Cattle prices up P2 per kg

31 December, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: BOPA 30 December, 2008 GABORONE – Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) has decided to make significant changes to the prices of cattle sold to the abattoirs. According to BMC’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Motshudi Raborokgwe, the price increase would lead to more money being in the pocket of the producer. Dr Raborokgwe said in a [...]

Tati suspends operations

31 December, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Mining

source: BOPA 30 December, 2008 FRANCISTOWN – Norilsk Nickel has suspended operations at the Tati Nickel Mine for 12 days as a result of the recent furnace breakdown of the BCL smelter. A statement from the mine says they shut down from December 24 to January 5 while various options are being considered. It further [...]

Zimbabwe: Cholera Death Toll Now More Than 1,600, UN Reports

31 December, 2008 in Zimbabwe

UN News Service (New York) source: allAfrica The death toll from the worst cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe’s history continues to rise and now stands at 1,608, the United Nations said today, adding that the number of cases of the acute intestinal infection caused by contaminated food or water has risen to 30,365 as of 29 [...]

Police intercept cross border smuggling of wild animals

30 December, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA 30 December, 2008 TSHABONG – The police are investigating a case in which two South Africans with the help of some Batswana tried to smuggle live wild animals, including elands and kudus into South Africa over the weekend. Station Commander Mokolobetsi Marata said the police gave chase after locating the suspects who were [...]

Cholera deaths soar in Zimbabwe

30 December, 2008 in Zimbabwe

source: BBC News The latest figures from the UN and Zimbabwe’s health ministry reveal that two-thirds of the victims of the cholera outbreak have died this month. The death toll at the end of last week stood at 1,564, with 29,131 suspected cases since August, the UN said. Figures from the health ministry on 1 [...]

Murder cases drop

30 December, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA 30 December, 2008 GABORONE – The Police weekly report from December 15 to 21 shows that Botswana’s murder rate dropped in the past year with 212 murder cases recorded in January 2008 as compared to 239 recorded last year. Armed robbery cases rose to 2079 in 2008 cases compared with 2003 cases in [...]

South Africa: Council salaries to go up

30 December, 2008 in South Africa

source: IOL By Lindsay Dentlinger A backdated average salary increase of 11 percent awaits municipal councillors in the new year, which will put the total annual salary of the council’s top earner, Mayor Helen Zille, at R858 260. The Minister of Provincial and Local Government, Sicela Shiceka, has by way of a notice in the [...]

Christmas and New Year Message to the Nation by H.E. Lt. Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama President of the Republic of Botswana – December 2008

29 December, 2008 in Botswana, Speeches

source: REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA – OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 26/12/08 – Tautona Times Holiday Special Below please find below transcripts in English (1) and Setswana (2) of H.E. the President’s Christmas Day and New Year’s message to the nation: 1) CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR MESSAGE TO THE NATION BY H.E. LT. GEN. SERETSE KHAMA IAN [...]

Zimbabwe: Botswana Host Christmas Shoppers

29 December, 2008 in Botswana, Zimbabwe

source: allAfrica UN Integrated Regional Information Networks Francistown — The streets of Botswana’s Francistown, about 110km from Zimbabwe’s western border, are teeming with Zimbabwean shoppers ahead of Christmas. But it is Christmas shopping with a difference. Most basic goods are not available in Zimbabwe, so the cross-border hop is a shop for everything – starting [...]

Land shortage hampers BHC projects

28 December, 2008 in Botswana

source: BOPA 24 December, 2008 FRANCISTOWN – The Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) envisages building 29 000 houses during National Development Plan 10 but this milestone could be held back by an acute shortage of land in strategic places around the country. Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony to officially mark the development of 545 housing [...]

Tsvangirai receives his passport

28 December, 2008 in Botswana, Zimbabwe

source: Zimbabwe Guardian Our reporter/VOA Sat, 27 Dec 2008 ZIMBABWE’S opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai has received his passport together with a letter from President Robert Mugabe inviting him to join a unity government, MDC sources told VOA Friday. Tsvangirai’s travel documents were hand-delivered by South African High Commissioner to Botswana Milo [...]

South Africa: Webcam captures new life

28 December, 2008 in South Africa

source: IOL December 27 2008 at 01:48PM By Sheree Bega Wildlife lovers around the world now have a bird’s-eye view of the mysterious breeding habits of South Africa’s only breeding population of lesser flamingoes at their acclaimed artificial breeding island in Kimberley. A new live-streaming website, run by Africam, has been installed at Kamfers Dam, [...]

UN says Zimbabwe cholera death toll over 1,500

28 December, 2008 in Zimbabwe

source: The Star GENEVA (AP): The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe has risen to over 1,500 and case fatality rates are increasing, the United Nations said Saturday. Some 1,518 people have now died of the disease and a total of 26,497 cases have been recorded since the start of the outbreak in [...]

DTC Botswana confident as crunch deepens

27 December, 2008 in Botswana, Business, Mining

source: BOPA 23 December, 2008 GABORONE – The Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Botswana remains confident of the long term sustainability of the industry despite the current global economic crunch, which has put the project under severe strain as a result of declining sales. “We are also closely monitoring demand from our clients and are taking [...]

South Africa: Men climb tower to be `closer to Jesus`

27 December, 2008 in South Africa

source: IOL December 26 2008 at 07:47AM Two men were rescued from a 50 metre radio tower in Lenasia on Thursday, after they climbed up to be “closer to Jesus” on Christmas, paramedics said. “When we arrived at the radio tower at 7.30am, we found two men aged 28, and 30, sitting on the tower [...]