Today's top stories from Computerworld West Africa...

Telecos, Sierra Leone gov't discuss royalty payments
A Tuesday meeting at the Sierra Leone Ministry of Information and Communication addressed the royalties paid by GSM operators for the construction of facilities in the provinces.

Microsoft, groups discuss using IT to aid Africa
Microsoft has launched a second pilot initiative of the African nongovernment organization (NGO) ICT4D Academy in Nairobi, intended to help foster greater ICT adoption.

Online forum partners with NGO to draw focus on Sierra Leone
An online discussion forum, MyAfricanDiaspora.com, announced Monday that it is partnering with the ZCD Foundation, a nonprofit nongovernmental organization, to help bring international focus to the issues affecting post-conflict Sierra Leone.

Former Zain CEO gets new appointment in Ghana
Ghana Telecommunications Company has appointed former Zain Zambia CEO David Venn as the company's new CEO to advance its expansion program and bring about new innovation.

Money transfers, NFC to account for half of mobile payments
Mobile money transfer and contactless NFC (Near Field Communications) will account for 50 percent of the global mobile payment market by 2013, according to Juniper Research's Mobile Payments Study.