Once a source of delays and frustration, the drive from the airport into downtown Dakar is now quite a joy. Four lanes of tarred road sweep past gleaming mansions near the airport and hug the palm-fringed Atlantic beachfront right into the town centre. La Corniche, as it is known, is one of President Abdoulaye Wade's "great projects". He trumpets it as a symbol of his achievements. But to his critics it is a source of ammunition for allegations of corruption, nepotism and the president's allegedly growing lust for power.rnLong hailed as a beacon of democracy in a corner of Africa plagued by conflicts and chaos, Senegal is going through its own hard times. Mr Wade is facing unprecedented rage and frustration. Since he took office in 2000, after 22 years as the country's main opposition leader, a growing number of his people are disappointed.rnYet the country had been doing rather well. Its relatively good communications network had brought investment into businesses such as call centres, challenging Francophone north African countries as outsourcing destinations for France. Senegal has also profited from recent years of chaos in nearby Cote d'lvoire, once Francophone west Africa's financial hub; many international organisations and banks have switched to Dakar from Abidjan, the Ivorian commercial capital, bringing rich expatriates and a building boom.
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