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Three-lane madness

Traffic in Dar es Salaam can get pretty bad. At least a couple of times it's taken me two hours to drive around 10 miles. So you can imagine the anticipation that gripped us when work started to widen the main road from Mwenge towards the city centre. But as the new road took shape we began to scratch our heads. Could it really be wide enough for two lanes in each direction? Well, the conundrum was solved when they eventually got round to painting the white lines. The answer? Three lanes. That's three lanes in total.

For a while it wasn't clear who had the legitimate right to use that middle lane. Signs have now gone up showing it's two lanes towards town and one coming back out. However, in reality, the usual rules of the road apply: priority goes to the larger, heavier and faster vehicle - and also to the braver driver.

There's already been a considerable amount of chaos.

Toilets: advice, requests and warnings

Haven of Peace for the Olympic torch

After a rocky couple of weeks travelling through Paris, London and San Francisco, the Olympic torch made its way to Africa in the middle of last month. And its one destination on the continent was right here in Dar es Salaam - whose rough translation is Haven of Peace. Some of us held our breath as we waited to see whether the event would live up to the city's name. To the organisers' relief it passed off completely peacefully - no doubt helped, in part at least, by keeping the route under wraps until very late and dramatically cutting it down to 5km. Still, from the press coverage the next day, a large crowd of people in Coca Cola t-shirts seemed to have tracked down the torch to cheer it on its way.

Bye bye George

Contrary to my fears, one local paper reported that during George Bush's visit "many roads will be closed to ease congestion." It wasn't immediately clear whose congestion they were talking about. Nevertheless I've stuck to riding my bike for the last three days and managed to dodge the worst of the jams.

So he came, and stayed - apparently longer than he's ever done before in an African country - and now we've waved him goodbye. The show piece event was the signing of an agreement for the US to give almost $700 million* over the next five years. Of course there are a few strings. Tanzania will need to keep going with the progress it's making since the money only goes to countries that continue to deal with corruption and enforce the rule of law. So, as if to reassure the President, banners had been strung around town declaring "we cherish good governance" and "we cherish human rights". And there were posters galore with George's beaming face and words from the Tanzanian people saying "Thank you for the Millenium [sic] Challenge Account".

All-in-all he got a pretty warm welcome. Probably quite a relief from reactions in other parts of the world.

*For those Brits out there, you should know that this latest grant plus existing US funding means the Americans will overtake the UK as the largest donor country in Tanzania.

Political earthquakes

Tanzania straddles the Great African Rift Valley, so tectonic action is not unusual. But the recent earthquakes have been political rather than geological in nature, with several alleged corruption cases involving leading figures. Last year the President sacked the governor of the Bank of Tanzania when $130 million was wrongly taken from an account there. And last week the Prime Minister and two ministers resigned - leading to the whole Cabinet being dissolved - following a Parliamentary report on an emergency electricity generating contract.

So what are we to make of it all? Clearly there is still a long way to go in these inquiries. But the public at large and the media are becoming increasingly vocal about the unacceptability of corruption. Parliament has been increasingly key in recent steps to demand public figures are accountable for their actions. And people in authority at the highest levels have been taking action against some of those implicated in the scandals. Corruption has undoubtedly diverted precious resources away from the citizens of Tanzania, but there are positive aspects to take away from the recent dramatic events.

Bean cooking for beginners

Rice and beans - it's a staple of the Tanzanian diet. And over the last four years, I've become strangely addicted to it. But despite a few experiments I've been unable to re-create the dish in my own kitchen. So I was delighted when Mama Nuru, my Swahili teacher George's wife, offered to let me into her culinary secrets. And last Saturday, as a prelude to the cookery course that I plan to start in September, I headed off to their home in Buguruni for Bean Cooking for Beginners: part 1.

We started by sorting the soya beans (better than the red kidney beans apparently) by hand with the children. To be honest I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be looking for - but it seemed to be the black and misshapen ones that were discarded. That was followed by furious boiling for an hour or so over the charcoal stove - providing the perfect opportunity to relax and discuss the dramatic political events of the last week (see next post). Oil, onions, tomatoes and green pepper followed. All very simple you might think. But it was the magic ingredient that I'd been skimping on in my previous efforts: salt, salt and more salt. The result? Extremely tasty - but not a dish for the hypertensive!

George Bush is on his way

We are looking forward to George W Bush's trip to Tanzania next month, although perhaps not the prospect of sitting in queues of traffic as his motorcade speeds around town. It's to demonstrate his commitment to Africa, you know. The White House website reports it's his first visit to the continent since back in 2003. Here are some extracts from the press release issued by the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam yesterday:

"President Bush demonstrates US commitment to Africa with trip to Tanzania"

"During his trip, President Bush will highlight his Presidential initiatives"

"President Bush said, 'We have a strategy that's working. It is to support a strategy that has made a difference' "

"The US President's historic trip to Tanzania will further strengthen the ties between the people of the United States of America and the people of the United Republic of Tanzania"

World Toilet Day

I'm sure you spotted it last month too: 19 November was World Toilet Day. Thanks to those lovely people at the UN it has been every year since 2001. Did you know 2.6 billion people in the world don't have access to any kind of basic sanitation?

Part of my job is to try and make sure more things get counted - toilets being one of them. At the moment the numbers are pretty dodgy but the Statistics Office here is currently doing a couple of surveys that should shed a bit more light on the situation. Right now the best estimate is that, although 90% of Tanzanians are able to use some sort of pit latrine, more than half of those are completely inadequate - just holes in the ground without any cement floor. Something to think about next time you're in the smallest room in the house.

Want to do something about it? Can't think what to buy your loved-one for Christmas? Go to World Vision's alternative gifts website and click on Buy a Bog.

Deepest, highest, longest ... largest

Tanzania's attractions are often accompanied by a string of superlatives:

• Lake Tanganyika: the world's longest fresh water lake and the deepest point on the continent.
• Mount Kilimanjaro: Africa's highest point and the tallest free-standing mountain on the planet.
• The Serengeti Migration: the greatest movement of mammals on the earth.

But now there's a new one to add to the list. Screen 1 at Dar es Salaam's new Century Cinemax theatre. Yes, it really is the largest in East Africa. (Number seven in the series of moderately interesting facts.) And on Monday night Dan, Tom and I paid it a visit to see the Bourne Ultimatum. It's very good indeed and well worth two hours of your time when it opens across the UK this weekend. Although perhaps Dan should lend his tripod to the director - as the shaky camera work does make you a bit dizzy after a while.

Hoots the chemist

Perhaps you were a little disappointed not to have the cash to nab a share in the recent £10 billion takeover of Boots the chemist. If so, maybe you'll want to consider putting in a bid for Dar es Salaam's version: Hoots the chemist. It's the same kind of thing - just a bit smaller.