SENELEC and its lack of innovation

The Senegalese Energy company (SENELEC) has decided that starting from this July, it will increases its rate up to 8%. This decision has raised many complaints from the Senegalese population. And to add injury to insult, the SENELEC has been cutting the electricity in all the country everyday starting from July. They would go so far as to cut it twice in one day. As far as I could remember the SENELEC has been using this strategy to save energy. According to them, they do not have enough energy to provide for the entire population. And since the demand for electricity doubles during the summer, they are forced to cut back in order to save.
This situation is unbearable because the summer is very hot in Senegal. People hope to get some rest from the heat by using electric fan, air conditioning, or drinking cold drinks. However due to this electricity cuts, they are unable to ease their pains. Moreover, due to the electric cuts, household appliances such as the refrigerator get damaged.
I often think that if there was another energy company in this country, the SENELEC would not treat us the way they do. In fact, based on the example of the phone company SONATEL, I am positive that they need a bit of competition to make things right by us. The SONATEL being a state company used to have the monopole of the communication sector. And with the growing popularity of the cell phones, they had high rates. At the difference with other countries, in Senegal you do not need a contract with the phone company to use a cell phone. You only need to get a cell phone, and to buy a SIM card at the SONATEL along with a recharge card every time you need to use it. The phone company would also sell phones. The price of the phones and SIM Card were extravagant. Back in those days, having a cell phone was like a luxury. However, with its privatization and the arrival of competitors such as TIGO or EXPRESSO, the SONATEL was obliged to revise its prices. Now having a SIM card is very affordable. Moreover, the company often offers promotion during which you can receive a 100% bonus on your charge card. Hence, I think that the country needs to open its energy market and let other companies give it a try. Only then, would the population be satisfied with the energy in this country. Unfortunately, the State, which is still a big important shareholder in the SENELEC does not want to let the monopole slide off his hands.

Furthermore, I do not understand why the SENELEC has not found new ways of producing energy. There are so many new things they could try to increase their production of energy starting with the use of solar power. They say that they experimenting it. However, I am sure it does not take too much time to figure out how to use solar power to our advantage. It may be expensive, but isn't it a worthy investment?
In truth, I am not certain that they are trying their hardest to find innovative ways to produce more energy. I look at the example of Mimran, who is the president of the Senegalese Sugar Company (Compagnie Sucriere Senegalaise). This Swiss entrepeneur decided to grow sugar cane in the north of Senegal (Richard Toll), in a field that was so dry that people laughed at his project, saying that it would never work. But Mimran, built his company and was successful. Now, he is the main producer of sugar in Senegal. He employs between 3000 to 5000 people depending on the season. But the reason why I am interested in Mimran case is that he has succeeded in producing electricity through his company. And his production is big enough to be used by the entire town in which his company and sugar cane fields are located. He even sells it to the SENELEC for use. What is it that Mimran as a sole human being did that the SENELEC, a big company cannot do?

This situation is becoming unbearable. People are frustrated. Recently in some neighborhood, they gather up to protest against the SENELEC wrongdoing. They even went so far as to say that they would not pay the electric bills, and would attack any agents that show up in the neighborhood trying to cut the electricity. With this economic crisis, prices of daily goods rising, having higher electricity bills and less consumption is not what the standard Senegalese need. I am afraid that if we do not find a solution very soon, the situation will worsen. Let us just hope that summer goes by quickly and that is does not get any hotter than this.

Scandal in Dakar; Posted Naked pictures of a mistress

Recently, the Senegalese scene has been subject to an interesting scandal. My country has been subjected to many scandals in the past but this one caught my eye because unlike the others, it did not involve a political figure or a celebrity. It involved ordinary people, living ordinary lives.
The issue is simple: a young lady was having an affair with a married man. During this affair, the man took some indecent pictures of her. Then, the man died. His wife who was putting his affairs in order found the naked pictures. She decided to duplicate them and post them where the lady was working. And from then, everyone around got wind of the scandal because the pictures ended up on the Internet and on some gossip magazines.
This scandal does not shock me one bit. Living in the USA, I am used to hearing about some pictures of stars or videos leaking on the Internet; the most recent one being that of Rihanna while she was still dating Chris Brown. However, I was surprised that in my country where people prone the “Soutoura” (discretion) something like that could happen.
Senegal was a country with many important values such as discretion, tolerance, integrity, sense of pride, and chastity. But all these values have gone down the drain. Children are not studying and they are growing up too fast: partying and having sex. Grown ups are not educating their children and sometimes they are not giving the good example. With the increasing gap between rich and poor, violence and prostitution have become a daily routine. People have lost their most important values. And they are ready to do anything for money and 15mns fame. That is why it is not surprising to see a woman seeking revenge on her husband’s mistress that way.

The scandal became the topic of a heated debate at a recent party I attended. Men were ready to blame both women: the wife for being too mean in divulging those pictures, and the mistress for being too dumb to accept to have her naked pictures taken. As for myself, I was arguing that I understood why both ladies did what they did. I was sure that the mistress let her man take those pictures of hers just because she was in love. I do not see it as an act of promiscuity. In truth, no one knows what happens between couples behind closed doors. They can indulge in all kinds of fantasies and I guess taking pictures were one of them. I am sure the lady had her man promised that he would never go public with them. Or that he begged her saying that it was for personal use only. Let us be real, would you really say no to your man or woman, if he or she asks you to fulfill one of his/ hers fantasy? Probably not! Therefore, I cannot blame the lady for letting her man take those pictures.
In the same way, I cannot blame the wife for exposing those pictures to the public. I would like to think that I would never go as far as she went if I were in her shoes. However, I understand that she was hurt. Just imagine losing a husband to discover that he was having an affair with another woman, taking her naked pictures. You would be very hurt. And to add insult to injury, he is dead; therefore you do not have anyone to blame or scream at. The mistress becomes the perfect scapegoat to channel your anger. The husband being off the hook, why not humiliate the mistress, she probably thought. After all she is as guilty of adultery as he was. I seriously cannot blame the wife for seeking revenge the way she did.
I expressed my views to the crowd gathered at the party. Some- mostly women- understood me- some others were skeptic. But the discussion was concluded when someone pointed that to avoid such scandal in the future, it was better never to have naked pictures or videos of oneself taken. And I did agree with him. You never know in life what can happen. And in this crazy world of Internet, Facebook and Iphone, anyone can take pictures or have access to your pictures. Therefore, it is best to be careful. I just never thought that someone had to be careful in this country of Senegal(compared to the States). Change…..is a very scary thing.

Why I detest using tailors?

I often watch fashion makeover shows. The stylist in those shows often recommends getting a good tailor that would retouch clothes that would not fit. I did agree with their opinions. However, my bad experience with tailors has made me love ready wear too much to even want to use a tailor.

In the past, I have had many tailors often recommended by my parents. They would sew anything from traditional clothes to European ones. All I had to do is find a cloth and a pattern I like and take them to the tailor. Then he would take my measures, discuss the price and make the clothes I wanted. It should be as simple as that.

In reality, it is not. I find many wrongs with the Senegalese tailors. First of all, they are never serious. They do not keep their words. For example, when you ask them when they think the garment would be finished; they give you a date and time. Yet, when you come that day to take your clothes, you often find them not finished. And before you can ask why, the tailor would invent some excuses. The ones I often hear were: “I had a funeral in the family I had to attend” or “There was no electricity lately. The company has been cutting the energy. Therefore I could not work”.
Second, the tailors never tend to sew the exact thing you asked them. The clothes never turn out to be the think you have envisioned. I had a tailor once who would add 3 to 5 inches to the hem of a skirt I commanded. When I asked him why, he would respond that a longer hem is more decent. I guess he was so religious that he would put his beliefs in making my clothes. However, I did not need his beliefs, I just needed his skills to make me a beautiful skirt.
Finally, I find them expensive. Now that the fashion industry is in full bloom in my country and that every tailor is trying to become a designer by invited really pretty clothes, it is very costly to have a garment made. Back in the days, the tailor would only reproduce a model you gave them. The country had seldom designers. But since the 2000s, the Senegalese fashion industry has been developing. What boosted this industry is the development of the media. The country, which used to have only one TV, has several now. They all have shows featuring designers. Moreover, many fashion and people magazine are emerging, also showcasing those designers. With all this attention to fashion, people find themselves more and more investing (sometimes from $100 up) to have a beautiful garment made.
With all these hassle, I really do hate to have to deal with a tailor. I prefer to shop for ready wear clothes. It can be hard to find the exact thing you want but at least, I would waste less time arguing about why my garment is not exactly like I have commanded it, or going back and forth to the tailor, and less money to have something cute…

Nevertheless, being someone who aspires to become a fashion designer, I do need to see a tailor for him to create pieces that I have designed. It is such as beautiful thing when you find a competent and trust worthy one who would do exactly what you asked him to do. Once I find him, I guess I would detest tailors less and maybe my designer career can take off.

Debut of Mbarane at "Les Ambassades"

On this beautiful Tuesday morning, I am sitting at a famous coffee house called Les Ambassades, waiting for my brother. He is supposed to accompany me to a shopping center to buy some essentials for the house. While I wait, I order a hot chocolate and a Croque- Madame, which is a panini with fried eggs and beef ham.
All of a sudden, enters a elegant lady, talking on the phone. She is looking for a place to sit, and she changes places twice already. She is wearing a Senegalese attire made of a pink tunic with bold embroidery at the neckline, a burgundy wrap skirt and scarf. She has golden accessories such as mules, and bag and jewelry. She is well made up. I cannot say she is beautiful, but she is classy. It seems like she is waiting for a friend.
My food arrives. I taste the hot chocolate that I find really good, the panini is not bad but a bit greasy. My brother is still not here, although he keeps texting saying that he is on his way. I keep admiring the lady sitting next to me on another booth. A older man wearing the Senegalese Kaftan approaches her. He greets her in that too effusive way that tells me they do not know each other. I understand that the man seems interesting in the lady. Their conversation turns too quiet for a moment. I look at them and I notice that the lady is writing something on a piece of paper. I could not believe that she is giving her phone number to this man. At this moment, her "date" or the man she was waiting for arrives. The other man a bit uneasy starts talking too much, saying that he knows the man who just arrived. Then after a bit of uneasy conversation, he leaves with the piece of paper. The other man sits down and starts eating the food that arrived. He discuss with the lady about other matter like nothing happened. I kept wondering: are the lady and her "date" an item or just friends? The exchange just seem strange to me. Two days later, I relate the event to my brother, who just laughed. He let me know that this was frequent in here. To tell you the truth, I knew about this, being a victim myself. I find it disgusting that older men try to get fresh meat like that. Some of them are married, but they are still on the prowl. And the ladies are not innocent themselves. They let those men into their lives in exchange for some money to buy shoes, clothes, or even take care of their family. It is a strange business that they call "Mbarane" here. It rarely ends in something serious like marriage. It is just for pleasure and money. When will it stop?

Nostalgie

Last week, I received a phone call from one of my former classmate. I had many friends from school that I managed to stay close with all through the years, but she has a special place in my heart, because back then we shared so much (and still try to do). She is a divorced, single mother who is coping with work and family back home. I was asking her about her love life. She told me that she was dating a married man. I was wondering if she could not find a decent man who was still single, but she made clear that back home after 30, all men were taken or already divorced. She did add that one of her ex boy friend who was still single, did try to hook up with her again. I was excited about that because I knew the guy. And I remember that they did make a cute couple. However, she was postive that she did not want to go there. She was trying to live her life day by day, and did not want to live in the past.
She and I are very different. I always live in the past. I spend days remeniscing how it used to be when I was a child or teenager. When I am depressed, I look at old pictures and read old diaries. When I do not try to reconnect with childhood friends on online social networks, I try googling long lost acquaintances.
Why am I so nostalgic of what I call the good old days? For the simple reason that according to me they were the good old days. They were the days the only thing you had to do was work hard at school and help your Momma with the household chores. They were days where you watch cartoons, telenovelas, hollywood dramas. They were the days of Beverly Hills 90210 and Nintendo. They were the days of PBS, Timberland Boots and "Titanic". They were summer days when all the teens in my neighborhood would hang on the streets at 5:30 PM and mingle. They were nights of partying, when I would find the perfect dance partner and "kole sere" with him.
The good old days were days where my only worry in the world was " is he going to notice me?". I did not worry about the future, whether or not I will get a good job, or find a nice husband. No! All I could think about was finding the perfect outfit for the neighborhood party.
Do not get me wrong: those days were not perfect. I did experiment slight bullying at school. My grades were not always great. I constantly hated my body for being too curvicious ( my friends used to nickname me "booty"), and it was hard to find my identity (it is still hard). They were days when my mother used to get on my nerve for constantly nagging at me. They were days I did not fit in with any of the popular kids on the block. They were nights I cried myself to sleep listening to N'Bife by Salif Keita because the boy I (thought) loved did not even care about me.
So how on earth those days can be better than these days that I am having. I think the only reason lays in the fact that now I am an adult, and I must face the realities of life such as work, family life and social life in general. As an adult, I also have to face the fact that things will not necesseraly go my way. I would probalby not get that pair of shoes by nagging my father. Things will not be handed to me on a silver platter like back in those days when my parents did everything for me. No. things are different and they are definitely harder because I am still not in control.
Back in those good old days, I could not wait to grow up when I was having a hard time. For me growing up meant that I would be in control of my life; it meant that I would be able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Alas, the reality is so different: I am still not in control of my life, and doing whatever I wanted meant that they were going to be repurcussions (probably terrible ones).
Sometimes, I think: will there be a day when I would look nostalgically at these days I am having? Will I be thinking :" Oh, living in the states was so much fun and better than now?". Could that be possible? I have no idea but I find the thought funny. I am a realist: I know that there is a small chance that my life will be better in the future, better in the terms that it will be less difficult. Because, truthfully burdens just increase as we grow old. Hell, I will get more children hopefully in the future, and I will have to cope with the fact that I need to raise them to be good. My parents are aging and I will probably have to take care of them as well. I will have more responsabilities and more heartaches that would keep me awake at night. So I am wondering, when does it get better?