Botswana, Namibia discuss railway line

1 November, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Namibia

source: BOPA
31 October, 2008

KASANE – Botswana’s High Commissioner to Namibia, Mr Norman Moleboge, says the two countries are involved in negotiations regarding the construction of a railway line from Walvis Bay to Gaborone.

“We have been actively involved in negotiations and we will meet in Gaborone on Monday with our Namibian counterparts regarding the issue.” The project is at a feasibility study level.

Mr Moleboge said once complete, the rail line will help in transporting coal from Botswana to Walvis Bay, where it will then be shipped overseas.

“This railway will also be used to transport other goods.” He said both countries are committed to the undertaking noting that the President, Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, and his Namibian counerpart, Mr Hifikepunye Pohamba, recently emphasised the need to embark on the project.

Mr Hadino Hishongwa, Namibia’s high commissioner to Botswana, said the two countries have agreed in principle on the need to construct the rail line along the Trans-Kgalagadi High Way.

“The political willingness is there and this is an urgent project,” he said.

“We are waiting for the [continue reading]

South Africa`s ANC denies party leader smoked pot

1 November, 2008 in South Africa

source: Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 10/31/2008
09:26:53 AM MDT

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—South Africa’s governing party is denying media reports its leader reminisced at a funeral about smoking marijuana with an anti-apartheid veteran.

At the funeral Thursday that drew some of the biggest names in the African National Congress, party leader Jacob Zuma shared an anecdote about smoking hand-rolled cigarettes with Billy Nair when both were political prisoners on Robben Island.

The ANC said in a statement Friday that Zuma meant tobacco, not marijuana—though it added: “The ANC understands how [continue reading]

`Fight alcohol abuse`

1 November, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA
31 October, 2008

SEROWE – Batswana have been called upon to unite and fight against alcohol abuse, the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Dikgakgamatso Seretse, said.

Addressing kgotla meetings at Kgope, Botalaote and Paje in his Serowe North East Constituency, Mr Seretse said all Batswana should play a role in the fight against alcohol abuse by expressing their views during radio and television talk shows.

Mr Seretse said Batswana should also transmit their opinions against alcohol by phones, emails or faxes.

He said people should also write letters to newspapers and magazines, educating Batswana about the negative effects of alcohol.

He alcohol contributed to family break-ups, low productivity and [continue reading]

Discord in South Africa`s top party sows seeds of a rival

1 November, 2008 in South Africa

source: International Herald Tribune
By Barry Bearak
Published: October 31, 2008

JOHANNESBURG: Politics, boiled down to its essence, is about the “outs” trying to get in and the “ins” trying to keep the “outs” out. In the 14-year-old democracy that is South Africa, the “ins” have always been the African National Congress, the party that unshackled the nation from apartheid and then reassured it with the grandfatherly mien of Nelson Mandela.

For many South Africans, a vote against the governing party remains an unthinkable act of apostasy. In the last election, in 2004, the ANC won more than two-thirds of the vote, while the party in second place attracted a mere 12 percent.

But no one governs forever, and the prevailing wisdom has long been that the biggest threat to the ANC is not so much a strengthening of the “outs” as a split among the “ins,” with the party dividing in two, amoeba-like, a political mitosis with each competing body claiming to be the more legitimate.

Such a historic split now seems to be in the works, set in motion by the ANC national executive committee’s recent decision to oust President Thabo Mbeki, Mandela’s successor, before his term expired. During the [continue reading]

Swartz encourages cooperation among local authorities

1 November, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA
30 October, 2008

GHANZI – The Department of Tribal Administration and the Village Development Committees (VDCs) have been requested to iron out their differences in order to serve the communities diligently.

This call was made by the Member of Parliament for Ghanzi North, Mr Johnnie Swartz, who is the Minister of Works and Transport after being made aware of a rift. Mr Swartz’s comments were prompted by queries from two VDCs of Bosele ward and Kabakae in Ghanzi.

Committee members had accused the tribal administration office of refusing to hand them the keys to their office, which forced them to hold meetings under the tree.

Mr Swartz said during a kgotla meeting, that failure to work together will frustrate development efforts and noted that a VDC is supposed to operate from its local kgotla.

But the Deputy Tribal Secretary, Mr Tshegofatso Samoka denied the accusation, explaining that the [continue reading]

Zimbabwe: Enemies At Work, Comrades in the Bar

1 November, 2008 in Zimbabwe

source: allAfrica
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
31 October 2008
Posted to the web 31 October 2008
Harare

Zimbabwe is one of the few places in the world where you can still be called a “running dog of imperialism”, and other choice revolutionary phrases, by a state media that seethes, daily, at the opposition.

The Herald, the official newspaper, maintains a government line that political dissent is manufactured by foreign powers, who pull the strings of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); these same imperialists are the cause of Zimbabwe’s economic disaster.

The newspaper has dismissed images of people tortured in this year’s election campaign, overwhelmingly MDC supporters, as pictures of “road accident victims”.

According to the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe, an independent trust promoting press freedom, the abduction and murder of an MDC activist, Tonderai Ndira, was described as an “incredible … the-dog-ate-my-homework” fairy tale.

In September, two senior editors of Zimpapers, the stable of pro-government newspapers, were rewarded with top-of-the-range luxury German cars by the [continue reading]

South African TV goes digital

1 November, 2008 in South Africa

source: SouthAfrica.info
Proffesor Ndawonde
31 October 2008

South Africa enters a new era in broadcasting on Saturday, when the country officially starts the conversion of its television broadcasting signal from analogue to digital technology.

There will be a period of “dual-illumination” between 1 November this year and 1 November 2011, during which television will be broadcast via both analogue and digital signals.

After 1 November 2011, the analogue signal will be switched off, and viewers will need a set-top box to convert the digital signal for their analogue television sets. However, digital-compliant television sets, which do not require set-top boxes, will also be available by then.

“Broadcasting digital migration will bring many benefits, including efficient use of the frequency spectrum – a public and scarce resource,” Department of Communications director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole said at the launch in Johannesburg this week.

“It will bring more channels and therefore more diverse content to [continue reading]