Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti Violence against women and girls is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world. It knows no social, economic or national boundaries. This is the reason why worldwide, an estimated one in three women will experience physical or sexual abuse in her lifetime. Violence against women, particularly gender-based violence undermines the health, dignity, security as well as autonomy of victims, yet it remains shrouded in a culture of silence. Survivors of violence, sadly, can suffer sexual and reproductive health consequences, including unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and may contract sexually transmitted infections. Furthermore, gender based violence leaves survivors with long-term psychological trauma. One question that demands answers is therefore, “Of these women, who is at higher risk of being abused?” All women are at the risk of being abused but some situations make other women more vulnerable than others. Women in polygamous marriag...

Lazarus Sauti, Own Correspondent Chivi – A few months ago, Mary Mangoma from Chivi District in Masvingo Province faced a serious water problem as she had little access to potable water as well as proper sanitation. Every morning, she was forced to travel at least three kilometres to the nearest water source, a small unprotected water pond that also provided water for more than 40 homesteads. The journey to the water source took almost three hours and sometimes, she did it twice a day. To make matters worse, water from that pond was dirty and unsafe. To Mangoma and other villagers in Chivi, the lack of safe water was not the only major problem as the sanitation challenge was even more striking. Most people were forced to practice open defecation. But thanks to a four-year project code-named Chivi, Sanitation and Hygiene Project (Chiwash) funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the International Federation for Red Cross in partnership with Zimbabwe Red ...

Lazarus Sauti A report to be released next month by the Zimbabwe National Network of People living with HIV and Aids (ZNNP+) has shown that stigmatisation of people infected with the virus is still prevalent in the country, at above 65 percent. Speaking at a Zimbabwe HIV, TB and human rights training and advocacy meeting for community health volunteers in Masvingo recently, ZNNP+ communications and advocacy officer, Edmore Mutimodyo, said discrimination is prevalent at workplaces, in families as well as other social spaces. “HIV-related stigma and discrimination has reached above 65 percent levels as experienced by people living with HIV late last year and the forms of stigma range from exclusion from social gatherings, discrimination by partners, exclusion from family activities, dismissal or suspension from work or educational institutions and exclusion from religious activities or places of worship,” he said. SafAids country training, advocacy and programmes co-ordi...

Lazarus Sauti Tourism ministers from the Southern African Development Community say tourism growth relies on the development of appropriate infrastructure, which services the needs of a tourist and encourages investment in the sector. Together with other analysts, they believe if countries in Southern Africa want to continue to grow tourism, infrastructure is one area that needs urgent attention. Speaking during this year’s Sanganai/Hlanganani World Tourism Expo’s round table discussions held under the theme, “Tourism: Africa’s sleeping giant – Towards a double digit market share by 2020”, Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Engineer Walter Mzembi said SADC needs to invest in infrastructure and collectively tap into the tourism market share currently being enjoyed by other regions. “Tourist arrivals into Africa have immensely grown since 1950 from 25 million to 1.8 billion travellers. “If we are to tap into this figure, we need to address visa regimes and...

Lazarus Sauti WHILE women remain critical for the growth of any nation through agricultural production they continue to face challenges that disincentives their participation. In Zimbabwe, women constitute 52 percent of the total population and 80 percent of these women live in the rural areas. They are largely responsible for producing and processing food and provide 70-80 percent of agriculture labour in the country, but are also unrecognised. Apolonia Chonyera, an official for Wadzanai Community Development Trust says most communities in the country are denying women the right to own land. “Despite the fact that women are the major sources of labour on the land, they, whether married or not, do not own land,” she said, adding that “land ownership is in the name of the man, who in most cases does not work to make it productive,” said Chonyera. Chipo Gota, a woman farmer from Sirewu Village in Murewa while speaking during an Alternative Business Alliance dialogue ...

Lazarus Sauti The big thing is that you know what you want. This quote by Earl Nightingale, who was a respected American radio personality, writer, speaker and author, is pushing upcoming artists, Andy Muridzo, to be the next big thing in Zimbabwean music circles. With eight singles and an eight track album titled ‘ Pakubuda Kwezuva’ released early this year under his belt, Muridzo is already making shockwaves in the music industry. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be. I am destined to be the next big thing in Zimbabwean music circles and I am working towards that goal,” he told The Southern Times. Muridzo also believes that he is an advisor since his music carries social commentary. “Everyone in life has a purpose. As an advisor is social circles, my purpose in life is to use my music to explore various issues affecting society today. “For instance, in my latest single featuring Jairos Chabvonga titled “ Ngaituruke ”, I...

Lazarus Sauti Director of Transport Management Division in Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Allowance Sango, says lack of investment in sustainable infrastructure is a frustrating feature of business in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), holding the region back. “There is a huge demand for infrastructure in SADC countries. Sadly, financial challenges are stalling infrastructure projects. Most governments in the region do not have adequate financial resources to invest in sustainable infrastructure. To make matters worse, money coming from donors and governments is not sufficient,” he said. Sango added that member-states in the regional grouping need to close infrastructure gaps to facilitate increased intraregional and international trade, reduce the cost of doing business, become more competitive within itself and in the global economy, unlock quality growth for the bloc as well as to act as a catalyst to Africa’s economic ...