants of old colonial architecture are eminently exploitable. That coupled with the ever-present candle-lit night markets that so enchant me whenever I happen upon them could be a real jewel.

But aesthetics are definitely not a strong point in Africa. The desire to make a human connection remains paramount. All else is forsaken. That's why cell phones caught on instantly while tractors for purposes of mechanizing manual farming techniques are not seen as useful. I heard an amusing story about how after 50 tractors were sent to one province, farmers used them as vehicles to take their kids to school instead of for plowing!

Perhaps this means that we should stop trying to force Africans to do what we think they should be doing and just try and figure out what really makes them excited.

Music for instance is huge in Maniema. It is blasted throughout Kindu almost on a 24/7 basis. And besides a few spurts of Michael Jackson, it is mostly local and fantastic.

So if people like music so much, why not create musical studios in Maniema and forget about the tractors!!! My quest for locally made fruit juice in Africa is officially over! They are just not interested!

But most frustrating was my attempt to use an internet cafe which was unmarked as such and hopelessly disorganized as if people worked really hard to create this disorganization. How hard is it to create a decent space where people can use a computer. I've been to many internet cafes in out of the way places from Ghana to Guinea Bissau to Nigeria and Madagascar. But this one really took the cake.

Once again, I could only conclude that possibly it is just too hot to be bothered to set things up properly.

Anyway, thankfully my United Nations flight (we fly those since the local airlines are considered too dangerous) left on time and so I only had to be in Maniema for a week. But surely with a little tweaking and a little organization, I would not have wanted to leave.

The flight from Kindu to Kisangani which was on a Russian Antonov from what looked to be the 1960s managed to get us to our destination notwithstanding its age proving that things do not have to be new to work. The UN uses airlines and crews from all over the world. So some planes have a Russian aircraft and an all Russian crew, others feature a Canadian aircraft and an all Canadian crew, others Mexican, etc., although the Mexican plan has been on the blink for a while.

From Kisangani to Kinshasa it was the Canadians. Always nice to hear familiar North American accents.

After an impossibly gridlocked ride from the airport and a brief meeting at the European Union office, I came home and took a hot bath with a cup of tea.

So nice to be home!