Anyone who has been to Juba will know exactly what I am talking about — even some of the people who would read this that have been to Africa will understand.  But, to those of you that have never been outside of US, I’m afraid you’ll never really get how bad this is.  I’m thinking that maybe the boys in NASA that have been on the moon might get it, but then again, the Lunar Rover looked like it had some pretty great suspension.  Almost all dirt roads (which cover over 90% of Juba) have craters the size of small planets in them.  The amount of dodging (when possible) and

Some industrious children have even made a bit of a business out of taking a shovel and filling in some of the smaller holes with dirt (typically, we are talking 10 year old children here — the probably don’t see the bigger holes as they could stand in them) and then ask passing drivers for a little money.

Typical Road in Juba

While there are contracts for 60 km of roads to be paved in Juba, only 6 km have actually been completed — and there doesn’t look like there is any further movement anywhere to keep working on the other 54 km.  I understand the Government of Southern Sudan awarded these civil works projects many years ago.  But, somehow, while the money has been expended, it doesn’t seem like there are many new roads.  I wonder what that could mean….?  Well, I think we all know, but it’s just not politic to say that the government officials and their friends are just taking money while the rest of Juba stays in medieval times.

[Side Note: As I am writing this, I was enjoying a hot cocoa until a fly that was buzzing around my head just decided to take a swim in some cocoa.  I've never seen a fly to that before.  It's like he missed landing on the rim of the cup and just fell into the drink.  Now, I don't know if I will drink the rest or not - I probably will, since that was my last hot cocao packet.  *sigh*]

If there is just ONE thing (and there are indeed many things) that makes life miserable in Juba, I think it’s the situation with the roads.  My daily commute to the office would take about 10 minutes instead of the 45 minutes that is required to traverse the crappy conditions; travel time between just about anywhere would be substantially reduced.  We also wouldn’t need these huge Toyota Landcruisers that really aren’t that much fun to be in and take a heck of a lot of petrol to operated.

One day, the roads in Juba will be usable — but judging by the Government’s lack of interest, it’ll probably be after I am long dead and gone.  If at all.

It’s no secret that government contracts have a universal gripe about their clients — the clients always seem to pass the buck when it comes to getting information or actually doing something.  I know that this may be an unfair critique, but I think after you read this post, you tend to agree with me.

Hang in with me — this can get complicated adn I really should have a flow chart, but I really just don’t have the time to make one.  About 1 1/2 weeks ago, I was asked to do a simple task:  Get a CD prepared by Person A, but in the Possession of Person B.  Simple, right?  Not really.  Here is the chain of events:

1) 3 emails sent to person B — no response

2) 1 email sent to person C (the colleague of Person B) — the response? “Wow, I’ve been looking for that CD for a while! Let me know if you find it”

3) So, I then sent an email to Person D, the original owner of the CD.  The response?  “I’ve already given it once, but if you lost if I guess we can find another copy somewhere…”  And, of course, this was copied to almost everyone in the office.

4) This began a cascade of emails that were almost all of the same substance: “Well, I don’t have it, let us know if you find it”

5) So… then I checked with the original author (Person E) who has promised to send me the CD.  Of course, I haven’t seen it yet, but maybe it will show up one day.

An important note is that due to the actions of Person D is that my client has now gotten a little upset.  Why did I feel it necessary to contact the whole world?  I could have done that.

If it was necessary to develop a course on how to Pass the Buck, I think I know the exact people that could teach it.  It really is NOT an form of art, rather it’s a skill that is honed over years and years of being busy but producing very little. I’m SOO in teh wrong job!