Council tenders to be regulated

31 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi BAME PIET Staff Writer Minister of Local Government, Margaret Nasha, tabled a Bill to regulate the procurement process of local authorities for works, supplies and services. The proposed law provides for the disposal of public assets, both physical and intellectual. These include the letting, hiring, or granting of any public assets, rights or [...]

Zambia, Botswana sign Memorandum of Understanding for bridge project

31 July, 2008 in Botswana, Zambia

source: Agence de Press Africane APA-Lusaka (Zambia) Zambia and Botswana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the proposed construction of Kazungula Bridge to link their two countries, and the feasibility study has commenced at a project sum of 2.4 million euro for a period of 12 months, APA learnt here Monday. Zambian Works [...]

Venson-Moitoi: History will judge you harshly

31 July, 2008 in Botswana

source: Mmegi EDITOR Against all reason Communications, Science and Technology Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi is hell-bent on introducing the discredited Media Practitioners Bill. By the time you read this, the minister will have notified Parliament about her intention to introduce the controversial bill for debate. At a time when the bill has elicited such controversial debate [...]

Botswana needs media development and promotion bill

31 July, 2008 in Botswana

source: Mmegi RASHWEAT MUKUNDU* Being Zimbabwean, Botswana is a huge contrast to my situation politically and economically, and indeed that of millions of my country people. To many of us in Zimbabwe, Botswana is a hub of plenty and Zimbabwe, a desolate place of desperation. Botswana is a democracy and Zimbabwe a dictatorship. All these [...]

End of Botswana deal will give Eskom`s SA users a breather

31 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi STAFF WRITER Eskom will have more power to supply local users until 2012 after it cuts back power to Botswana as part of a six-year bilateral agreement with the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC). Last year Eskom entered into a pact with the BPC, under which Eskom will reduce its energy supply to Botswana [...]

Botswana spends millions importing food

31 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: BOPA 29 July, 2008 SEROWE – Botswana spends P218 million monthly importing food and other commodities from South Africa. This said by South Africas High Commissioner to Botswana, Mr Dikgang Moopeloa, at the Serowe District Show over the weekend. Mr Moopeloa challenged local business community commercial farmers to produce more products so that the [...]

New initiatives to mitigate food shortage

31 July, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA 29 July, 2008 KANYE – Ngwaketse South MP, Mr Peter Siele, says the envisaged Integrated Support for Agricultural Development, a new programme to replace ALDEP III, could assist Botswana attain food security. Mr Siele said this when addressing a kgotla meeting in Mmathethe. He said the programme, expected to commence at the beginning [...]

Botswana`s Zim imports take dive

31 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Zimbabwe

source: Mmegi FRASER MPOFU Correspondent HARARE – Botswana imported 12.5 percent of Zimbabwe’s total manufactured exports last year, a marked decline from 17.6 percent in 2006. According to a survey covering the whole of last year and conducted by the authoritative Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Botswana is the third biggest market for manufactured products [...]

Zimbabwe devalues currency, dropping 10 zeros

31 July, 2008 in Zimbabwe

source: International Herald Tribune The Associated Press Published: July 30, 2008 HARARE, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe announced Wednesday that it is knocking 10 zeros off its hyper-inflated currency — a move that turns 10 billion dollars into one. President Robert Mugabe threatened a state of emergency if businesses profiteer from the country’s economic crisis, a move that [...]

Mbeki to meet with Mugabe

31 July, 2008 in South Africa, Zimbabwe

source: News24 30/07/2008 11:31 – (SA) Pretoria – President Thabo Mbeki will travel to Zimbabwe on Wednesday to meet Robert Mugabe as part of his mediation in the country’s crisis talks, officials said. Mbeki denied on Tuesday that talks between Zimbabwe’s rival parties had reached a deadlock, saying the power-sharing negotiations were going well and [...]

Official recommends solar energy

31 July, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA 29 July, 2008 SEROWE – An official from the Botswana Technology Centre (BOTEC), Ms Gloria Seitei, has implored Batswana to use solar power because it is free of charge after installation; it is reliable and friendly to the ozone layer. She said though it is a little expensive to install solar panels and [...]

`Mmamantswe won`t go the way of Mmamabula`

31 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Mining

source: Mmegi WANETSHA MOSINYI Staff Writer Dual-listed energy concern Aviva Corporation says it does not foresee its Mmamantswe project being delayed or downsized as happened to the Mmamabula Energy Project. In an interview on the sidelines of the Botswana Resource Sector conference last week, Aviva’s Managing Director Lindsay Reed said owing to a smaller size [...]

South Africa: Access to services via Internet

31 July, 2008 in South Africa

source: IOL July 30 2008 at 12:58PM By Arthi Sanpath People can expect to access important services through centralised government departments in the near future. This is according to Zaid Aboo-baker, chief director of the department of public service and administration, who was speaking at the Govtech conference in Durban on Tuesday. “We don’t want [...]

North East residents asked to join hands with council

31 July, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA 29 July, 2008 FRANCISTOWN – North East residents have been asked to join hands with the council in keeping the environment clean to attract investors to the district. Speaking during the district clean-up competitions at Makaleng, the North East District Council chief public health officer, Dr George Wembo pleaded with residents to report [...]

De Beers opens first mines outside Africa

30 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Mining

source: Telegraph By Felix Lowe Last Updated: 3:31pm BST 29/07/2008 De Beers, the world’s leading diamond miner, has opened its first two mines outside of Africa – but faces legal action in Botswana over a shareholder disagreement. The mines at Snap Lake and Victor, in Canada’s Northwest Territories and Northern Ontario respectively, cost over a [...]