Choppers will boost war on crime – Tsimako

31 January, 2009 in Botswana

source: Mmegi STAFF WRITER Police Commissioner Thebeyame Tsimako hopes the three recently delivered AS 350 83 helicopters will go a long way in improving the Botswana Police Service operations like anti-motor vehicle hijackings, traffic surveillance, public order maintenance, search and rescue missions. Tshimako was speaking at the end of a “20km walk for development” held [...]

Botswana president finally sees the light

31 January, 2009 in Botswana, Zimbabwe

source: Chronicle Comment Botswana finally saw the light as they sung the same song with the rest of the SADC bloc at the end of the regional meeting’s extraordinary summit held in Pretoria, South Africa, on Monday. Our neighbours have in recent months taken a strange stance, either boycotting or opposing whatever resolution was reached [...]

Zimbabwe cholera cases top 60,000

31 January, 2009 in Zimbabwe

source: BBC News More than 60,000 people in Zimbabwe have now been infected by cholera, the World Health Organization (WHO) says. This figure had been described by the UN’s health agency and other agencies as being the “worst case scenario” in the epidemic which broke out in August. Cholera has now claimed the lives of [...]

`Bad service` causes SA cholera

31 January, 2009 in South Africa

source: News24 30/01/2009 10:35 – (SA) Johannesburg – The cholera outbreak in southern Limpopo and central Mpumalanga is the result of poor service delivery and has nothing to do with the cholera crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe, the Mail and Guardian reported on Friday. “Municipalities are simply not doing enough to provide clean water and safe [...]

AU boss warns on Obama

31 January, 2009 in Africa

source: Mmegi TSHIRELETSO MOTLOGELWA Staff Writer ADDIS ABABA: The AU Commission chairman, Jean Ping has warned Africans against placing too much hope on new US President Barrack Obama. Ping said that though Obama is an African-American, he is primarily a president of the US. “He was voted in by the American people to defend US [...]

Mixed reaction as MDC backs Tsvangirai joining unity government

31 January, 2009 in Zimbabwe

source: SW Radio Africa By Alex Bell 30 January 2009 The MDC national executive on Friday backed party leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s decision to join a unity government with Robert Mugabe, in a move that has already prompted a flurry of opposing responses. The power sharing agreement that was signed last year between the MDC and [...]

Eastern & Southern Africa Business Associations converge in Nairobi

31 January, 2009 in Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi Ten chief executives representing national business associations from 10 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have this week endorsed four policy positions developed over the past year for common advocacy with their national and regional governments. The policy papers were endorsed and adopted at the annual conference of the Eastern and Southern Africa [...]

Exiled Roy Bennett returns to Zimbabwe

31 January, 2009 in Zimbabwe

source: SW Radio Africa 30 January 2007 By Violet Gonda Three years ago in March, Roy Bennett left Zimbabwe under cover of darkness, after he was accused of plotting to overthrow Robert Mugabe. In 2004 he had also spent eight months in jail for pushing ZANU PF’s Patrick Chinamasa in parliament. But on Friday Bennett [...]

PetroSA proposes new offshore facility

31 January, 2009 in South Africa

source: News24 Melanie Gosling January 30 2009 at 09:00AM PetroSA, which will run out of local gas supplies by 2010, plans to import liquified natural gas (LNG) and pipe it onshore to avoid having to close down its Mossel Bay refinery. The state-owned company has said that, if South Africa’s dwindling offshore gas supplies forced [...]

SADC has failed Zimbabwe -Skelemani

30 January, 2009 in Botswana, Zimbabwe

source: Mmegi HOT SEAT interview: Journalist VIOLET GONDA interviews Phandu Skelemani the Foreign Minister of Botswana. (Transcript of a SW Radio Africa broadcast on January 23, 2009) Violet Gonda: Today I have the pleasure of welcoming the Botswana Foreign Minister, Phandu Skelemani on the programme Hot Seat, talking about Botswana’s position on the crisis in [...]

Minister promises smooth information flow

30 January, 2009 in Botswana

source: BOPA 29 January, 2009 GABORONE – The Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Mrs Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi has assured the state media and public relations (PR) practitioners of free information flow . Mrs Venson-Moitoi assured her audience that measures would be put in place to allow for easy communication between the PR practitioners and the [...]

Zimbabwe: Local dollar redundant as budget allows multiple currency trading

30 January, 2009 in Zimbabwe

source: SW Radio Africa By Alex Bell 29 January 2009 The government has for the first time acknowledged that the Zimbabwe dollar has no value, after acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, on Thursday detailed the country’s budget proposal in the US greenback. The proposal, which will officially pave the way for the disappearance of the [...]

Zimbabwe: MDC expected to endorse decision to join unity government

30 January, 2009 in Zimbabwe

source: SW Radio Africa By Tichaona Sibanda 29 January 2009 The decision making body of the MDC, the National Council, is widely expected to agree in favour of joining a unity government, as outlined by Monday’s SADC summit on Zimbabwe. MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has reportedly agreed in principle to join the inclusive government, subject [...]

BHC official calls for resident participation

30 January, 2009 in Botswana

source: BOPA 29 January, 2009 LOBATSE – An official of the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) in Lobatse, Mr Khoahla Pheko has challenged the residents to fully participate in the development of the town. Speaking during the commemoration of World Habitat Day over the weekend, Mr Pheko said the Village Development Committee (VDC), councillors, parents and [...]

FCC moves against illegal lodging operators

30 January, 2009 in Botswana, Business

source: Mmegi GALE NGAKANE Correspondent FRANCISTOWN: The Francistown City Council is on the verge of taking action against those who have illegally turned their houses into lodges. FCC public health specialist, Dr Paul Nashara said on Tuesday morning that they will take action to deal with the problem by the weekend. He said his team [...]