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...

Lazarus Sauti Horrific accidents make headlines with alarming frequency in Zimbabwe. In early March this year, 31 people perished after a Pfochez Yutong Bus burst its front right tyre before side-swiping with a Mercedes Benz Sprinter commuter omnibus at the 232km peg along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway. The horror crash was declared a national disaster. Another dreadful accident that occurred on April 15 and also proclaimed a national disaster killed 12 people whilst 45 were injured when an MB Transport bus they were travelling in collided head on with a haulage truck 45km outside Beitbridge town. These accidents unravel the tragedy and show that Zimbabwe’s roads are fast becoming death snares. Further, statistics released by the police early this year, indicate that Zimbabwe’s roads have become death traps with an average of 2 000 people dying each year on the roads. “Every year since 2006, road accident fatalities have increased from a total of 1 037 deaths...

Lazarus Sauti Most Zimbabweans are now ‘food insecure’ – lacking access to enough food to lead healthy lives – as a result of an extraordinary drought aggravated by the El Nino event that began last year. Thanks to El Nino, a recurring Pacific Ocean warming phenomenon that upsets global weather patterns, the country experienced reduced rainfall in 2015. This drought, coming on the back of poor growing seasons in 2014/5 in many places and described by the Ministry of Agriculture as the worst since 1991 – 1992, has been disastrous for farmers. “ I am very much scared. The situation here in Buhera is bad as most of our crops are wilting,” said Naume Muchenge (30), a small-scale farmer. Learnmore Mapfumo (40), another small-scale farmer from Chivhu, concurs. “All hope is lost because of this drought. With no rain, we cannot expect any harvest,” he said. Crops planted in November in most parts of the country are wilting fast, while some planted in late December ...

Lazarus Sauti Zimbabwe, like most southern African States, is in a food crisis and hundreds of families, mostly in rural areas, hardly have food to eat while some are surviving on one meal a day. With the El Nino induced drought that ravaged the country since last year, up to 2,4 million people in the country are food insecure, according to figures released by the government in February this year. Sadly, the delicate food crisis in Zimbabwe and other southern African States, largely attributed to climatic shocks and stress, has greatly compromised the nutrition of citizens, particularly rural dwellers, and this is being manifested through high malnutrition and stunting levels. Children in most Southern African Development Community (Sadc) countries, according to Sadc Food and Nutrition Security Strategy (2015 – 2025), are facing a serious challenge of malnutrition with the proportion of undernourished population ranging from 5 to 47 percent. “Child stunting, under-...

Lazarus Sauti In Zimbabwe, just like many of the world’s poorest countries, cancer, HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) are among the top causes of death. However, there is another cause wielding an even greater toll on citizens: road traffic injuries and traffic- related air pollution. Sadly, this crisis is not getting the attention it deserves and the insufficient attention paid to road safety is being paid in terms of lives lost as well as long-term injuries. “Cancer and the deadly triad of HIV and Aids, malaria and TB, are visible in national, regional and international debates unlike road traffic injuries and traffic-related air pollution. “Sadly, these two are ravaging Zimbabweans,” said Allowance Sango of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development. Sango, who is also the Traffic and Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) board member, added that the problem is not only in Zimbabwe, but the world over. “The problem is not only in Zim...