Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti The Managing Director for Logicode Mrs Helen Timm advices corporates to take advantage of a new and state of the art Document Management System to manage their documents electronically and improve the effectiveness of their businesses. Speaking during the launch of the effective Document Management in Harare recently, Timm urged corporates to embrace the Logicode Document Management Solution as it incorporates OMNIDOCS and OMNI SCAN. “This (OMNIDOCS) is an Enterprise Document Management platform for creating, capturing, delivering and archiving large volumes of documents and contents. It also integrates seamlessly with other enterprise applications,” she said. OMNIDOCS allows for easier handling of Scanned Document Images, Emails and Electronic Data Output from other applications with efficiency. It seamlessly collaborates, communicates and shares knowledge across and beyond the Enterprise. Timm also said, “With capabilities to efficiently handle enterp...

Lazarus Sauti According to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Planning and Coordinating Agency, the technical arm of the African Union Commission, Africa has a great opportunity to overcome its food and energy challenges, improve health conditions and boost economic growth in the coming decades only if the objectives of the United Nations declaration of 2012 as the Year of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4A) are achieved. NEPAD further states that available statistics show that the continent is the most prone to food shortages which devastate millions of people yearly. With a population of 800 million, which is expected to reach 1.2 billion in 2050, lifting the African population out of poverty by achieving food security and well-being will not be fulfilled without energy security. “Although Sub-Saharan Africa encompasses only 12 percent of the world’s population, 60 percent of Africans do not have access to electricity and clean cooking facilities,” Dr....

Lazarus Sauti   The Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Ertharin Cousin, says food security and nutrition are vital for Zimbabwe’s development.   Cousin said this after meeting Zimbabwe’s leaders to discuss food insecurity in the country.   “Food security and nutrition are vital for Zimbabwe’s development but some people in the country are having problems meeting food needs,” said Cousin.   Since most people especially in rural areas are having problems meeting food needs, Cousin urged both the government and the international community to ensure the most vulnerable continue to be assisted, and to provide means for communities to build resilience.   “We are extremely grateful to those donor governments who have already given their support but needs are great.   “We know donors have to make tough decisions with so many simultaneous humanitarian emergencies in the world but we also ask that the less visib...

Lazarus Sauti With the advent of mobile technology devices and the growth of social media platforms such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs, many youths have access not only to consume media more easily and quickly but also to make media and share it. This means young people in Africa must utilise social media platforms to boost business operations and transform lives. More so, African youths must take advantage of many opportunities presented by social media platforms and use them as avenues to network with others. A Social Media Marketing Industry Report, 2013 states that opportunities and benefits of social media marketing take in: increased exposure; increased traffic; provided marketplace insight; developed loyal supporters; generated leads; improved search rankings; reduced marketing expenses; improved sales; and grown business partnerships. Because of this, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, Francis Nhema, belie...

Lazarus Sauti Countries that invest in scientific research and scholarly publishing are above others in terms of socio-economic development because scientific research is vital in transforming economies. Ezra Ondari-Okemwa, a specialist in Information Sciences, thus, believes that scholarly publishing - the free flow of ideas and information ‑ is vital to the process of scientific inquiry or research. “The free flow of ideas and information is vital to the process of scientific inquiry and in turn to the ability to address economic, environmental and social development issues both in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and globally,” he says. Ondari-Okemwa adds that scholarly publishing, the norm for disseminating and validating research results, enables research findings of scholars to cross international boundaries to provide strong, positive connections between individual scholars, institutions and nations. “Such exchanges contribute to the expansion of the global knowl...

Lazarus Sauti Joblessness is simply the state of not having a job and it occurs when people are without work and actively seeking for one. It is also is one of the most serious problems facing the country today and it is highly caused by many factors chiefly the defective education system. The educational systems in Zimbabwe, for example, do not correspond directly to the economic realities prevailing outside the education system. Instead of training professionals with skills, theory instead of practical is the order of the day. Thus, the education system is only producing individual whose services do not reflect the economic trends on the job market. Furthermore, joblessness in Zimbabwe is fueled by the lack of vocational guidance and training facilities. For instance, most students in rural Zimbabwe remain ignorant of possible avenues of employment and choice of occupation after finishing secondary school. It is without doubt that Zimbabwe is suffering due to jo...

Lazarus Sauti An African adage that says educating a girl means watering a neighbour’s tree is threatening gender equality in science training and other facets of life in Africa. This is so because girls face direct and indirect discrimination – mostly they are denied access to education in countries within and across Africa. For instance, Zimbabwean Carol Moyo’s hopes of pursuing a BSc in Biotechnology degree were shattered after her parents said they could not afford her university fees. She was keen to further her education but her father decided to pay school fees for her brother, who is reading for a Diploma in Journalism. Carol’s predicament symbolises challenges faced by many girls in Africa. Those lucky few are also facing challenges in securing places to pursue programmes of their dreams, especially in the science faculty. Phyllis Mabvuku applied for a Degree in Chemical Engineering with a Zambian elite university. Instead of being offered her degree o...

Lazarus Sauti According to Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion, 34 percent higher than today’s population, by 2050. This means more food will be needed to feed this ballooning population. As the world is struggling to feed its citizens, more needs to be done. African countries, since they are most affected, need to move away from traditional ways of farming and embrace modern technologies to solve food insecurity. This is because modern technologies such as geographical information systems, a technological tool for comprehending geography and making intelligent decisions, can help African countries address the data deficit and enable them to accurately identify the scale and type of intervention that will be most appropriate and ensure the most efficient use of humanitarian resources. According to Geographical Information System software technology firm Esri, the ability of GIS to analyse and visua...

Lazarus Sauti The livestock sector’s contribution to Africa’s economic growth and sustained development remains to be fully exploited. Inability to comply with international sanitary and phito-sanitary standard requirements have made it challenging for some African countries to also be a net exporter of many live animals and livestock products internationally. Increased demands for livestock products resulting from rapidly growing economies, population growth and changing patterns of food consumption are creating opportunities to reduce poverty through livestock production and marketing. It is estimated that livestock production and marketing are currently essential to the livelihoods of more than one billion poor people in Africa and Asia: one-seventh of humanity. The Director General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency in Nigeria, Professor Solomon Bamidele, is of the view that the livestock sub sector is a critical component of Africa’s agriculture. ...

Lazarus Sauti Gender based violence (physical, emotional or psychological violence carried out against a person because of that person’s gender) is an insult to human dignity and to the basic human rights of women. This is according to a Southern Africa HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service (SAFAIDS) Policy Brief. The same policy brief document states that gender based violence is generally male on female and it maybe be vice versa. “While gender based violence is generally male on female, it may also be female on male,” noted SAFAIDS, adding, “The adverse consequences of gender based violence extend to family, community and even to national, social and economic development.” Sadly, one Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) study in Africa highlighted that at least 60 percent of women have experienced physical and sexual violence from their most recent spouse or live-in partner. This shows that spousal violence is the leading form of gen...

Lazarus Sauti Talented Zimbabwe national cricket spin bowler Prosper Utseya believes that black magic, popularly known as juju in sporting circles, will never work and give yield, urging fellow cricketers to put faith in God if they are to prosper as individuals and as a team. In an interview, Utseya urged fellow cricketers to desist from using juju to get places in the first team and assuming that they can win matches using black magic, but said only God will elevate the players if they use their talents wisely and faithfully. “Those who do not have faith in God and use juju believe it works. Those who do not, believe it does not,” he said. Though the team has dark days encapsulated by financial constraints and a mediocre talent, the 28-year old sportsman believes that the squad should possess the faith as of a small mustard seed if they are to turn their stumbling blocks into stepping stones. For Utseya, faith is the bird that sings before dawn, and without it, the...