Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti ACCESS to information and the freedom of expression are key pillars of democracy – a cornerstone to economic growth, and the internet, without doubt, plays a crucial role in propagating these digital rights. The open nature of the internet is a driving force of sustainable economic development, says the United Nations Human Rights Council, in its June 2016 non-binding resolution titled, ‘ The Promotion, Protection and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the Internet ’. The resolution affirms the significance of applying a comprehensive human rights-based approach in providing and expanding access to the internet. It also calls upon all states to formulate and adopt national internet-related public policies that have the objective of universal access as well as enjoyment of human rights at their core. High costs of mobile data in Zimbabwe and other southern African countries, conversely, are a barrier to internet usage. According to data from Research ICT...

Lazarus Sauti The world today is entangled in technology – an integral part of our existence. Without cellphones, for instance, people seem to gasp for air, struggling like a Tiger fish out of Lake Kariba. The fact that 96 percent of Zimbabweans have cellphone services, according to a report by Afrobarometer, a pan-African and non-partisan research network, vindicates the notion that cellphones have slowly morphed into our personal and public domains. However, the handiness cellphones offer must be judged against the dangers they create as their use contributes to the problem of inattentive driving, adding to the already costly problem of road injuries and deaths , a fact supported by a recent road-safety study by insurance company Allianz, which reveals that cellphone distractions double the risk of an accident. “Distractions while driving are one of the central causes of accidents on the road, and it is getting worse with the increased use of smartphones and other el...

Lazarus Sauti Opening the National Dialogue for a consumer driven renewable energy policy hosted by Ruzivo Trust at Holiday Inn, Harare on 15 September 2016, Partson Mbiriri, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development , said 60 percent of households in Zimbabwe do not have access to electricity. Sadly, he added that this energy poverty in the country affects women and children more than men. Speaking during the same event, Dr Sosten Ziuku of the Ministry of Energy and Power Development said women and children spend more hours’ per week collecting firewood. “ Girls are also missing school hours as they fetch for firewood due to the patriarchal nature of our society ,” he said. Selma Machacha from Masvingo said village police ( mapurisa asabhuku ), for instance, are arresting women who are cutting down trees. As such, women and girls are forced to fetch firewood during the night, putting their lives at risk. “ We often make these trips alone, putting o...