Convergence is overrated
[Graham Willcock] There is one indicator/trend that will trump all others in 2009 - and I suspect for quite some time thereafter as well. Vision and values, or V2 as we call it at RadMark, is going to define the nature of business relationships - be they definitional stakeholders such as customers, employees, investors and competitors or instrumental stakeholders such NGOs, special interest groups, Government or the media as a whole.

AFRICA

2009 APEX Awards deadline extended
The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) has extended the deadline for entries to the 2009 APEX awards to Friday, 30 January 2009 at 12h00.

Rwanda ready to host e-government forum
Preparations for the third annual African e-government Forum that Rwanda will host in March have begun. Organisers said the three-day event will give an opportunity to information and communication technology communities to voice their views, insights, knowledge and share experiences at the forum, which is Africa's leading e-government conference.

Nigerian youth motivated by Future Awards 2009
In demonstration of its commitment to support Nigerian youth as well as reward young people who have excelled exceptionally in their chosen areas of specialisation, telecoms operator, Zain has thrown its full weight behind this year's edition of the Future Awards.

BOTSWANA

Botswana: Government passes repressive media law
The Government of Botswana has passed the controversial Media Practitioners Law, which was assented to by the executive on 22 December, 2008 and gazetted on 31 December. This follows a rushed enactment by Parliament in the same month, in which members of parliament were denied the opportunity to further subject the bill to debate.

Zim: Foreign currency billing hindering free expression rights
The government of Zimbabwe has granted cell phone networks permission to bill subscribers in foreign currency. Subscribers across the three networks Telecel, Econet Wireless and Net One will be paying US$0.28 cents per minute and US$0.26 cents per minute for prepaid and contract lines, respectively.

CENTRAL AFRICA

Joy Radio triumphs over regulatory body
LILONGWE: The High Court has declared that the decision by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) to revoke Joy Radio's licence was unconstitutional, ultra vires, and unreasonable, effectively dismissing all cases MACRA has been challenging the private radio station. According to this ruling it means there is no case between Joy Radio and MACRA.

AFRICA

News no longer US newspaper's forte
US research centre has sobering insight into the role of newspapers in disseminating news. Concomitant with a trend by consumers to get their news from online sources, newspaper advertising revenues are also falling. One report describes the outlook for newspaper advertising as ‘dismal'.

China to continue assisting African countries
[Bathandwa Mbola] CAPE TOWN: Despite the world economic crisis, China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has pledged that China would continue providing assistance to African countries.

AFRICA

Developing countries suffering capital outflows - Manuel
CAPE TOWN: The global economic recession, affecting the United States in particular, is causing significant outflows of capital as investors retreat to pump money into their domestic markets, says Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.