Ethiopian Airlines, the giant of African skies would commence flying to Botswana with direct service connecting Gaborone to Addis Ababa, it said in a statement. The flights could start as early as the end of June as the airline is finalising preparation to commence operations. According to the company, the decision to start this long awaited route will add efficiency to the downstream industries such as tourism; investment and diamond trading that heavily depend on robust and reliable aviation sector. “The presence of Ethiopian Airlines in Botswana will open the country to the world and provide local travellers (with) over…
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Stanbic Bank Botswana has once again pledged to sponsor 10 youths and caregivers to undergo the REPSSI, Community Base Work with Children and Youth (CBWCY) Certificate Programme. The P120,000.00 donation will further enable the provision of community-based care for children and youth. The programme is delivered through the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCCODOL) and comprises of formal training for care givers, equipping them to care for and protect vulnerable and orphaned children. REPSSI the Regional Psychosocial Initiative is a technical partner to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and strives to enhance access to psychosocial support for…
MICROmega Holdings Limited, the South African company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange under the support services sector, says its subsidiary, Utility Systems, has been awarded a second contract for its prepayment, domestic water management system by Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company Ltd, in Zambia. The initial order of 9,000 units has a contract value of R15m and will be delivered in July this year. This order forms the first part of a new contract and follows the supply of 18,000 prepayment water metering units in 2012. A further order of a similar size, for the second phase of this…
South Africa’s Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has announced the names of thirteen additional preferred bidders for the renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme (REIPPPP) Bid Window 4 that will supply an additional 1084 MW of electricity to support the South African national grid. To date, ninety-two renewable-energy projects have now been approved by the Department of Energy. Public private partnerships in renewable energy have seen the contribution of an extra 6327MW of capacity to the national electricity grid since 2011. This increases the investment by the private sector in renewable energy to R193 billion. Across all Bid Windows…
The 2nd Annual Francistown Comedy & Poetry Night is bringing non-stop laughter and poetic rhythms and stanzas on the 19th of June at Tati River Lodge with Botswana and South Africa’s (SA) most funny stand-up comedians and acclaimed poets. The audience will be treated to too much hilarity and great silliness from a variety of comics while also enjoying poetic narratives and sound plays from well-established poets. The show promises fireworks as it will be held at the same venue which hosted the 1st Annual event, and the venue is easily accessible to patrons who will experience top notch entertainment.…
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) last week received the largest ever donation of wildebeest and eland which were donated by the international conservation organization SAVE. The 500 animals consisting of about 400 wildebeest and 100 eland were successfully translocated over a range of about 140km from Grassland Safari into the CKGR. Explaining the reason for the relocation Willie De Graf of Grassland Safari said that it was an opportunity to put the animals back into the wild. He thanked SAVE for seeing the need to assist in this endeavor and also thanked the other sponsors who made this operation…
African governments, investors, and international financial institutions must significantly scale up investment in energy to unlock Africa’s potential as a global low-carbon superpower, according to a report from Kofi Annan’s Africa Progress Panel, Power, People, Planet: Seizing Africa’s Energy and Climate Opportunities. The report calls for a ten-fold increase in power generation to provide all Africans with access to electricity by 2030. This would reduce poverty and inequality, boost growth, and provide the climate leadership that is sorely missing at the international level. “We categorically reject the idea that Africa has to choose between growth and low-carbon development,” said Kofi…
The year 2014 was expected to be a tough fight for the global mining industry with commodity prices down and short-term volatility increasing. The initial scorecard for the largest 40 miners was mixed and now the gloves are off for the industry with widespread government intervention, internal industry conflicts and rising shareholder activism, says the latest PwC’s annual Mine report. According to a new analysis of the 40 largest global miners from PwC, the industry trimmed spending and largely managed expectations through higher production and unexpected help from currency devaluations and lower input costs, despite continued headwinds from weak commodity…
Akinwumi Adesina, the Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, has been elected as the 8th President of the African Development Bank and would succeed Donald Kaberuka of Rwanda. Adesina assumes duty on September 1, 2015 in Abidjan. “Today, I have been given a great responsibility,” Akinwumi A. Adesina said upon his election as the 8th President of the African Development Bank Group. The President-Elect said he was “humbled by this remarkable vote of confidence in me” on the part of the Bank’s Board of Governors, who met during the Bank Group’s 50th Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. His…
The Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources will host the inaugural “Digging Deeper” consultative forum at the annual Botswana Resource Sector Conference 2015, which will taking place on the 9th and 10th June 2015 at the Walmont Hotel, Gaborone. Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources Kitso Mokaila will open the conference at 0900 on Tuesday 9th. A full agenda will see presentations from a significant proportion of the leading resource sector companies in Botswana. In a significant development, this year sees the launch of the inaugural “Digging Deeper” consultative forum highlighting the Botswana Government’s willingness to engage with…