SOUTH AFRICA

Partnerships necessary to overcome economic crisis

[Neo Semono] In order to overcome the current global economic crisis, effective partnerships between government and business are necessary, says Sasol South Africa's chief executive officer Pat Davies. Read more >>

EAST AFRICA

Ethiopia unveils rail plans

The Ethiopian government has unveiled plans to construct an extensive railway system in a bid to improve transportation. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Shipping companies say it is 'too early to talk of recovery'

[Artwell Dlamini] Even though shipping rates are recovering, local shipping firms say they have not yet seen “green shoots” emerging in the turbulent shipping industry. They warn that the industry still faces shrinking world trade volumes and a glut of ships. Read more >>

CENTRAL AFRICA

Malawi's Mutharika sticks to his guns on currency devaluation

[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi is now ranked world second from Qatar as the fastest growing economy. To achieve this it has, to an extent, been deaf to some of the dictates from the Bretton Wood Institutions; the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Read more >>

AFRICA

Hong Kong lures African traders with incentive packages

[Carole Kimutai] The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is offering a HK$80m (US$10.3m) buyer sponsorship package for African traders as part of an incentive package aimed at increasing traffic to several international trade fairs in Hong Kong planned for the second half of 2009. Read more >>

AFRICA

Malawi's AGOA exports tumble

[Gregory Gondwe] Malawi's exports to the US through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have fallen for the last two years and government has said it will jack up its actions to improve the situation. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

130 winners coming to Confederations Cup

A joint South African Tourism and Coca-Cola South Africa promotion last month has resulted in 130 people having won a trip to South Africa to attend the tournament, the organisers announced yesterday, Thursday, 11 June 2009. Read more >>

GHANA

Publicis opens doors for business in Ghana

click to enlarge

Publicis Worldwide has announced the opening of a new agency in Ghana - currently alleged to be one of the fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

Shareholders want Lonrho appointees off LonZim board

[Sure Kamhunga] Shareholders in a key subsidiary owned by AIM-listed Lonrho are not letting up on their battle to convene an extraordinary meeting to demand a restructuring of the board and management. Read more >>

KENYA

Affordable telecoms critical, says Kibaki

Speaking during the official launch of The East African Marine Systems Cable (TEAMS) on 12January 2009 in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, the Kenyan president likened the project to that of the East African railway more than 100 years ago and called on Kenyans to embrace the new technology and opportunities it offers. Read more >>

AFRICA

African music library goes digital

[Khanyi Ndabeni] An ambitious Eastern Cape project to digitise indigenous African music dating back to the 1930s is helping to introduce rare traditional tunes to a new generation. Read more >>

KENYA

Kenya's TEAMS on schedule

[Carole Kimutai] The East Africa Marine System (TEAMS) fibre optic cable will be launched this Friday, 12 June 2009, as scheduled, by President Mwai Kibaki. Read more >>

AFRICA

Confeds Cup is officially open

President Jacob Zuma officially opened the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup at the Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg, yesterday, 14 June 2009. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Mzansi out of fashion week

[Edward Tsumele] The organisers of Arise African Fashion Week, African Fashion International, are embroiled in a row with one of their loyal participants in the event, Mzansi Designers. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

Zim to have new media commission

[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's parliament has begun the process of establishing the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), days after the High Court declared the Media and Information Commission (MIC) defunct and ordered that it stop accrediting of journalists. Read more >>

AFRICA

Focus on African mobile phone solutions

KenCall's Nicholas Nesbitt leads WEF discussion in focusing global attention on African mobile phone solutions. Read more >>

AFRICA

Zim mobile networks scramble to increase subscriber levels

[Dumisani Ndlela] ECONET Wireless has embarked on its biggest ever network expansion programme in the country, signalling the dawn of a new era in a market where all three networks are scrambling to shore up their subscriber bases. Read more >>

AFRICA

Zain's African arm 'put up for sale'

[Lesley Stones] The Pan-African cellular operator, Zain, has reportedly been put up for sale by its Kuwaiti parent MTC, four years after a bidding war saw MTN miss out on the chance to buy the network for itself. Read more >>

CENTRAL AFRICA

Malawi's mobile phone rates highest in the region

[Gregory Gondwe] Information Communication Association of Malawi (ICTAM) interim President Derek Lakudzala has observed that Malawi's mobile phone tariffs are too high in Malawi as compared to other countries in the region. Read more >>

ZIMBABWE

State-owned daily says sales on the mend

[Dumisani Ndlela] The state-controlled Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (Zimpapers) said circulation for its daily newspaper The Herald had recovered, going up from 8 000 copies sold daily last year to 30 000 copies since the economy was dollarized this year. However, group CEO, Justin Mutasa, said further increase in circulation depended on newsprint supplies from Mondi in South Africa. Read more >>

EGYPT

State security forces internet café owners to 'spy' on customers

EGYPT: The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) last week reported that State Security Police are violating the right to privacy by spying on internet users in Egypt, searching for individuals who exercise their right to express their political views online peacefully. Read more >>

CENTRAL AFRICA

Court orders police to vacate Joy Radio premises

[Gregory Gondwe] The Magistrate Court in Blantyre yesterday, 9 June 2009, ordered the Malawi Police Service to vacate Joy FM Radio premises it has been ‘guarding' since last month. Read more >>

UGANDA

Radio One tops Uganda's Superbrands

[Walter Wafula] Radio One a local FM station, has been named the leading brand in Uganda according to a Survey carried out by brand analysis company Superbrands East Africa, a division of Superbrands United Kingdom. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Agriculture important for Africa's wealth

Agriculture is an important element in Africa's wealth and governments should give more support to farmers, Zambian President Rupiah Bwezani Banda has said. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Africa's Gross Domestic Product to rise in two years

[Neo Semono] Despite the decline of global financial growth, Africa will be able to post positive growth in a year or two, according to a panelist at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Global economic crisis to dominate WEF

[Neo Semono] Whether Africa will escape the global financial crunch unharmed will be the big question on African leaders' minds as they begin arriving in Cape Town for the 19th World Economic Forum (WEF). Read more >>

NIGERIA

Nigerian company sponsors green initiative

Nigerian insurance company IEI is to sponsor CNN International's latest programming initiative Going Green: Green Light for Business Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Manufacturers of slimline lightboxes and snap frames - Display Mania

Despite the onset of the global recession Display Mania is still moving forward in developing new products, i.e. the slimline lightbox and the brand-new econo fabri frame which can also be illuminated. Read more >>

SOUTH AFRICA

Another South African retailer enters African market - Vuka Scuta

Within three years of its establishment in South Africa, national scooter and motorcycle retailer Vuka Scuta is now set to capture the African market. The expansion into the African continent beyond South Africa has been launched with Vuka Africa opening its first outlet in Maputo, Mozambique this month. Read more >>