Global Voices » Botswana

Africa: Do You Need a Handbook For Bush Flying?

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:25:54 +0000

“Low timer pilots handbook to bush flying?,” Bush Pilot in Swakopund asks: “I was wondering if any of you would be interested in an e-book that has all the information about the where's, how's and what's of the job hunt in Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania (and also some other information I have).

Africa: Highs and Lows of the 2012 African Cup of Nations

Chellsy Alis Manning — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43:56 +0000

Beyond their ethnic, political and regional divides, people unite together around their national football team. We saw the First Lady of Gabon dancing like an excited schoolgirl every time one of the eleven players of the ‘Azingo Nationale' scored a goal and became “the Panthers” for their country.

The people of Equatorial Guinea were ecstatic with the qualification of their national team, languishing in the midst of one of the most ferocious dictatorships. According to Human Rights Watch, journalists who have visited the country to report on the human rights situation have been detained, interrogated, censored and deported.

In the fervour surrounding the 2012 African Cup of Nations, there are two key points that attract attention. The first is the absence of some of the higher achieving teams in African football.

Michael Dodje's blog explains [fr] the unusual goings-on in this year's Cup of Nations:

Imagine a Euro competition without Germany, Spain, Holland and England. Impossible you say, even though Ukraine or Poland would not have to participate in the qualifying rounds as host nations. And yet, this is what happened in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Indeed, for the first time in ages we will not see Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria or even South Africa in this championship. How did this happen?

Remembering that the five teams mentioned above have won 15 out of 27 previous Cup of Nations tournaments. Nicholas Mc Anally on le229.com responded [fr]:

…If these teams do not qualify then there will be others to replace them. It's a breath of fresh air seeing teams like Botswana, Niger and Equatorial Guinea making their debuts in the Cup of Nations.

Another novelty in this year's Cup is the way that the thorny issue of bonuses has been resolved. A post on the blog plat du pied explained [fr] what happened on the 15 November, 2011:

After the cancellations of the matches against China, Gabon, Salvador and Mexico, Cameroon has again cancelled a friendly match at the last minute for the fifth time since the start of the season. The players went on strike, once again, in protest against the federation over their bonuses for the match.

On the same blog, a statement issued by the Cameroon players, known as the ‘Indomitable Lions', said:

Due to the absence of attendance bonuses, the players have decided not to travel to Algiers and to not play any part in the match against Algeria scheduled for the 15 November.

Different solutions to the problem have been found by building on past negative experiences. A post [fr] on the blog marocfootball.info, concerning the Moroccan national team, the ‘Atlas Lions' stated that:

The President of the highest court in Moroccan football announced that a deal has been made with the Atlas Lions in that they accept that they will not receive any form of attendance bonus if they fail to reach the quarter finals of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Côte d'Ivoire, not long out of a prolonged and disastrous civil war, will pay their national team the ‘Elephants' a bonus of 5 billion CFA francs (1 million US dollars) if they win the final. The blog afrik11.com states [fr]:

The 23 players in the side receive 5 million CFA francs (10,000 USD) in attendance bonuses. This amount will be paid if the team is eliminated in the first round. In the quarterfinals, the bonus of each player will rise to 8 million, rising further to 10 million in the semifinals and then to 20 million in the final (40,000 USD). The coach, Zahoui François will also enjoy his share of the pie, receiving double the bonuses of his players.

afrik11.com also comments [fr] on the bonuses paid to the Mali national team, the ‘Eagles of Mali' at the beginning of January:

Earlier this week the Malian football team received their bonuses for qualifying for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Two hundred million CFA francs (40,000 USD) were given in cash to the players and coaching staff before the national team left Lomé (Togo) for the final stage in their preparations for the competition.

The Equatorial Guinea team in training by @FlorianK_Sport

Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the event, is a country unable to build a stadium capable of hosting a match due to the frequent rains. Yet abidjan.net posted a blog surrounding their first victory [fr] in the competition:

Teodorin Obiang, the Minister for Agriculture presented a cheque for 500 million CFA francs (760,000 euros) to Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asué, the Minister for Sport, in the absence of the national team in Mbini (mainland Mali). He added a cheque for 20 million CFA francs (30,400 euros), 10 million that had been promised for each goal scored ; the team only won the match 1-0 but he explained that the goal disallowed by the referee deserved to be credited with a bonus.

This blog points out that the actions of Teodorin, tipped to succeed his father as president, are under scrutiny by the Americans.

The generosity of petrodollars being used for the bonuses for the Equatorial Guinea football team makes the Republic of Guinea look like a poor relation. In Conakry, the first problem was in trying to find the money to pay for the bonuses. As reported by lejourguinee.com, the country set up a National Committee for Support, led by General Mathurin Bangoura, Minister for Housing and Urban Development with the aim of raising funds for the bonuses. Notably, the first contributions came from the Indian community settled in the country.

The least well-spent money during the tournament, without doubt, has to be the bonuses awarded to the ‘Teranga Lions', the Senegalese national team, who had entered the competition as strong favourites and fell at the first hurdle. Yet, at the beginning of the competition the blog can.starafrica.com stated [fr] that:

There are some concerns surrounding the bonuses given to the Senegalese side. On Wednesday the Sports Ministry gave the squad bonuses amounting to 140, 650,000 francs in full for their qualification for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Delivers Many Surprises

Jane Ellis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:42:35 +0000

Unlike Senegal, who failed to win their opening match in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana, another competition favourite, managed to win their opener, beating Botswana, who were participating in this tournament for the first time. This, the first match in Group D, took place on Tuesday 24 January in the Stade de Franceville, Gabon.

The Black Stars of Ghana finished the match with ten men following a red card for John Mensah in the 66th minute. They did all they could to win [fr], and were not phased, according to FourFourTwo, who tweeted:

#Ghana show no remorse over Mensah red bit.ly/xkpul2 #AFCON2012

Botswana fought bravely during their first ever appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations. A video summary of the Ghana-Botswana match is available here [fr], courtesy of Direct 8 Sport.

Mali met Guinea for the other opening day Group D game, which saw the Eagles off to a promising start in the tournament, beating Guinea 1-0. Boukary Konaté, a Global Voices author who tweets under the name @Fasokan [fr], posted reactions from the stadium in Macina, Mali:

@Fasokan: Grand bruit et applaudissement à Macina pour le but malien #can2012

@Fasokan: Loud noise and applause from Macina following Mali's goal.

and also [fr]:

@Fasokan: les supporters de Macina espèrent sur un deuxième but malien

@Fasokan: Fans from Macina are hoping for a second goal from Mali.

On Wednesday 25, the first match on Day 2 of Group A, Zambia versus Libya, resulted in the first nil-nil draw of the competition. Torrential rain caused kick-off to be delayed by an hour and a quarter with the match finally starting at 6.15pm, after some doubt as to whether it would go ahead.

Zambia were anxious to secure their place in the quarter finals against a Libyan team who seemed re-energised following their defeat on the opening Saturday of the tournament. The match was played on a waterlogged pitch, as can be seen in this photo posted by Alexandre Nakbi (@Alex_Nak), showing its condition moments before kick off [fr]:

@Alex_Nak: Voila l'état du terrain actuellement. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

@Alex_Nak: Here is the state of the pitch right now. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

Rain also delayed the Day 2 Group A match between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea. Tournament favourites Senegal were eliminated in a surprise 2-1 win for Equatorial Guinea, assuring a place for the latter in the quarter finals. The defeat of the Lions of Teranga greatly disappointed [fr] their fans:

@observateurs: Le Sénégal sort de la CAN. “On aurait dit des jeunes de centre de formation” #can2012 fb.me/10kgX5eNf

@observateurs: Senegal exit the Cup of Nations. “They looked like kids from a training camp” #can2012

@founseni_soro: Sénégal Grande nation de football, . mais aussi grande déception de la CAN2012. Allez les zelephants #civ2010

@founseni_soro: Senegal - a great footballing nation, but great disappointment in the 2012 Cup of Nations.

In Day 2 of Group B, Angola could not overcome Sudan, one of the weakest teams in the Cup, despite two goals from Manuchi on Thursday 26 January in Malabo Stadium, Equatorial Guinea. If they had won, Angola would have qualified for the quarter finals. The four goals from the match can be seen in the following video [fr]:

Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso met at Malabo later that day for the second match in Day 2 of Group B. The Elephants of Ivory Coast beat the Stallions 2-0, qualifying for the quarter finals while Burkina Faso were eliminated.

Fans of Ivory Coast watching the match against Sudan by @FlorianK_Sport

Day 2 of Group C on the Friday saw Gabon beat Morocco 3-2 and Tunisia beat Nigeria 2-1, securing quarter final places for the Panthers of Gabon and the Eagles of Carthage.

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations can be followed on the BBC website and on Twitter using the hashtags #CAN2012 and #AFCON2012.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Kicks Off!

Dan Horlor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:47:12 +0000

[All links to external content are in French]

The Africa Cup of Nations began in Bata, Equatorial Guinea this Saturday January 21, 2012, kicking off three weeks of fierce competition. The Cup of Nations, the most important international football competition in Africa, is taking place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea between January 21 and 12 February.

Supporters in Africa and around the world have been enjoying the build-up to the two opening matches; dancing, light and sound were all part of the spectacle:

GaGuie the Mascot! With GAGUIE : GA as in Gabon, GUI as in Guinea and E as in Equatorial! Image from fr.cafonline.com with permission

Here is a round up of the first three days of the tournament.

Matchday One

Libya took on Equatorial Guinea in the curtain raiser on 21 January, and it was co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, making their tournament debut, who took a surprise 1-0 win.

With just six minutes remaining, Balboa, the Equatorial Guinea number 11 finally opened the scoring after a one-on-one with the Libyan goalkeeper. The score stayed 1-0 until the final whistle, to the delight of the Equatorial Guinea fans who had packed the stadium.

The Senegalese fluffed their entry to the competition with a 2-1 defeat inflicted by Zambia on the same day. Senegal fans took to the web to place the blame on coach of the national team.

Touy wrote on Seneweb News [fr]:

le souci avec un entraîneur local c'est que même s'il se rend compte que le capitaine par exemple Niang n'est pas au niveau il aura la crainte la peur ou la pudeur de le faire sortir au détriment de la victoire bien sur!!

The problem with having a local coach is that even if he realises that the captain, let's say Niang, is not good enough he'll either be afraid or too modest to take him off, to the detriment of getting the win of course!

Amara Traoré [fr] on RFI sheds some light on the subject for us:

Tout le monde savait avant même le début de la CAN que les zambiens sont très vifs et utiliseraient cette vivacité pour gérer les sénégalais beaucoup plus costauds. Alors lui l’entraîneur et son staff devraient trouver un bon système pour les contenir avant de les attaquer.Donc je trouve kil n'a pas fais son boulot qui était de voir les choses venir et de jouer avec des joueurs rapides mais surtout de ne pas trop bourrer cette attaque ou personne ne se retrouve .

Everyone knew, even before the Cup of Nations began, that the Zambians are very energetic and would use that energy to combat the much bigger and stronger Sengalese. So the coach and his staff should find a system to contain thembefore going on the attack. He hasn't done his job which is to anticipate and play fast players but above all not to throw men forward who then can't find each other.

Matchday Two

The second matchday saw the entry of one of the competition favourites: the ‘Elephants' of Côte d'Ivoire. A magnificent strike by Didier Drogba in the 39th minute secured the victory for Côte d'Ivoire over Sudan. The win for the Elephants wasn't enough for every Ivorian fan on the net however. Many felt that they could have done better.

Phox Hermann [fr] said:

la vérité est bonne à dire heinnn. ELEPHANT ke moi jai vu là c N'IMPORTE KOI

Good to tell the truth, riiight. That was no ELEPHANT that I saw

Bi Tia Vincent Toh [fr] added:

la conservation d'un unique but nous a donné des sueurs froides.
Que Mr Gervino soit un peu plus réaliste devant les buts,
Que Mr Yaya Touré regagne sa place au milieu et joue effectivement comme à city
Que la defense cesse d etre trop permeable,

keeping hold of a one goal lead brought us out in a cold sweat.
If only Mr Gervino [sic] was more realistic in front of goal,
If only Mr Yaya Touré could get his place back in the middle and play as well as he does at city
If only the defence stopped leaking,

Angola also played their first game and overpowered Burkina Faso with a 2-1 victory.

Matchday Three

Gabon, the second co-host team of the 2012 Cup of Nations showed their strength with a 2-0 win over Niger, the opening Group C match of the tournament played in a fantastic atmosphere in the Stade de l'Amitié in Libreville.

Rodrigue Magaya [fr] commented on Aubameyang's goal on Facebook:

que dire?!!!merci aux gars, il fallait ça pour la beauté du spetacle et naturelement monter a tt nos adversaires que nous sommes la!!bien en place et on a pas peur!!!vive la can, et vive encore plus nos pantheres;que Dieu benisse le gabon!!!!!!

what can I say?!!!thanks to the lads, we needed that for the beauty of the contest and naturally to show all our opponents that we're here!!right on the spot and with no fear!!long live the cup of nations, and may our panthers live even longer;God bless Gabon!!!!!!

The 2012 Cup of Nations can be followed on TV5 Monde, Canal+ Afrique and on Twitter and Google+ via the hashtags #CAN2012 (in French) et #ACN2012 (in English).

Open Access Africa: Spreading Knowledge, Increasing Collaboration

John Liebhardt — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:19:00 +0000

In August 2011, the Malaria Journal published a 12-author study called, “Strict adherence to malaria rapid test results might lead to a neglect of other dangerous diseases: a cost benefit analysis from Burkina Faso.”

Just a few months earlier in May, the journal Health & Place published, “Malaria, environmental change, and a historical epidemiology of childhood ‘cold fevers’: Popular interpretations from southwestern Burkina Faso.”

Two similar topics, published just months apart. But they come with a big difference. The first article was published in an Open Access Journal, free and available to anyone willing to click on it and read it. The second article hails from a scientific journal published by a large conglomerate. Unless you have institutional access, which costs hundreds of dollars, you most likely must pay the publisher $31 (€22) to read the piece.

Disseminating ideas

The internet opened up new methods to disseminate information and, for users, to access it. It also reduced distribution costs. But if research about diseases like Malaria continues to remain behind pay walls, Open Access proponents ask, what good is it? All over Africa, financial models from the world of print keep scientists, students and policy makers separated from new ideas and research.

David Apinga, a blogger from Ghana points out:

Currently, Sub-Saharan Africa remains the least developed region of the world in the area of research. This is partly attributed to inability of research centres in developing countries to pay for the high cost of online journal access as well as subscriptions to print versions.

Open Access scholarship also offers scientists and researchers a chance for greater collaboration. From the Open Access Central blog:

Open access offers many opportunities for scientists in the developing world – not only improved access to international scientific literature, but also the opportunity to develop (or re-develop) their own national and regional journals. Such journals have a pivotal role to play in creating the environment and infrastructure needed for research to flourish.

Open Access Week (in Africa)

Information professionals, scholars and publishers around the world are currently celebrating the fifth annual Open Access Week. Events across Africa are taking place to help solidify those gains across the continent.

The group Duraspace.org – makers of two Open Source repositories – highlight a few Open Access programs from around Africa:

UBRISA, the University of Botswana Research, Innovation and Scholarship Archive, allowing faculty and students from the institution to place their research in a central repository where it can be stored and accessed.
Ethiopia is home to three repositories: The Economic Commission of Africa, the International Livestock Research Institute and Addis Ababa University Library Dspace.
KNUSTSpace, the institutional repository for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.
From a European-based repository, a list of South African Open Access projects.

Benefits for Africa

In this video by Leslie Chan, Dr. Paul Nampala, Science Editor of African Crop Science Journal (ACSJ), argues that greater open access will actually increase journal readership, even if it does decrease the overall number of paid subscriptions.

Charles J. Greenberg, a Medical Librarian at Yale University in the United States, blogs at OpenBioMed.Info. He recently interviewed Raoul Kamadjeu, a physician and co-founder of the Pan African Medical Journal.

Greenberg: You are a founding editor of the Pan African Medical Journal (PAMJ). To promote the online publication of original studies from the African medical and public health communities, PAMJ will not charge article-processing fee for any accepted article submitted from African researchers or institutions or from any researcher and institution around the world. How can you afford to support this generous business model?

Kamadjeu: Yes, we do not currently charge authors fees. Our 2011 author’s survey (http://www.panafrican-med-journal.com/pamjnews/NewsArticle.php?NewsId=news4dffa0d8f2713) showed this as one of the main reasons why authors submit to us. We are able to afford this business model because we currently benefit from the generous support of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) with which we have a memorandum of understanding; but we are not naïve, reaching financial independence is key if we want to sustain our current growth and remain a journal of continental scope. Your question brings the wider issue of the financial viability of African journals? They rely heavily on support from donors, some journals charge authors fees; it will be interesting to know how these models work for them. We are looking into traditional and innovative ideas to reach financial sustainability; article processing fees is part of the plan in the medium term; however, establishing a reputable journal remains our main priority; this will help ensure financial sustainability. I just want to add that support to African journals is important if we want to ensure that some level of medical publishing survives on the continent, particularly nowadays, with the explosion of medical journal franchises.

Botswana: Government Decides Not to Recognise Recognise Bakgatla Paramount

Ndesanjo Macha — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:37:25 +0000

Lauri comments on the decision by the government of Botswana not to recognise the paramount chief of the Bakgtla: “I wrote before about the controversy around Kgosi Kgafela but since then things have grown quite tense between the Bakgatla chief and the Khama administration. Kgafela was brought before the court for “unlawful flogging” and the case is on going…This move by the government seems rash in a country based on consultation. We wait and see what the response will be.”

Botswana: I Miss Fatalism

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 13:08:33 +0000

Lauri explains why she misses fatalism: “In Botswana, people accept that life sometimes goes wrong. Problems happen. Sometimes things don’t work. Sometimes the outcome you expect is not the one that you’ll get. It’s just the way it is. There’s something very comforting about that.”

Swaziland: King Mswati Must Go

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 17:22:02 +0000

Richard Rooney posts a press release from the Botswana National Front in support of progressive forces in Swaziland: “The Botswana National Front (BNF) joins the rest of the progressive forces who are currently in solidarity with the people of Swaziland during the Global Week of Action against Swaziland (5th-11th September) led by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign.”

Botswana: Ocean in the Desert

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:29:59 +0000

Read about Kelly's experiences of ocean in the desert in Botswana: “The Makgadikadi Pans are the largest salt pans in the world, located in the Kalahari Desert near the centre of Botswana. For Seretse Khama Day, I ventured out to the Pans for my first time and headed to Kubu (Hippo) Island which had a reputation for being a magical place.”

Botswana: Photo: So Where Do You Want to Stay?

Ndesanjo Macha — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 15:19:47 +0000

MyWeku's image of the week is a picture taken on the road from South Africa to Gaborone, Botswana via Oddly Specific. It is titled, “So…where do you want to stay?”

India Close Behind China in the African Continent

Claire Ulrich — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:23:15 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

In May, the second India and Africa Summit was held at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This Summit should lead to the adoption of two documents: the Declaration of Addis Ababa and the Cooperation Plan between India and Africa (which can be found on the official website of the African Union [all links in French unless otherwise indicated].

The Summit has inspired comments from Francophone African bloggers on the competing influences of China and India in Africa. It has also inspired TheLeadersOfTheWorld to post this short satirical video on YouTube:

Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Image by Agência Brasil, Creative Commons (2.5 Brazil).

Blog journaldutchad.com gave the key statistics of the Summit:

India will therefore break its piggybank and cash meters are already going crazy with a list of loans totalling 2400 billion CFA francs (5 billion USD) for the African continent over the next three years. Moreover, the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who shares the same vision for the continent, intends to grant a subsidy of 336 billion CFA francs (700 million USD) in grants to Africa.’

Patrice Garner on afrique7.com gives further details on the new projects:

Acts speaking louder than words, and in line with this new partnership, an Institute of information technology will be built in Ghana, another Institute for educational planning in Burundi, an Institute of foreign trade in Uganda and a diamond institute in Botswana.

Indian investments are already visible in the daily life of Africans, reminds Assanatou Baldé on Afrik.com:

One of the most important investor is the Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel, which has disbursed $ 10 billion to access the mobile telephony industry in 15 African countries. Indian car maker Tata trades in 11 countries on the continent and has the monopoly of public transportation in Uganda and in the district of Thiès, in Senegal.

A Tata minvan in Africa. Image by Robin Elaine on Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

A debate has opened on the platform Flamme d'Afrique, les autres voix de l’Afrique (Flame of Africa, other African voices) opened by the Panos Institute website, where Ousseini Issa compares the Chinese and Indian approaches in Africa:

The way Delhi manages trade and cooperation with Africa differs from the Chinese way, with a swoop on mainly private local companies, but bought with subsidies from the Indian state, via a merger and acquisition strategy, whereas China favors direct trade with governments. But India also has this feature: that it tries to develop approaches inclusive of the regional economic institutions such as ECOWAS and SADC. […] the issue is, for many, the prospect of the continent building different relationships from those marking its exploitation for centuries, under the north-south axis.

Commenter NIBIZI hopes this partnership will herald a new era:

With this new partnership, African leaders should learn a lesson and break away from the corrupt ways that have plagued the continent. The culture of human rights must come first, if we want to make the most of the dividends, which will put an end to wars, and the internal power struggles which have prevented Africa from making a good start.

karl is more pragmatic, both confident and worried, wary of a possible ” land grab” [en]:

This summit should be an opportunity for Africa to negotiate ways to collaborate to solve the critical energy issue. But it should also put an end to the lease and sale of African land, while farmers are struggling to access them to help achieve food self-sufficiency and to satisfy their right to housing

On the Radio France International website, an article on the Addis Abeba Summit has also generated comments from readers. They are much more vocal in rejecting “L'indépendance sous haute surveillance” (Independence under strict surveillance, lyrics from a song by African singer Alpha Blondy), which is to say, the post-colonial cooperation model imposed by France.

Kamerun:

With India and China arriving on the African continent, we are very proud, because it will help us shoe away the imperialist thieves who have been looting the continent since 1960. […]

Anonymous:

[…] I don't see (President of Ivory Coast) Ouattara grant juicy markets to Indians or Chineses and deprive France of them any time soon. Unless he does not wish to stay long in power.

Ma belle Afrique:

The Indian cooperation approach with Africa est more altruist that the one privileged by France under Mr. Sarkozy. From now on, Africans must turn their back to countries which impose governance at gun point.

RéaPar:

These forms of cooperation, where Africa's natural resources are coveted by many (Europe and the BRIC countries) cannot be a sustainable solution for the development of this continent. Cooperation must be built around a long term vision that will allow African to sell some day Tata cars to India, China or France (ok, I'm going overboard here). This involves training young people, democracy, and long term ambitious economic policies, to put an end to the outstretched hand policy (begging) of this continent.

The Addis Ababa summit was also an opportunity for a percussionists band from Rufisque, a city southeast of Dakar, to bring a touch of West African culture in Ethiopia. On rufisquenews.com, Cherif FAYE announced they had been invited to perform in Ethiopia by the Embassy of India in Senegal:

The “Kër Gi” band from Bargny [should] perform a concert called “Guur Nduuy” which means “léboue tradition”. The “Guur Nduuy” show trace some aspects of the rich immaterial heritage of the léboue community.

This post is part of our special coverage Global Development 2011.

Botswana: Maun International Poetry Festival 2011

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:34:15 +0000

Maun International Poetry Festival 2011 in Botswana is just around the corner: “Performance poetry is taking Botswana by storm and if you are a fan like I am then on the 26th of March all your roads will lead you to Maun for the inaugural Maun International Poetry Festival 2011.”

Africa: Let's Talk About African Governments

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:11:17 +0000

lgazissax discusses African governments: “The uprisings in northern Africa and the Middle East had gotten me wondering about certain things I’d read about problems of African government in general, and I wanted to see how they played out in different countries.”

Africa: Online Radio for African Poets

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:31:12 +0000

Lauri comes across Badilisha Poetry Radio, which features African poets: “I've managed to lose an hour listening to poetry by African poets both here and abroad. I got captured by Karin Schmike's poem Shamshack about the two-faced, false concern of politicians.”

Botswana: How To Make Morula Jam

Ndesanjo Macha — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:35:58 +0000

Tips on how to make morula jam (and by accident morula sweets): “I searched for a recipe for morula jam but never found one. This year I decided to try my luck and I was so pleased with the result. I thought I'd record my results here for other people.”