Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from January, 2007
Senegal: Unrest in Casamance
Says Blog Politique du Senegal (Fr): “As predicted, tensions are rising [in Casamance] following the death of Diamacoune. The measliest local chief is going to develop ambitions as a future president and launch “operations” in order to demonstrate his ability to flex his muscle. The hostilities have only just begun.”
South Africa: newspaper goes mobile
White African announces that South Africa's Mail & Guardian goes mobile, “Last week South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper went mobile (actually, they had a closed subscription-based service prior, but this is open to everyone). You can find the mobile version at http://wap.mg.co.za. What was particularly interesting about this was...
Ghana: It's Harmattan again, Re-denomination of Ghanian Currency Looms Large, Why the Ghanian Worker Wants to Leave, and 82 Steps to Renew a Visa
Ghana is currently experiencing a harmattan, and this state of play evidently does not escape the comment of Leanne, of An American in Africa, who explains how the harmattan, which she defines as: a dry dusty wind that blows along the northwest coast of Africa. Its time-frame, she describes as...
Senegal: Flooded by Chinese Products
Blog Politique du Senegal is worried (Fr)about imports from China “flooding” local markets: “China has extremely low production costs … By opening its doors wide to Chinese products, Senegal is preventing itself from developing a national production. Meanwhile, the country's industrialization is the only means of providing work to thousands...
Madagascar: WordPress in Malagasy
Says L'Odyssee de Tattum (Fr): “Our national webmaster, Hery, has struck again! And it's all for the better! He redid and finalized the WordPress in Malagasy project begun by [blogger] Many to come up with: Blaogy.org, a new blogging platform powered by WordPress.”
South Africa: future of online media industry
This is probably the beginning of the future of online media industry in Africa, “Since December I have been in the trenches at the Mail & Guardian Online, looking for new ways to leverage the huge audience and vast amounts of content that the site has. My goal is simple:...
Nigeria: Nigeria's top models
Bella Naija blogs about Nigeria's top models, “Years after veterans like Linda Ikeji and Uri Jones paved the way, the modelling industry in Nigeria is booming. Yes, there are Nigerian models repping us in South Africa, Europe and New York but there are some top notch Nigerian models who are...
Kenya: conscious music from the slums
From Pambazuka News at the World Social Forum, “As part of our special reports from the World Social Forum, conscious musicians Hope Raisers speak to Robtel Pailey from Pambazuka News about their music, justice and the obstacles they face being political artists living in the slums of Nairobi.”
Uganda: the importance of blogging in Africa
Jackfruity writes about the importance of blogging in Africa, “My thoughts on the impact of blogging in Africa? Many of the blogs that do exist are shaping the way people think and contributing to major debates in their countries — just look at Sub-Saharan African Roundtable or Weichegud. The reason...
Kenya: challenges of being young entrepreneur
An interview on Kenyan Pundit highlighting the challenges of being a young entrepreneur in Kenya.
Kenya: an update from the World Social Forum
An update from the World Social Forum, “Sometimes a little action can go a long away. The youth groups’ protest to the WSF Organising Committee has generated a positive change in policy. Yesterday, the gates were open to Kenyans for free. As the word had not spread not too many...
Myamar: South Africa's Support for Burmese UN Vote
New Mandala highlights South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu's remarks on his government's vote against the US and British backed UN Security Council resolution on Myanmar.
Malawi: Malawian Blogger Passes Away
January 18th, 2007 the Malawi blogosphere was robbed of one of its prominent bloggers, Mangaliso Jere (27), whose blog, Mangaliso’s World, covered different topics of interest including information technology in Malawi. The news was broken by a Malawian blogger Austin Madinga on his blog Austin Madinga’s Big Mouth, where he...
Zimbabwe: what happened to Zimbabwean Pundit?
The three month deafening silence on Zimbabwean Pundit blog is explained, “Over the last three or so months, you have come here looking for a new helping of “the world as seen from the eyes of a Zimbabwean” and have been dissappointed to find no new servings. At first you...
Nigeria: Nigerians abroad do not need to go home!
Omodudu does not think that Nigerians living abroad need to go back home,”Often we hear Nigerians living abroad declare, “I am going home”. I have news for all of you, Nigeria is not in dire need of your presence, actually you may be adding to the problem of overcrowding on...
D.R. of Congo: the richness of Lingala
Blogging from the Democratic Republic of Congo, John writes about the richness and complexity of Lingala: Then there’s the word “poto” which I think is “mpoto” in the classic Lingala (but that’s a whole other discussion…). It means Europe, but I’ve discovered that it also means the U.S. I haven’t...
Malawi/Zambia: Remembering John Chilembwe, Debate Over Using Yahoo Messenger At Work and ICTs and Gender Based Violence
Malawian blogger Soyapi Mumba is excited about the introduction of Internet and Pay-Per-View TV services by Malawi Telecom (MTL): Malawi's Internet infrastructure, especially to people's homes, is very poor and for MTL to provide these service, it means they will either drastically improve the current infrastructure, or introduce new alternatives...
Africa: African Journals Online
My Africa Today writes about African Journals Online, “African Journals OnLine (AJOL) is a service to provide access to African published research, and increase worldwide knowledge of indigenous scholarship.”
Kenya: drama at the World Social Forum
Mental Acrobatics writes about drama at the World Social Forum, “The poster says, “Reduce food prices in the WSF.” A demonstration organised by a youth group from Korogocho started a loud vocal protest outside the Windsor catering tent. Korogocho is the third largest slum area in Nairobi after Kibera and...
Guinea: Conakry is Dying
Pourquoi L'Afrique Claudique reflects (Fr) on the Lansana Konte dictatorship in Guinea: “This country, considered one of the 20 poorest in the world despite its economic potential, will only be hurt by a general strike which has been going on for a week along with daily arrests. May those who...
The Global Voices Show #4
Finally — the fourth episode of The Global Voices Show has landed! In this edition we feature excerpts from the following podcasts: - The IndiCast (India) – also see Global Voices article “The Blogospheres on Big Brother, Shilpa Shetty, Bullying and Racism“ – Pambazuka News (Zimbabwe) – Palabras Libres (Bolivia)...
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