Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti Delivering his keynote speech recently at the Tana High-level Forum on Security in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, former United Nations (UN) secretary-general and a Nobel laureate Kofi Annan said, “Today, and despite a few egregious exceptions, armed conflict is actually a smaller risk to Africans than traffic accidents.” What a naked truth. The African region, according to the World Health Organisation’s Global Status Report on Road Safety (2015), has the highest road traffic fatality rate and almost of all road traffic deaths are among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Sadly, m ost of these accidents are caused by human errors, a fact supported by Avi Silverman, senior adviser at Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ( Fia) Foundation – an independent UK registered road safety charity. “R oad crashes are a ‘man-made epidemic’ that accounts for more than 1.2 million deaths a year, the vast majority – a 90 percent – in developing countrie...

Lazarus Sauti Zimbabweans are grappling with cash shortages and citizens are in need of a huge cash injection to escape current liquidity conditions. At this juncture, when the country desperately needs cash, the country is sadly losing US$2 billion through Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) – i llegal movements of money or capital from one country to another – a nnually, revealed the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) recently. To further complicate the lives of citizens, the amount of money leaving Zimbabwe is half the country’s 2016 National Budget which is under US$5 billion. “Depositors are failing to access their cash from banks and this problem is stimulated by IFFs and other related corruption in the country. “Because of leaks through tax evasion, bribery, corruption, lack of transparency and porousness at the country’s borders , funds that should be used to fund poverty-reducing programmes and infrastructure are leaving Zimbabwe without circulating in the country...

Lazarus Sauti Depositors from various banks in the country for the past days failed to access cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) due to a serious cash crisis. The biting catastrophe started late last year up to date. An impulsive survey by Inside Southern Africa showed that most banks in Harare, Marondera, Rusape and Mutare were not dispensing cash from Automated Teller Machines. Some banks have even suspended interconnectivity through ZimSwitch – an electronic payment platform for local banks, at their ATMs. Gideon Madzikatidze, a customer at CBZ Kwame Nkrumah, failed to access his cash despite spending much of his time at the bank. “I was here yesterday evening and I failed to access my money from the ATM. “The story is still the same today,” he said, adding that “bank officials were waiting for customers deposits to then give cash to customers.” Some banks have limited withdrawal amounts from US$3 000 to US$800 for both individuals as well a...