Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)

Kinshasa is famous for its nightlife - with an endless selection of places to eat, drink and dance the night away. The darkened streets are lit up by stalls selling a vast array of food and drink for the hungry, thirsty hordes of the Congolese capital.

While he was there to cover the 2011 elections, photographer Paul Boates from South Africa's Mail & Guardian joined the throngs on the streets and took this stunning series of pictures - highlighting the energy, the grime, and the beauty of the streets of Kinshasa by night.

With all the breathless talk of mineral wealth and Chinese demand and soaring economic growth in resource-rich African countries, it is easy to forget the fact that mines seldom benefit the communities around them. Some unskilled jobs here and there but few of the promised benefits - usually invovling better basic services such as schools, clinics, road, water, sanitation and community-transforming economic growth - ever materialise.

People in Equatorial Guinea are proud that they are  co-hosting the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) - but the massive spending is not going to benefit the country's poor