NIGERIA

Nigerian Marketnomics 2009: Part two
[Franklin Ozekhome] In the fight for survival in the depressed economies, and the battle to stand out and mean more to consumers in the emerging markets, ideas will become the golden salt and superior thinking will take centre-stage.


Guebuza to open Africa investor Tourism Summit
LONDON: Pan-African investment group Africa investor (Ai) and the Government of Mozambique are to partner to host the 2009 Ai Tourism Investor Summit and Tourism Investor Awards. The summit will take place at the Joaquim Chissano Conference Centre in Maputo, Mozambique on 26 - 27 February 2009.

SOUTH AFRICA

The Loeries land in Cape Town
The Loeries have landed in Cape Town, and the Mother City and the rest of the country will be treated to a year-round series of events and activities that will culminate in the spectacular awards during the weekend of 25 - 27 September 2009.

HWB holds African design competition
HWB Communications has been appointed by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to develop and publicise a national competition asking all South Africans, and Africans, to enter their ideas for the design of an iconic structure for the Southernmost Tip of Africa at Agulhas. The campaign will also promote the area as a viable tourist attraction for all Africans and visitors to South Africa. Evelyn Holtzhausen, CEO of HWB Communications, said: "It is an honour to be involved in the process which will help to identify an icon that will represent the continent."

LG pushes for Anti-Counterfeit Bill in Kenya
LG, is pushing for the enactment of the Anti-Counterfeit Bill into law, as a measure to fight peddling of counterfeit goods such as cellphone handsets and associated gadgets in Kenya.

Malawi: Journalism institute in qualification scandal
[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ), which is under the University of Malawi's constituent college of Polytechnic, has been embroidered in scandal where its executive director falsified his doctorate qualification. This forced the MIJ Board to fire its institution head, Peter Mitunda.

ZIMBABWE

Zim newspapers sold in foreign currency
[Dumisani Ndlela] The country's mainstream newspapers this week began retailing in foreign currency after being granted exchange control approval by the country's central bank.

Court rules in favour of Times of Swaziland
On 20 January 2009 an attempt to censor the privately-owned Times of Swaziland newspaper failed when the High Court of Swaziland dismissed an application brought by a woman who sought to stop the newspaper from publishing photographs of her.

AFRICA

Gold Quill Awards 2009 kicks off
Entries for the African Quill Awards from the African region must be submitted on 27 January 2009. Winners of African Quill Awards are automatically submitted for the international Gold Quill Awards.

A course with no useless information - enrol now! - Quo Vadis Communications
Well-known marketing communications and training company, Quo Vadis Communications, has unveiled its training schedule for the 2009 year and says it is keeping fees for its courses at its 2008 levels.

Zimbabwe: Passport fees leave a population going nowhere
HARARE: After being accepted by a South African university, Golden Gutu thought the hard part was over, but the worst hurdles for Zimbabweans trying to further their studies were just beginning.

Inflation at 6.5 quindecillion novemdecillion percent
The Zimbabwe dollar now seems to have lost all its appeal, and calls for the adoption of a foreign currency to replace the struggling monetary unit and put an end to the country's crippling hyperinflation are becoming louder.

Kenya: Alice Wanjiru, "Now it's no meat, less ugali"
NAIROBI: With the UN World Food Programme already feeding up to 1.2 million hungry Kenyans, hundreds of thousands more - the urban poor and those in drought-affected areas - are grappling with shortages, high food prices and the impact of post-election violence in early 2008, which contributed to a reduction in food production in the country's agricultural areas.

Getaway enters TV arena
The Getaway brand moves to the small screen this month when the TV series "Getaway to Africa" launches on M-Net on 29 January 2009. The 13-part series will look at travel in southern Africa, taking in the people and cultures of South Africa and its neighbouring countries as it explores the game parks, forests, deserts, mountain retreats and beaches of the region.