Stories about Sub-Saharan Africa from October, 2006
Tanzania: no praises for Tanzania's president
Tanzania In Focus is not tempted to sing praises to the current President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, “The first case in point is the electricity saga. Lets bring some objective arguments and facts here. NO COUNTRY can ever make any economic strides without setting up good and reliable power supply...
Kenya: enlightening experience from beer fast
Kenyan blogger, Bankele, took a month long beer fast. He writes about his enlightening experience, “Taken a (just ended) month long fast from beer which was very enlightening in terms of impact it has on life and business networking.”
Nigeria: restoring Nigerian image
Grandiose Parlor on Nigeria's problems, “Now, some might ask, with such huge revenue from oil and gas why does the country not receive a proportionate and favorable coverage. Why are the people so poor in the land of plenty, and why all the negative distortions about Nigerians and Nigeria? To...
Nigeria: world-class Nigerian fashion magazine
Dipotepede is humbled after finding out that the editor of Haute, a world-class fashion magazine featuring works of Nigerian designers all around the world, is only 21 years old, ” My dear, I was very humbled when I knew the editor of Haute Magazine was less than 21 years of...
Ghana: Ghanian currency available on international market
Proudly African links us to a story in the Ghanian local newspaper about the Cedi, the Ghanian currency, “For the first time ever in this country’s history, and indeed in the history of any local currency in West Africa, the cedi, once rated among the most discredited currencies across the...
Africa: call for Fela centred short stories
Wordsbody announces the call for Fela centred short stories from Reputations Consulting, “Call for Fela centred, fictional short stories,features articles and biographical sketches on “FELA The Folklore: A Peoples’ Biography for all categories of prose writers.”
Nigeria: latest on Nigerian stock exchange
Latest on the Nigerian stock exchange from StockMarketNigeria, “Last week was not a too impressive week as the all share index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange dipped by 2 percent. This was as a result of declines in share prices of some leading blue chip companies.”
Africa: open source African architecture
Timbuktu Chronicles writes about Osafa, open source African architecture, “Osafa will be a Wikipedia-like platform where the ‘source code’ of construction projects, i.e. floor plans, building descriptions, drafts/photos and commercials calculations are being shared under an open licence, ready to be reused or adapted, without licence fees. We want to...
Nigeria/Cameroon: new African film available online
Collaboration between Nollywood, the Nigerian film industry, and Cameroon's English language film industry has produced a new film, Before the Sunrise. Scribbles from the Den writes about it: “Before the Sunrise, the first major collaboration between Nollywood and Cameroon’s budding English language film industry is now available online. The movie...
Malawi: Madonna and child
Madonna and little David: the debate continues, “Then again, my concern remains with this little boy who has been thrown in a mix of affairs between a poor father with no means and a foreigner with more than enough to offer. There is nothing wrong with adoption so long as...
Tanzania: agricultural residues for low-cost housing
African Architecture and Design writes about the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy:”One of the 2006 finalists for using agricultural residues to fire high-quality bricks for low-cost housing is the Mwanza Rural Housing Programme (MRHP), Tanzania.”
Kenya: former Attorney General should shut up
You Missed This thinks the former Kenya's Attorney General, Charles Njonjo, should shut up!: “This was the kind of behaviour going on in Kenya when Charles Njonjo was the powerful AG and a member of Kenyatta’s kitchen cabinet. Njonjo more than anybody else promoted the propaganda politics against the Luo...
Kenyan Blogosphere: Debate over social responsibility, freedom of speech, and censorship
A heated debate has been raging in the Kenyan blogosphere over the removal of one blog, My Part of the World, from the Kenyan Blog Webring (KBW) aggregator. The aggregator is part of the vibrant community of Kenyan bloggers at home and abroad. The debate has centered around issues of...
Nigeria: $380 billion stolen since independence
Akin writes about emblezzement of public money in Nigeria, “Strangely, none of the Nigerian blogs I visit daily seemed to have picked up on this issue that Nigerian leaders have ‘stolen’ $380 billion cumulatively since independence with the worst atrocities in the 80s and 90s.”
South Africa: do you remember the days of Apartheid?
Black Looks takes us back to South Africa's Apartheid era with a post about Prison Number 4, where Ghandhi and Robert Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan-African Congress, were jailed: “TAUSER was the process of forcing black prisoners to strip naked, jump in the air in a scissor like move...
Global Warming in Madagascar
Lakes Region, Madagascar. Photo by Claude Springer. After seeing Al Gore's film on global warming, Malagasy blogger Aiky from group blog Madagascar Croissance, reflected this week on the effects of global warming in his country, stirring up debate among commentators to the blog. Rainfall, Hurricane and Letchi Harvest Dans l'état...
Senegal: Wade and the PDS v. Seck
Looking to upcoming elections in Senegal, Blog Politique du Senegal writes (Fr): “May [Idrissa] Seck bleed the PDS [Senegalese Democratic Party] to death. I certainly won't be complaining. … Wade did not have the political finesse to create an efficient party. His authoritarianism … made him build a monster with...
Togo, Congo, France: Failed Diaspora or Simply Depression?
France-based Togolese blogger Kangni Alem reposts (Fr) an email allegedly authored by Kabiona-Kaseke, a Congolese lamenting the failures of the African diaspora. Says the email: “Diaspora, we have failed in our dreams. Dreams of succeeding in our native countries after studying in the West. … Diaspora, we've failed in our...
Madagascar: How to Invest
Madagascar Croissance says (Fr) real estate and rentals are promising investment sectors in his country right now.
Malawi: innovative use of SMS in Malawi
Mangaliso's World writes about innovative use of SMS applications in Malawi, “Observing carefully at the market cellular phone operators Telekom Networks Malawi is leading the way on added sms services initiatives. Theservices span from agriculture sector to your personal convinience.”
Kenya: is presidential poll a fraud?
You Missed This writes about the Presidential race in Kenya, “Somebody somewhere is very determined to push forward Kalonzo Musyoka's candidature for President. Poll after poll has put him way ahead of all other candidates. The strange thing about these polls is that they contradict what we all know about...