Safari Notes

As it is, very few Africans blog and make their voices heard. For Africans who take up blogging, very, very few, if any, write about wildlife and the environment. Africa, with the largest, most diverse, most wonderful and most spectacular population of wildlife, has a people who are least interested in it. Be it in: its oceans, its islands, its plains, its jungles - Africa is abundant with wildlife. Plants and animals. Of many species, of many shapes and of many sizes. One can not talk of wildlife, without thinking of the environment. The environment that all wildlife lives in and depends on. And so do we mankind. All living creatures, all life forms are very dependent on the environment they live in. So why don't African bloggers write about these most important of issues: wildlife and the environment?

Africa Internet Penetration - 2012 With about half of its people living below the poverty line; with wars, conflicts, poor infrastructure and poor institutions; and unreliable electricity supply in most urban areas or none at all for most of its people - most people in Africa have no time for thinking of the Internet let alone use it. Still, it is in Africa that the Internet is growing fastest.

Despite its many problems, Rwanda's visionary leaders have set forth an ambitious plan to establish Rwanda as a globally competitive, knowledge-based society and economy; this has resulted in the rapid expansion of phone and Internet subscribers and users. For a country that went through one of the worst horrors Africa and the world has ever known , this has not been easy. Rwanda, one of the first countries in Africa to gain full Internet connectivity, has ten licensed Internet Service Providers and 754,156 Internet subscribers as of June 2012 (according to the Rwanda Utlities Regulatory Agency ) - which is about 6.5% of its population of about twelve million people. The number of people using Internet, as in other East African countries - is growing rapidly in the country. And so is social-networking. Some of its leaders are regularly and comfortably using Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

Of its almost forty eight million citizens, about five million or about 11% of Tanzanians use the Internet and it ranks 7th in Internet usage in Africa - according to Internet World Atlas . Of these few who have Internet access, many use social media; of these, are those out of the country. A few, are blogging. With Tanzanian's superb and refined commandment of Kiswahili, most of these active blogs are in this country's national and official language. Tanzanian blogs are vibrant, too colorful and most are focused on the entertainment industry - music in particular; very few are serious and well styled.

According to Internet World Atlas , as of 2012 second-quarter, of the top ten African countries, as of population percentage, Uganda is ranked ninth in Internet usage. And as in Kenya , that number is rising fast. Considering its recent history, the many conflicts it has had and how unstable the country has been - this is an encouraging achievement. Ugandans too, as are Kenyans - are very much active in social networks. Of blogging, there are very few blogs that discuss Uganda. The problem with most Ugandan bloggers, they start one, and after a short while give up. Of the very few active ones, very few are serious or deserving of praise. Of these, most are managed by non-Ugandans living in Uganda or interested in the country; or managed by Ugandans living abroad.

In Africa, Kenya has one of the highest number of people having access to the Internet. It ranks third in the Continent on Internet usage. And the number is rising fast. Almost one-quarter of the population have access to the Internet now. According to the Communications Commission of Kenya : As at 30th June 2012, there were 7.7million Internet subscriptions up from 6.4 million subscriptions recorded in the previous quarter. This represents an increase of 19.2 percent during the quarter under review. Annual subscription rose by 81.7 percent in the FY 2011/12 recorded at 7.7million from 4.2 million subscriptions posted in the FY 2010/11. The mobile data/Internet subscriptions category contributed 98.9 percent of the total subscriptions .

Virtual Kenya In particular - for students and educators, Virtual Kenya is a gift and a must. All you need is a good Internet connection and off you start. For those who need to know more on Kenya, few tools are as good and as easily accessible as this. The faster the Internet connection the more you will find the site useful and the more you will get from it. Virtual Kenya is an online interactive platform, with related materials (in DVD) for those with no access to the Internet. It is designed to provide improved access to high quality spatial data and cutting-edge mapping technology to allow more Kenyans to use and interact with spatial data in their educational and professional pursuits . With the help of the best and the most efficient mapping engine and resource on earth, Google Earth , Virtual Kenya has a vast amount of information and learning resources: virtual tours, maps, images; download or upload data and much more. Better still, join Virtual Kenya's online ...

Africa Coral Reefs It is not only the Great Barrier Reef that is in danger of disappearing. Found mainly along eastern and southern Africa, stretching from the Red Sea to Madagascar to South Africa - Africa's coral reefs are no better off. The threats are many: climate change is one   - which cause rising sea temperatures and cyclones which are destructive to reefs. Bleaching (when either the algae inside die, or the algae leave the coral) and toxic pollution from industrial waste and other human activities, such as uncontrolled fishing, mining, shipping and tourism, are other factors that are causing the destruction of the reefs. The ongoing oil and gas exploration and drilling along eastern Africa, is another major cause for the reefs being more threatened.

Near Jebel Kujur, on the outskirts of Juba is South Sudan's most efficient and most advanced factory. The mass production of beer, is what the Southern Sudanese manufacturing sector has started with in a big way: On the outskirts of Juba proper is a brewery. "That's too far," said the motorcycle taxi, before charging me double to get there. He knew where it was, of course; everyone knows where the beer is made. As we drive, the new concrete roads of the city become rough dirt tracks, and the cheap single-story constructions turn into iron shacks and straw huts. And then, like some incongruous science fiction fantasy, it looms ahead of us: a giant warehouse of pipes and vats and bottling lines; a fully mechanized, fully modern beer factory in a country that makes almost nothing else of its own....... The Guardian The last thing South Sudan needs is beer. It urgently needs proper, working infrastructure and institutions. Many, if not most Southern Sudanese take t...

Ramah Nyang On Africa, few business news presenters are as persuasive and as absorbing to watch as CCTV Africa Live's Ramah Nyang. In fact, of all Africa Live's presenters and correspondents, he is the most articulate, with the best speech delivery and with the clearest presentation. And is the real unsung star of Africa Live. Business news can be very boring, but Nyang makes it interesting and informative. He does a great job in delivering commercial news and makes one watch. As young as he is, if he continues for long in the field of business news, Ramah Nyang - with his distinct style, with time and experience - will go far and undoubtedly rise and could be as dynamic and as internationally known and commanding as CNN's Richard Quest (the present real shining star of CNN) and the BBC's Aaron Heslehurst.

Obama son of Ja Kogelo Four years ago, when most thought that an African-American could never be allowed to be president of America, he did it. And, now, after the longest, most expensive and most bitter election in US history, Barack Hussein Obama has again, overwhelmingly, been allowed to continue residing in the White House. Against all odds: being raised by a single mother in different countries, loosing his mother and being raised by a grandmother and most of his life being surrounded by women; and having a Muslim background and a name such as he has, he has done it! The lesson learnt here is that nothing is impossible. If one is determined, if one is focused, if one is positive and if one works hard, one can achieve any thing. Especially in America. But not in Africa . Africa which is shackled in tribalism, nepotism, cronyism and favoritism. Africa which is being kept down and undeveloped by corruption, conflicts, wars and diseases. The only way one can...