Zim - the ups and downs![](https://biz-file.com/b/1008/54063.jpg?1) Economically, Zimbabwe is finally on the mend after adopting the US currency and opening up the market to imports. Politically, the country is still in a bit of turmoil with the inclusive government not quite seeing eye-to-eye on certain issues. Zimbabwe needs to hold a referendum on a new constitution in order to see a new free and fair election taking place. These are some of the issues the SADC will be addressing regarding the progress of this Southern African country during the SADC summit currently underway in Namibia. Media abuse by the state, however, continues. If you are limited with access to the Zim national broadcaster (ZBC) via TV and radio, you will be subject to an insert that touts Mugabe and his two deputies as "the winning team" and their counterparts as the "losers" played at 30-minute intervals. Analysts believe ZANU-PF is preparing for elections, but is low on cash and therefore using the state-owned broadcaster to rally support. Essentially the party is using the people's money - in the form of TV / radio licences - to pay for its campaign efforts. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation has become yet another tool in shackling the country's citizens, of a once thriving nation. Many in South Africa fear a situation similar to that of Zimbabwe, comparing the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal to the Zimbabwe government's assault on its media. Hopefully, South Africa's constitution is strong enough to win the fight for media freedom in the end. Long live the free press! Cheers, Sindy Peters, Africa editor
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Special focus on media freedom
[Professor Kwame Karikari] When on 18 March this year the Daily Nation, one of Africa's biggest and most successful independent newspapers, celebrated its 50th anniversary, Charles Onyango Obbo, a columnist for the Nairobi, Kenya, paper, wrote, "It has mostly been hell on earth for the African media for most of these 50 years. In fact the freest period for the African media generally has been the 15-year period between 1990 and 2005." Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55318.jpg) PRETORIA: Civil rights initiative, AfriForum, announced yesterday, Wednesday, 11 August 2010, that it will take the South African media freedom fight all the way to the Constitutional Court. Read more >>NEW YORK: A Zimbabwean minister who threatened to jail journalists should retract his statement and honour an agreement to implement media reform, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Friday, 13 August 2010. Read more >>Sudanese journalists said on Monday (9 August 2010) that the government has suspended direct censorship of daily newspapers. Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services notified editors that they would no longer visit newspaper offices before publication to remove articles deemed to be unsuitable, according to a report by news agency Reuters. Read more >>Marketing
[Walter Wafula] Business executives and individuals can now issue digital contacts to their counterparts after BlueCube, a short messaging service (SMS) company, introduced a service to replace paper contacts with e-business cards. Read more >>Advertisement:![](https://biz-file.com/b/1007/51215.jpg?1)
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[Dumisani Ndlela] Pilate Machadu, media / marketing guru and chairman of the Advertising Media Association (Adma) has projected advertising growth in Zimbabwe, but said the cake was still small for an increasing number of media outlets in the country. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55384.jpg) The Loerie Awards has announced the entrants for the inaugural Ubuntu Award. The Ubuntu Award, sponsored by Hetzner, aims to recognise the positive influence of brands on the social and physical environment. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55391.jpg) The Loeries Awards will, this year, launch the inaugural Creative Week in Cape Town as part of the annual festival. Creative Cape Town has partnered with the Loeries to boost the festival and awards and to involve the city's creative community in Creative Week Cape Town, 24 September - 3 October 2010. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55222.jpg) The Loerie Awards has announced the Print Crafts judging panel for the 2010 awards. Print Crafts categories include Art Direction, Writing, Photography, Illustration and Typography. Read more >>Design
![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55478.jpg) JOHANNESBURG, SA: South Africa's Jomo Cosmos Football Club launched their new PUMA kit earlier this month in Thembisa, Johannesburg. The v1.10 speed kit, according to PUMA is inspired by the joy, rhythm and athleticism of Africa football and has the same design as that worn by Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Read more >>Digital
[Staff reporter] During a relaxed and informal panel discussion at the Tech4Africa conference in Johannesburg entitled "Building for the global market. Lessons and learnings from the coalface", Leila Janah of Samasource, Sheraan Amod of Personera and Malcolm Hall of Open Box Software spoke about the challenges of building tech companies while being based in Africa. Read more >> Education and Training
Provider of technology and services to telecom operators, Ericsson on Thursday (12 August 2010) unveiled a new Internet portal, Ericsson Academy, for users to access learning services, online courses, lectures, tutorials about cutting-edge technology including HD Voice and 4G. Read more >>Magazines
![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55399.jpg) The Economist Group, owner of the weekly newspaper, The Economist, and a leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs, has opened its first commercial office in sub-Saharan Africa this week in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa. Read more >>Media
A report on the progress of Unesco's science journalism initiative, launched in 2008 to develop a post-graduate curriculum in science, health and environmental reporting, has emerged after a recent meeting in Pretoria. Read more >>[Gregory Gondwe] According to a report compiled by the Journalists Union of Malawi (JUMA), the prevailing conditions endured by media practitioners in the country are demeaning, exploitative and not befitting professionals. The study showed that the reasons most journalists in Malawi are exploited are because a majority are young and single. Read more >> Mobile
[Carole Kimutai] Three years after Kenya's Safaricom launched its mobile money transfer service, MPesa, the company now has more than 11-million customers with money transfer worth KSh525-billion as of July 2010. The number of MPesa agents countrywide has risen to 19 502. Read more >>Advertisement:![](https://biz-file.com/b/1007/52425.gif?2)
HARARE: Zimbabwe's largest mobile operator, Econet Wireless, has secured a US$60 million loan facility from Swedish export credit agency EKN to expand its infrastructure, the firm said on Wednesday (11 August 2010). Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55251.jpg) Kuwait-based telecommunications group Zain on Monday (9 August 2010) reported net income up 488% to US$3.085 billion for the half-year ending June 30, 2010, boosted by a capital gain of US$2.653 billion from the sale of Zain Africa. Read more >>Production
[Janine Erasmus] South African film Themba: A boy called Hope, directed by Pretoria-born Stefanie Sycholt, has scooped the Unicef Child Rights Award at the 2010 Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF). Read more >> Research
Database 360, a division of data and lead generation specialists CG Consulting, showcased its products at the Data Marketing Show at Marketing Week Live, a UK marketing event. The Data Marketing Show hosts marketers looking to improve, understand, and develop their data-driven marketing for more efficient campaigns. Read more >>Retail
PRETORIA: Although South Africa and the Congo have a steady trade relationship more should be done to strengthen it, says Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55476.jpg) KAMPALA, UGANDA: President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda will officially open the AgriBusiness Forum 2010 on 4 October 2010 in Kampala. Museveni will discuss Africa's role in creating business opportunities out of the food security crisis and the importance of private and public parnerships in achieving this goal. Read more >> [Dumisani Ndlela] US-based fast food giant McDonald's has cast its sights on Zimbabwe, 11 years after its initial plan to start restaurants in the country failed due to an unprecedented economic and political crisis. Read more >>The first public sale of diamonds from Zimbabwe's controversial Marange fields was held on Wednesday (11 August 2010) at Harare airport. The body that regulates the global diamond trade, the Kimberley Process, said that approximately 900,000 carats of rough diamonds were valued at around 72 million US dollars during the auction. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55401.jpg) OTTAWA, CANADA: March Networks, a global provider of IP video solutions, on Thursday, 12 August 2010, announced that SABMiller Angola is deploying the company's VideoSphere portfolio in its new facility located in the capital city of Luanda. Read more >>[Dumisani Ndlela] Zimbabwe's central bank has called on government to halt what it called "deindustrialisation through over-reliance on imports of finished goods" after the distribution and retail sector accounted for the biggest jump in imports by value during the half year to June. Read more >> Heavy rainfall in West Africa caused the Niger River to overflow during the weekend, destroying thousands of homes and crops. At least 100 people were killed by the rains across the region, according to news agency Reuters. Read more >>TV
![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55327.jpg) CNN.com is hosting a special feature during August 2010 in celebration of 50 years of self-governance for eight of the seventeen African nations. Africa50, hosted online, takes a look at Africa's past, present and future with a number of features. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55406.jpg) SAN FRANCISCO, US: Internet research firm eMarketer on Thursday (12 August 2010) reported that advertisers are flocking to Facebook and will spend more than a billion dollars at the world's top online social network. Read more >>![](https://biz-file.com/c/1008/55345.jpg) SAN FRANCISCO, US: Google's online map feature that provides pictures of real-world moments at spots around the world has become a flash point for people worried about the erosion of privacy in the Internet Age. Read more >>Mixed messages about the economy and concern about house prices and the impact of public spending cuts are forcing retailers to plan ahead for another cautious Christmas in the UK, according to retail experts at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Read more >> More International news...
- Africa conference directory user group conference Africa Conference Directory - Sandton, 19 August
- Corporate publications: write/edit/manage them IAJ - Institute for the Advancement of Journalism - Cape Town, 25 August
- Social media for social good Mike Saunders Consulting - Johannesburg, 27 August
- Introduction to SQL training course Tailormade4you Web Design - Johannesburg, 30 August
- A seat on the board/IABC Conference report back - Cape Town, 31 August
- Mangement consulting skills programme Wits Business School - Gardens, Cape Town, 1 September
- Comedians stand-up for comedy Breadline Africa - Cape Town, 2 September
- Effective tendering and procurement strategies The Conference Hub - Johannesburg, 16 September
- The 48 hour film project 48 Hour Film Project - Johannesburg, 1 October
- BRAND HOOLIGANS marketing conference - Cape Town, 27 October
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