Driving with Kone offers sad insights into the Malian economy as well. Every large public works project is annotated with some tour guide sort of story, and they are all the same: this or that bit of infrastructure was paid for by such and such a nation or such and such an NGO. He's fond of what World Vision does. Also some football org built the road to Bandiagara and the wife of some French president raised funds to build a road to Sangha. The Malian government may pave it this year. The Malian government drops into conversations every now and again, just often enough to remind you that there is one, and that they are responsible for building or maintaining almost none of what's needed by the people to survive.
