One thing I have noticed about my home town is that it is changing for the better, cosmetically speaking... they just layed a nice smooth road(A-grade tarmac) going through the centre of town. I spotted roller-bladders enjoying it with no worries of potholes... and this is only just one part of the facelifts the place is getting, we have two four-storey buildings coming up, one nearing completion, and there is a lot more happening in terms of development.
This is not happening in my home town alone, it is something I've observed happening in all the African countries I have been through, well more especially when they were approaching elections or going through elections. But put aside elections, just the new infrastucture in itself does the place good. Its like a deep breath of fresh air, its revitalising.
However, one other trend observable in these African countries and also verymuchso in my home town, is the lack of mantainence that these new structures receive. Unfortunatly this can also be tied to the elections sagga. As soon as election season is over and people take their offices, the growth and development grows to a halt...
In my home town the beauty of it all can be found in the way it is always in a state change. It is consistently changing, and not just the buildings and roads; also cars, cloths(not so much), and even technology (first time I was here, public phones were linked via satellite). New things come in and give us a facelift and the old stuff grows grey and gory. They do not belive in maintaining and upgrading the old stuff...