Although this is an online group, there is still a need to facilitate and apply common group process skills that we would use in face-to face settings.

the CSOs however note with great concern that this gesture by the government may be jeopardized by the nature in which the NGC was appointed, its representations and attached conditions. I note that the whole process of appointing the National governing council was shrouded in secrecy contrary to the APRM Guidelines.  The following are some of the issues that need attention

The question I am asking myself is who is the right person to lead us and where are we going to start from picking up the pieces when looking for a leader.

Let our tears and anguish fuel a new resolve that we can, and will overcome our challenges over the fight for a new constitution, recover our plundered resources and continue to put pressure on those who were charged with corruption in the past and the present.

The appointed NGC is dominated by Government and its machinery. For instance, the appointed chairperson Mr. Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika is heading a quasi-government institution as well a member of the ruling MMD. He also chaired the National APRM Brainstorming Session. It is not clear what criteria were used by the Ministry to appoint him.

Citizen journalism is a powerful tool that citizens could use to actively participate in the development of their country. I was privileged to have undergone training in citizen journalism. For me it was a wonderful experience because what I learnt from that training I have been able to use to compile stories for my organisation

 having been in the media  for a long time it was refreshing to  under go some training in citizen journalism. i have lerant alot like podcasting, RSS feed among others

Way back during the apartheid years, when I was in international company, I hated having to admit to being a South African. During the transition to democracy that changed and for a time, I felt proud of my country. Lately, I'm starting to get that uncomfortable ashamed feeling again when I travel. Yesterday I hit a particularly low point.

I have been reading the text of a remarkable court judgment delivered by judge MP Tsoka, of the High Court of South Africa, at the end of April this year. It is an incredible document, and amid all the bad news coming our way lately, gives me some hope and encouragement. The judgment concerns a case brought by residents of the township of Phiri in Johannesburg, asking the court to declare unlawful, the installation of pre-paid water meters in their properties.

On Youth Day, June 16th, Julius Malema, the leader of the ANC Youth League, said at public rally that the youth were prepared to kill for Jacob Zuma. A few days later, Zwelinzima Vavi, the head of the giant trade union federation, Cosatu, said the organisation's members would be willing to sacrifice their lives for Zuma. Despite the outcry that has followed these remarks, I remain deeply, deeply disturbed.

On Monday I attended a seminar on information for social change -- looking at the role of new technologies in the publishing arena. The presentations and discussions were exciting and sobering at the same time. There are some exciting possibilities arising from new developments  in the use of the Internet -- and of cell phones. But it is clear that there are still many barriers in the way in Africa, including high communications costs, slow bandwidth, and lack of widespread access to technology.

As Zimbabwe gears up for the presidential runoff on June 27 2008, cases of political violence have been increasing, particularly against members of the opposition party, the MDC. The MDC's president, Morgan Tsvangirai, has also been prevented from holding campaign rallies by the police force. The question that remains is whether the presidential runoff is going to be free and fair, given the already uneven ground for preparation.

It's a long weekend in South Africa, and the annual Cape Town book fair is on again. I attended two very interesting sessions, one on Saturday and one today (Monday). Today's session was a full day, looking at information for social change, and the possibilities and constraints of new technology. I'll write more about that in a couple of days. What I want to write about now is Saturday's session -- a panel discussion on social grants, and whether they are causing dependency.

One of the problems facing a number of African cities is traffic congestion. As economies develop and grow, the amount of traffic just keeps on increasing. There is also an ongoing trend of urbanisation, where people migrate to the cities from the countryside, thus adding to the problem. And our cities, laid out and planned decades ago, just aren't coping.

If we are serious about economic development in Africa, we need to do as much as we can to boost intra-African trade. Look at the trade data for almost any African country, and I bet you'll find that their major trading partner is either in north America, or Europe. Trade with other African countries usually comes way down the list. But if we want to see our economies really take off, we need to start trading with one another. And in order for that to happen, there are two things we really need to get right: communications and transport.

On Wednesday (28th May), I paid a visit to Mary Tal, who heads up Whole World Women Association, an organisation based in Cape Town, dealing with the concerns of refugees and migrants -- and women in particular. Whole World Women is a participant in the Citizen Journalism in Africa project. When I meet Mary, she looks tired. She has been very involved in the recent xenophobic crisis in South Africa.

It's a strange and terrible time in South Africa. The xenophobic attacks, which started in Gauteng province (Johannesburg, Pretoria and surrounds), have now spread across the country. It's horrific. Tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes -- again. Several killed, many injured.

I have just finished reading The Uncertainty of Hope, by Valerie Tagwira. It is a novel set in the Harare area of Mbare, during the time of Operation Murambatsvina. The novel reminded me why fiction is so important. It's important for lots of reasons, but one of them is that it teaches us, by helping us imagine -- other people, other lives, other circumstances.

Yesterday I woke up, went outside to pick up my newspaper, and was confronted by a picture of a man burning to death, set alight by a mob who laughed as the flames engulfed him. We have been seeing images like this for days now, as South Africans in several poor residential areas, as well as the Johannesburg city centre, have been attacking foreigners.

I am becoming disillusioned with democracy. Elected leaders, all around the world, seem to be getting worse and worse. In London they've just elected Boris Johnson, a bigoted buffoon, as mayor. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi was recently re-elected as prime minister. This is a man who is notoriously corrupt, and who in his previous terms in power ran the government like his private business empire.

I was quite disturbed to read two opinion pieces in the SA Sunday papers, on Zimbabwe, where the authors were basically defending Mugabe. The thing is, these writers have some valid points to make - but they go on to draw unjustifiable conclusions.

It goes like this: Snuki Zikalala is known as an Mbeki man, and he was suspended by Mpofu, who perhaps used to be an Mbeki man but is now apparently in the Zuma camp. Mpofu was then suspended by the Board, which is believed to be loaded with Mbeki supporters, and the board has been censured by the Parliamentary committee, which is full of Zuma's people.It's all rather like one of the SABC's own soap operas -- but any script-writer who wrote this plot would be told to change it -- it's too far fetched to be believed.

As we speak people are being beaten using chains and burnt with plastic. War veterans shamelessly drip melting plastic on their victims. Homes are burnt down with children and women - the whole family - inside

You may not have noticed, as it has not been high on the media radar, but there's an important process underway across the continent, that has huge potential to reduce poverty and transform the lives of millions of Africans. The first step in this process took place in Kampala this week.

As I think I've complained before, the mainstream media's coverage of Africa often leaves much to be desired in my view. Here in SA, aside from Zimbabwe, there's not much news at all from north of the Limpopo. One of the benefits of the Internet though, is that one can access a range of publications from various countries, to get a sense of what the local news is in these places.

As we deal with electricity problems, high food prices and climate change, many of us are hoping that life will return to normal as soon as possible. But I have a feeling we haven't fully realised how radically our world is changing, thanks to current developments. In a few years, 'normal' is likely to be something completely different from what we're used to now.

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) is conducting a two-week discussion on the role of ICTs in reducing poverty. The theme of the discussion is 'ICTs: Is your wealth a click away'. The questions so far are: - ICTs are seen as tools for social economic development. But, is this more of a theory than reality? How is ICT being used to reduce poverty? What more can be done?

Now I'm not one of those people who believes journalists should start closing their eyes and years to all the bad and depressing stuff that's happening, and bring us only happy thoughts. But I do think that we need to remember that it's not all gloom and doom. There is good news out there -- and often there's something inspiring or encouraging to be found even within supposedly bad news. Two recent events have made me feel proud and encouraged.

Nothing illustrates the state of inequality in the world, like the global food problems. In the West, obesity is a problem, and overweight people complain the suffer from discrimination. On the hand the French parliament will soon pass a law making it a crime to promote excessive thinness. But in developing nations, few have any choice. Increasing numbers of people can't afford food at all.

When is a crisis not a crisis? The SADC heads of state were locked in discussions until 3am on Saturday morning. No, not hashing out the details of a high-level delegation to Zimbabwe, or possible measures to be taken against Robert Mugabe and his cronies, but debating whether the use of the word 'crisis', was appropriate.

One good way to reach out to many of your members and partners in one go is through the use of SMS. One of the value add for CJA partners is the SMS Bulktool that enables one handle the sending of messages to many people quite easy.

Will Web 2.0 give birth to a new form of journalism? The case for citizen journalism....

I'm in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Yesterday one of the Tanzanians attending the Citizen Journalism in Africa workshop mentioned that the prime minister and some ministers had recently resigned as result of a corruption scandal. I decided I had to check this out, so did a Google search.

Yes, there it is.

A couple of days ago on my car radio I caught the last few minutes of an interview with Heidi Holland, the author of Dinner with Mugabe, the latest biography of mad bad Bob.

I’m in two minds this week. Posting something completely unrelated to the most compelling and important events unfolding in our region for the past few years, would just feel irrelevant and out of touch. At this time, how can I write about anything but Zimbabwe? But on the other hand, how can I write about Zimbabwe? I’m no Zimbabwe expert. I don’t live there, never have, and have only visited once.

As I write this, I am watching a BBC news bulletin on the latest in the Zimbabwean elections. How strange to see the BBC correspondent anchoring this segment ‘live from Johannesburg’. As the reporters and analysts talk of concern over the delayed release of results, and wonder if this means the results are being rigged, the BBC’s own logistics speak volumes about the conditions under which these elections were run.

Thousands of residents of some western suburbs have thronged the streets to celebrate the winning of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) victory in the city.

I recall being in Nairobi airport about three years ago, browsing through a bookstore as I waited for my flight. A man came in and asked the shop attendant for a book about Kenya. The attendant pointed out a whole row of books on a shelf. The man waved his arm in dismissal. “No, he said, these are all written by whites. Don’t you have anything else?”

Photo-journalism poses ethical problems, given that we can so easily violate another's privacy or have an unpredicted impact on a subject's life -- good or bad.

My left shoe pressed the self-destruct button last Thursday. It gave up whilst I was walking to work gaping much like the hungry villager I saw in rural Lupane waiting for food assistance. There wasn't much point in my turning back because the other two pairs in my malfunctioning wardprobe were in much the same state or worse. So was it with the villager, who could not go back home empty handed.

The decline of mainstream journalism

A Textual Blog
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WOUGNET in collaboration with Womensnet, South Africa and APC-Africa-Women (AAW

An article from HANA piqued my interest. Its about a new range of handsets Nokia is planning to introduce, particularly to Africa and the Middle East. What do others know about these, if anything? I see they are intended primarily for a "business" audience.

South Africa has one of the most liberal constitution and media laws but journalists are persecuted for reporting on government officials.

The theme for 2007 was quality and professionalism in journalism and the media.

In Uganda the Baganda tribe have a saying that goes "Okutamubula kulaba okudda Kunyumya". Literally meaning: "when we travel we see and on return we converse".