Lazarus Sauti

Lazarus Sauti Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes. The disease is so deadly to the extent that in 2013, the World Health Organisation estimated that malaria caused 584 000 deaths, mostly in developing nations. “Most deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from malaria,” noted the World Health Organisation (WHO) December 2014 Factsheet, adding that “young children in stable transmission areas who have not yet developed protective immunity against the most severe forms of the disease, travellers from non-endemic areas, as well as non-immune pregnant women are at great risk.” Due to socio-economic challenges haunting countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), malaria remains a threat to millions of people living in the region. For instance, the disease is the third cause of illness and mortality in Zimbabwe, according to USAI...

Lazarus Sauti Countries in the Southern African Development Community endure a heavy burden of diseases, underpinned by malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, which impacts families, impoverishes the large numbers of citizens and undermines socio-economic transformation on the region. Sadly, public health systems in the region as well as other African countries are struggling to provide effective and adequate health care to nationals. Regional and other African states, therefore, need to scale up their health systems for disease prevention and control as citizens are suffering because national health systems are in deprived shape. The World Health Organisation, a specialised agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health, agrees: “ People get sick and die in many cases because the systems for disease prevention and control are not in place or – if they are – they do not function properly. “By any measure of health system function – immunis...

Lazarus Sauti “Blacks don’t read: They Are Still Our Slaves”, is said to be an article written by a Caucasian (white man). Part of the article reads: “ We can continue to reap profits from the blacks without the effort of physical slavery. Look at the current methods of containment that they use on themselves: ignorance, greed and selfishness. “Their ignorance is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once said that the best way to hide something from black people is to put it in a book. “We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read… Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to read... By the way, don’t worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, they don’t read.”    Frankly, this article triggered this writer’s emotions and forced so many questions to pop up in his mind. Is reading culture an ...

Lazarus Sauti Overlooking the health of Africa’s soil will lock the continent into a cycle of food insecurity for generations to come, warns the 2014 Montpellier report titled “No ordinary matter: Conserving, restoring and enhancing Africa’s soils.” Published ahead of the 2015 international year of soils, the report adds that soil degradation is hindering sustainable social and economic development in the continent. “Land degradation reduces soil fertility, leading to lower crop yields and increased greenhouse gas emissions,” it observes. “ In Africa, an estimated 65 per cent of soils are degraded, and unable to nourish the crops the chronically food insecure continent requires. “Poverty, climate change, population pressures and inadequate farming techniques are leading to a continuous decline in the health of African soils, whilst the economic loss is estimated at USD 68 billion per year.” Sir Professor Gordon Conway, author of “One Billion Hungry: Can we Feed the Wor...

Lazarus Sauti Corruption, according to Indian lawyer and politician Pratibha Patil, is the enemy of development as well as of good governance. Sadly, this adversary is a problem for all countries including member states in the Southern African Development Community. According to the 20 th annual Corruption Perceptions Index, released by the Transparency International on December 3, 2014, most SADC countries scored poorly. “A poor score is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that do not respond to citizens’ needs,” notes Jose’ Ugaz, Transparency International chairperson. Angola scored 19, Botswana scored 64, Democratic Replublic of Congo scored 22, Lesotho scored 49, Malawi scored 33, Mauritius scored 54, and Mozambique scored 31 out of 100. Further, Namibia scored 49, Seychelles scored 55, South Africa scored 44, Swaziland scored 43, Tanzania scored 31, Zambia scored 38, and Zimbabwe scored 21 out of 100...

Lazarus Sauti Commenting on innovation and technology, John Stossel, an American consumer television personality, author, and libertarian pundit, once reminded humanity that “people acting in their own self-interest are the fuel for all the discovery, innovation and prosperity that powers the world”. From Stossel’s aide memoire, one can easily infer that innovation and technology are cross-cutting issues for the SADC region , and can therefore serve as a catalyst for economic transformation. Sharing same views, Abdoulaye Mar Dieye , the Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at the United Nations Development Programme, believes people-oriented innovation and technology is an essential constituent for the revolution of African economies. “Innovation is a key determinant of the ability of economies to sustain growth, and is critical to improving socio-economic conditions. Socio-economic transformation in Africa requires both adaption of exist...

Lazarus Sauti The continent of Africa is bleeding, as it is losing a lot of money annually due to illegal financial flows (IFFs) – money that is illegally earned, transferred, or utilised. IFFs suffocate development, drain hard currency reserves, heighten inflation, reduce tax collection, cancel investment, undermine trade, worsen poverty, and widen income gaps. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in its 2014 report titled “Illicit financial flows: Why Africa needs to ‘track it, stop it and get it’”, agrees that IFFs stifle Africa’s socio-economic progress by draining scarce foreign exchange resources, reducing government tax revenues, deepening corruption, aggravating foreign debt problems and impeding private sector development. “IFFs have considerable repercussions in Africa and pose multiple threats. First, they drain resources and tax revenues by eroding the much-needed tax base for public investment and social spending. They also curb domestic saving...