Facebook: A technological delight or capitalist monster?

14 May, 2008 in Botswana, Technology

source: BOPA
13 May, 2008

PORT ELIZABETH – It is one of the technological delights of the 21st Century. Almost everyone, from learning institutions to workplaces with the abundance of computers and internet connectivity, seems to have caught the fever.

Being on Facebook and the omnipotence to communicate with friends in another part of the world seem to have enchanted the young generation. They call this communication chatting with friends.

The world is just at your fingertips. Just a touch of the button and I am able to chat with my friends in any part of the world. I have a network of friends that I communicate with overseas and other parts of Africa, quipped Oakantse Nthapo, a student at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University who did not want to be identified.

An economics student who did not want to be identified says he logs onto Facebook almost everyday and the network of friends keeps on growing.

Through this network of friends he is able to know what is happening in another country or region. Incidentally, he says one of his friends met her girlfriend on Facebook.

Early this year, Facebook was reported to have 59 million active users, while [continue reading]

SADC advised to market itself despite package

14 May, 2008 in Botswana, SADC, Tourism

source: Mmegi
STAFF WRITER

DURBAN:South African Tourism has advised SADC countries, including Botswana, to do their own marketing despite the fact that tourism is now marketed as a ‘Southern African Package’.

Speaking in an interview, SA Tourism’s Global Events manager Sugen Pillay noted that because of developments of Transfrontier parks in southern Africa, the region is now sold to tourists as one.

“In The 2010 World Cup Guide, there is a section that talks about cross-border travel. But the SADC countries have to take responsibility and promote themselves”, advised Pillay._ His comments come at a time when South Africa is vigorously marketing itself to lure tourists to the country on the verge of 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in Africa for the first time.

SA Tourism spends about R250 million in marketing the country annually after [continue reading]

Attract foreign direct investment Swartz

14 May, 2008 in Botswana, Business

source: BOPA
13 May, 2008

GHANZI – The increasing number of mobile phone operators in Botswana gives an assurance that governments initiative to liberalise and therefore develop the telecommunications sector has been successful.

Officiating at the Mascom 10th Anniversary dinner hosted for Mascom customers in Ghanzi, the Minister of Works and Transport, Mr Johnnie Swartz, said 10 years ago, government, through the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA), awarded licences to the countrys first two mobile operators, Mascom Wireless and Orange Botswana.

Mr Swartz said the third operator, Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) launched its mobile services last month.

The Mascom Wireless celebration, Mr Swartz said, came at a time when both the transport and telecommunications sectors had shown a significant growth rate of 20.3 per cent during the 2006/07 financial year.

Mr Swartz said the telecommunications sector should however, not just see its responsibility as being the provision of mobile phone services but must complement the development of Botswana into a knowledge based society and attract foreign direct investment.

He said the government had through Maitlamo set a clear and [continue reading]

SA: Zuma`s case in 2010?

14 May, 2008 in South Africa

source: IOL
May 14 2008 at 02:52PM

ANC president Jacob Zuma’s corruption case will not be heard in August this year but in 2010, ANC Youth League president Julius Malema said on Wednesday.

He said the case against Zuma was aimed at disrupting the ANC’s campaigning for the 2009 elections.

“We will be answering questions about the rape and corruption cases rather than explaining the election manifesto. We will be going to court rather than going to stadiums,” he said at a Chris Hani workers heritage exhibition in Johannesburg.

He said charges against Zuma were a political ploy to project ANC leaders as dishonest.

“Those who were bitter that Zuma was elected president were quick to charge him and [continue reading]

Disaster officials ready for asylum seekers

14 May, 2008 in Botswana, Zimbabwe

source: BOPA
13 May, 2008

SELEBI-PHIKWE – Disaster management officials in Selebi-Phikwe and Bobonong are readying for an influx of Zimbabwean asylum seekers. Officials are setting up temporary receiving centres given the political turmoil in that country.

Ms Machelle Samuels, a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) protection officer told BOPA that Botswana like other neighbours of Zimbabwe is expecting more migrants fleeing their troubled home due to violence that followed the March disputed elections.

The centres have been established in the two areas to screen asylum seekers before they are transferred to the Dukwi Refuge Camp.

The tents you see in Selebi-Phikwe and Bobonong are part of our preparedness to receive migrants fleeing Zimbabwe.

These are holding centres where they are screened and assisted with documents before they are transported to the Dukwi camp.

She said since the past week close to 200 asylum seekers have been registered, mainly from [continue reading]

Govt sticks to 15 percent

14 May, 2008 in Botswana

source: Mmegi
STAFF WRITER

Government will not review its award of 15 percent salary increment to civil servants, this was said by the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, Daniel Kwelagobe.

In a statement released by the minister,Kwelagobe has diminished all hope of dissatisfied civil servants who were pressing for an upward review of the recent salary increase.

Among the major issues queried by the country’s major unions has been that government erred by choosing to adjust public sector salaries by 15 per cent against the 30 per cent advised by the Presidential Salaries Commission.

“The Minister has reaffirmed Government’s position that such an increase at this time would be unaffordable and [continue reading]

Africa: Africa Fastest Growing Information Technology Market, UN

14 May, 2008 in Africa, Technology, Telekoms & Providers

source: allAfrica
Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)

13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008

Cairo

Africa has been the fastest growing market worldwide in communication technology over the past three years, according to the head of the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Speaking at the opening of a major trade fair for the African telecommunications industry in Cairo on Monday, Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the ITU, said the African information and communication technologies industry “is an exciting place to be. Market liberalization continues and most countries have established regulatory bodies to ensure a fair, competitive and enabling environment.”

The trade fair, called “ITU Telecom Africa,” was inaugurated by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

A report released at the event by the ITU said that growth in Africa’s mobile telephone sector had “defied all predictions.” Africa had 65 million new [continue reading]

Good news as Eskom suspends load shedding

14 May, 2008 in Botswana

source: Mmegi

The South African power utility, Eskom, last week made the Botswana business community happy when it announced that it was suspending its periodic load shedding.

Said Jacob Maroga, the utility’s Chief Executive: “We are seeing evidence of increased energy savings from municipalities and Eskom is optimistic that further reductions to reach our 10 percent savings target are possible.”

Scheduled load shedding was already suspended for last week due to the number of public holidays grouped together and the lower demand typically experienced during such times.

A task team of senior Eskom executives and top officials of municipalities from around South Africa also met last week to discuss the way forward in driving further energy savings. This meeting is a further follow-up to the formation of the task team on April 18.
“In the meantime, Eskom will suspend scheduled load shedding. We have said from the beginning that load shedding is not our preferred option to [continue reading]

Africa: High Food Prices Renew Interest in African Farming

14 May, 2008 in Africa

source: allAfrica
Business Daily (Nairobi)

13 May 2008
Posted to the web 13 May 2008

Dominique Patton

Africa’s agriculture sector is attracting new interest from donors and the international community as a global rise in food prices threatens to wipe out recent economic gains in developing countries.

Groups working with African farmers are now asking if these concerns can trigger a ‘green revolution’ such as the one seen in Asia following a severe food-price spike in 1973-4.

At a special meeting on food prices called by UK prime minister Gordon Brown last month, the UK pledged £400 million over five years for research aimed at higher crop yields and better pest control, a doubling of the previous year’s amount. It will also donate £120 million a year to boost the agricultural sector in poor countries and £34.7 million to reduce the cost of transportation in Africa.

The US has announced funding for agricultural development as [continue reading]

Botswana Democratic Party at war in Palapye

14 May, 2008 in Botswana, Palapye

source: Mmegi
RYDER GABATHUSE
Staff Writer

FRANCISTOWN: Another Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) factional war has erupted in Palapye pitting supporters of the area MP Moiseraele Master Goya and those loyal to the loser Professor Sheila Tlou.

The latest saga was apparently ignited by what the Tlou faction call a ‘clandestine’ party meeting held on April 28 culminating in the ‘shocking’ decision of no primaries for the Palapye constituencies next August.

Palapye was lined up as one of the constituency where the party will hold primaries for the 2009 general election. There was another view that since the party held a by-election early this year, it should not hold primaries. This issue also featured at the party’s recent National Council but could not get full support, as there were people who felt the primaries should be held.

BDP Palapye constituency has never known peace since the Palapye primaries last December going into [continue reading]