[UgaBYTES] WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP-AFRICA (10)

Fri Mar 6 06:58:23 GMT 2009

*Handicapped women in Congo find success on Ebay*

5th March 2009

In one of Africa’s most war-torn regions, the Eastern Congo, a group of
handicapped women have managed to create a sustainable business by selling
their crafts on the auction site Ebay. The women have found a willing buying
market through the online portal over the last eight months, despite not
having any funding to start the venture.

The company, Shona Crafts, was started with the assistance of Dawn Hurley,
an American whose aim it was to promote self-reliance among the women in the
troubled region. Says Hurley of the venture:” The women of SHONA have found
an enthusiastic market in the United States and have made over 100 sales on
Ebay alone, and have earned 100 percent positive feedback.”

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=2334

*Sitcoms’ Cable Reaches Two Africa’s Ocean Floor*

4th March 2009

SEACOM is pleased to announce that the first portions of deepwater cable are
now resting on the seabed of the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The cable has
been laid from the edge of the South African waters to Mozambique and cable
laying is also proceeding in the Red Sea from Egypt towards the coast of
Yemen. A third ship is currently being loaded with the remainder of SEACOM's
deepwater cable which will be deployed from India towards Africa, where
these three cable segments will be joined.

In parallel to the marine installation, SEACOM has made significant strides
in land-based construction.  The high-performance optical transmission
equipment, which connects customers to inland terrestrial networks, has been
installed in the Maputo, Mumbai and Djibouti cable landing stations.
Construction of the cable station in Kenya will be complete in early
February followed shortly by the Tanzanian and South African stations.
Equipment installation in these locations, and in Egypt, will be complete in
April. At each site, SEACOM has taken special precautions to assure the
construction activity is consistent with environmental policy and
regulations. As an example, in South Africa, SEACOM recently transferred
protected plant species from the cable station site to the Umlalazi National
Park with the help of the KwaZulu Natal Wildlife rangers.

http://www.seacom.mu/news/news_details.asp?iID=57

*African MP's Meet in Kigali to Discuss ICT*

5th March 2009

Members of Parliament from over 35 national, regional and continental
Parliaments yesterday began a two-day international conference on the
development of an equitable information society on the African continent.

The high level meeting at the Parliamentary buildings in Kimihurura is
bringing together Speakers, MPs and ICT experts from different parts in and
outside Africa is aimed at discussing the role of African Parliaments in
promoting ICT development in Africa.

The Kigali meeting will also be an opportunity for legislators to discuss
the digital divide that exists between Africa and the rest of the world in
regard to the use of ICT and how it can be narrowed.

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13825&article=13898

*Intel to Train 5,000 Rwandan Secondary School Teachers in ICT*

5th March 2009

The Ministry of Education yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Intel, a company that deals in technological innovations, for the
training of 5,000 secondary school teachers in ICT. Presiding over the
signing ceremony at the Ministry's headquarters in Kacyiru, the State
Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Theoneste
Mutsindashyaka commended the project, stressing that it was going to enhance
the development of education in Rwanda.

"This programme is going to help our education system because it is going to
help the Ministry of Education in its efforts to use ICT as a tool of
education," said the Minister.

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13825&article=13903

*Ericsson and Zain power Millennium Village site by wind and sun*

As part of the Millennium Villages project, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and
pan-African operator Zain have built a green-powered site in a remote
village in northeastern Kenya. With the reliable and affordable mobile
communication the site provides, the villagers of Dertu can make calls,
access health services and education and improve their economic future.

Using a combination of wind and solar power addresses the two key deterrents
to building telecommunication infrastructure in remote areas: operating
costs and power supply reliability.

Jan Embro, President of Ericsson in sub-Saharan Africa, says: "The ideal
climate conditions mean we expect to see an 80 percent reduction in
energy-related operational costs for the site, compared with using diesel
generators. Green sites like this one have great potential for solving the
power-grid challenge across Africa to bring mobile communication to the
poorest of the poor so they can improve their lives and break the poverty
cycle."

http://www.ericsson.com/ericsson/press/releases/20090212-1289656.shtml

*Local Nigerian ICT Firm Set to Crash Internet Access Cost*

3rd March 2009

An indigenous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firm is set to
boost Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) as well as revolutionize Internet
access and proficiency in the country with the deployment of the latest Very
Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technologies.

To achieve this, the company is to provide Internet service with the least
cost as long as there is an assurance that the customer would continue to
buy broadband time.

In a chat with Daily Independent, ICT expert and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Abuja-based HMU Technologies, Julian Madubuko, said economic
empowerment consideration, and the need to position Nigerian youths for
global competition was behind the firm's drive.

He said that the company is prepared to deploy the ICT equipment worth N300,
000 free of charge as long as the customer can afford the N45.00 per hour
price for the Internet access.

http://www.independentngonline.com/news/head/article09?publication=090303

*New Zimbabwean Prime Minister turns to web to promote transparency*

5th March

Morgan Tsvangirai, newly appointed Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, plans to use
the internet to promote transparency and inform the country’s citizens of
the activities and initiatives of the newly-created coalition government.

The launch of the website coincides with Tsvangirai’s swearing in as a
Member of Parliament in Zimbabwe’s House of Assembly. In his address to
Parliament, Mr. Tsvangirai said: “… in this spirit of openness, today we are
launching the Prime Minister’s website that will not only serve to keep the
people informed about the activities of our government, but will also
provide an interactive forum for the people to participate and contribute to
the affairs of government. The address of this website is
www.zimbabweprimeminister.org.”

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=2333

-- 
Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentr.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Tel: +256 414 370163
Mob: +256 752 995063
Skype: francis.mwathi
E-Mail: mfrancis at ugabytes.org