- Authorities in Guinea have authorised three private radio stations to operate in the country, ostensibly ending a government monopoly on the broadcast media.
It was unclear when Radio Liberty FM, Radio Soleil and Radio Nostalgie might begin to broadcast; they have not yet been assigned frequencies.
Also approved to run on an FM frequency was Radio France Internationale (RFI).
“We are convinced that pluralising the airwaves will remove us from the disinformation, misinformation and marginalisation in our society,” said Information Minister Boubacar Sylla. Official approval for the new broadcasters was granted on Monday.
International donors say Guinea must take steps toward democratic reform, such as expanding press freedom, for continued financial aid.
“We have made a commitment to the people of this country and in that process we are prepared to endure all of the negative issues that will crop up,” said Abdoulaye Kouyate of Radio Liberty.
Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) says every year journalists in Guinea are beaten or detained. Despite this, RSF says, Guinea’s print media have endured.
“The satirical press, battered, threatened and attacked, has become very powerful, even though, when the police are sent out on shabby crackdown operations, they don’t make any exceptions,” RSF said in its 2006 annual report.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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