SADC`s Free Trade Area Bid On Course – Kalenga

1 July, 2008 in Botswana, Business, SADC

source: Mmegi
By Fraser Mpofu
Correspondent

HARARE: Southern African Development Community (SADC) is on course to achieving a free trade area by August 1 this year, the regional bloc’s trade adviser, Paul Kalenga has said.

Botswana is one of the SADC member states that have ratified the treaty that is aimed at enhancing free movement of goods within the region. Under the Free Trade Area (FTA) arrangement more than 80 percent of goods manufactured in any of the 14 SADC countries will be traded within the region duty-free. Kalenga said this is consistent with the region’s long drawn out strategy to achieve the Free Trade Area (FTA) status by the end of this year. Experts from the region last week held a Trade Law Centre of Southern Africa (Tralac) annual conference on regional trade in South Africa where the issue was discussed. While 80 percent of the goods would be traded duty-free, 20 percent of goods, which are regarded as [continue reading]

A defiant Mugabe joins African Union summit

1 July, 2008 in Zimbabwe

source: International Herald Tribune
By Kennedy Abwao and Alan Cowell
Published: June 30, 2008

SHARM EL SHEIK, Egypt: Unabashed by critics and taunting his peers to prove their own democratic credentials, President Robert Mugabe traveled to an African Union summit meeting in this Red Sea resort Monday, flaunting victory in a one-candidate election that his neighbors said did not “represent the will of the people of Zimbabwe.”

The journey of the length of Africa was his first formal act after being inaugurated Sunday for a sixth term. The trip displayed his determination to take his seat among African leaders unfazed by those who say the presidential runoff election Friday was neither free, fair nor credible. The African Union’s own election observers concluded Monday that the vote “fell short” of the organization’s standards.

For their part, African leaders showed little appetite for public confrontation with Mugabe. Dressed in a characteristically natty suit and tie, the 84-year-old leader, once feted as a liberation hero, slumped in an armchair in a cavernous conference hall, using a headset to follow speeches that, in part, demanded negotiations to end his absolute power. When the cameras moved away from him, he was seen hugging fellow African leaders, The Associated Press reported.

Asha-Rose Migiro, a United Nations deputy secretary general, told the African leaders [continue reading]

Load Shedding Abates After Mozambique Repairs

1 July, 2008 in Botswana, Morupule

source: Mmegi
By Business Reporter

Load shedding that has characterised Botswana for the past two months will slow down as repairs that took place in Mozambique have been completed, government officials said last week.

However, the minister responsible for energy Ponatshego Kedikilwe revealed at a press briefing that load shedding will take place on a small scale when the grid can no longer hold demand pressures during peak hours and that some load shifting will also take place.

The problem was compounded by the breakdown of one of the generators at the Morupule Power Station. As a result, the plant, which normally supplied 120 MW, was only able to generate 90 MW.

Botswana has been experiencing power outages since May 9 as a result of the shutdown of one of Botswana’s major electricity suppliers, the Cabora Bassa Power Station because the Mozambican power utility was [continue reading]

Is South Africa becoming safer?

1 July, 2008 in South Africa

source: IOL
June 30 2008 at 07:56PM

South Africa’s murder rate has decreased in the past year, with 38,6 out of every 100 000 people being murdered in the period, as compared to the 40,5 of last year.

In the police annual crime statistics report released in Pretoria on Monday, figures for the period April 2007 to March 2008 show that 18 487 cases of murder were reported to police – the lowest figure since the turn of the century. Previously the most cases reported were the 21 533 in 2002/2003.

The latest figure showed that 715 fewer murders had taken place in this period compared to the total of 19 in the previous one.

The decrease was not the only good news from the statistics – as the country’s other contact crimes also show a [continue reading]

News24: Crime ‘still unacceptably high’