DAR ES SALAAM, June 26 -- WHEN Minister for Works, Abdallah Ulega, told members of Parliament the governments allocation of 40bn/- for road lighting in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, some may have seen it as just another infrastructure project. But look closer and you will see something bigger.

This is the government telling Africa that we are not just hosting AFCON 2027, we are honouring it! AFCON is not played only for ninety minutes inside Benjamin Mkapa or the new Arusha Stadium.

It is played on the roads, at ten in the night after a late match, when sixty thousand fans, visiting journalists and families from twenty-four nations spill into the streets. Dark streets create fear. Well-lit roads create confidence.

That 40bn/- is buying mor...