Interview that was featured in The New Age newspaper whereby Edzai Conilias Zvobwo, Chief Genius at MathsGenius Leadership Institute (MGLI) talks about his mathematical ambitions for Africa

1. Monday, 8 December 2014 TheNewAgeNewspaper @The_New_Age +27 76 894 2847 21 careers
You can do maths, says ‘genius’
VUSUMUZ1 SHABANGU
Edzai Zvobwo describes himself
as a mathematical genius who is
determined to change the negative
perception of mathematics on the
continent. To achieve this objec-tive,
the Johannesburg-based
mathematician authored various
books and plies his trade as a
motivational speaker to inspire
and encourage parents and kids
alike to excel in mathematics.
The New Age recently caught
up with Zvobwo to get the ins and
out of his career.
What is your job/job title?
Chief genius
How long have you been in the
job?
I have been a genius all my life
but officially became chief genius
in January this year.
What does your job entail?
I have fun travelling the world
talking about maths and inspir-ing
people to become the best they
can be in life. My main message is
that maths can be done by anyone
and the subject is not confined to
the arithmetic taught in schools
but is a way of life that capacitates
one to be a prolific problem solver
and decision maker.
When did you write your first
book?
I wrote The Mathematical Genius
in You when I was a maths teacher
at Midrand High School. It was a
motivational book to help pupils
succeed in maths.
What motivated you to write
this?
I noticed serious issues that were
hampering progress of pupils’
acquisition of mathematical skills,
so I wrote the book to inspire
my pupils and teach them how
to think like mathematicians. I
wanted to expose the utility value
of maths in their lives and to build
resilience in them that would
ensure that they soar.
Who is the target market for
the book?
I wrote it in an easy-to-read for-mat
for everyone, whether math-ematically
inclined or not. Parents
and kids alike have been giving
me positive feedback on its ease
of comprehension. I hope more
people get the book and can be
helped to become proficient prob-lem
solvers.
What else have you done?
I have written more books. They
are GirlChild Rise Up in STEM
(science, technology, engineering,
mathematics), Spreading Mathe-matical
Happiness and In Pursuit
of Mathematical Growth.
I have criss-crossed indus-tries,
that’s the beauty of being
a maths genius. I have worked as
a maths teacher, business ana-lyst,
author, game mathematician,
researcher, monitoring and evalu-ation
consultant, pricing analyst,
project associate and motivational
speaker.
What is your vision?
I am on a path to positively impact
Africa in problem solving using
mathematics as the main vehicle
for socioeconomic and political
issues that have long plagued
our mother continent. I am a firm
believer of African self-reliance
in solving her own problems and
being able to engage the West and
East as equal partners. For this
to happen we need to strengthen
our youth leadership by equipping
them with tools for good prob-lem
solving and decision making
backed by the spirit of ubuntu.
How will you achieve this?
I am knee-deep in this already as
I now have a global reach through
speaking at local and international
conferences, social media, litera-ture,
seminars and strategic part-nerships
with the governments
and the corporate world. Plans
are at an advanced stage to build
the first MathsGenius Park which
will be a one-stop shop for math-ematics
packaged as a fun park,
just call it the Jurassic Park of
mathematics.
Why are you pursuing women
empowerment in STEM?
There is enough statistical evi-dence
that women do not enjoy
the same opportunities as men
in STEM, and if they do break
into these careers their remunera-tion
is on average less than that
of men.
In my journey with MathsGe-nius
Leadership Institute we have
come to the conclusion that rural
African girls have the least prob-ability
of success thus we feel it
is a no-brainer for us to pursue
women empowerment.
Women empowerment is
the low-hanging fruit for socio-economic
development for our
continent thus we all ought to
enable this movement for our
universal good. Evidence has it
that for every R1 given in aid to a
woman, 90c is invested into the
community as opposed to 65c
by men. Women generally have
community upliftment at heart so
we need to equip them to do this
efficiently through well-defined
frameworks.
If I wanted to be a mathemati-cian,
what should be my first
step?
Not just passing high school
maths but thoroughly appreciat-ing
the beauty of maths and its
underlying principles.
What advice can you give to
young stars?
There is an acute shortage of
mathematicians in Africa and it
is paramount that the youth take
it upon themselves to take this
subject by the horns and tackle
it once and for all. It can be done,
all you need is faith, hard work
and the correct frameworks and
principles.
vusumuzis@thenewage.co.za
Teacher wrote a book to inspire his pupils to think like mathematicians and know that it’s a subject that everyone can master
motivational: Edzai Zvobwo is a mathematics guru who is determined to change the negative perception of mathematics.
Healthy employees mean healthy businesses
TNA REPORTER
THE 2014 healthy company index
shows that healthier companies
show lower absenteeism rates
and more productivity levels than
their unhealthier competitors.
Top honours went to Vital
Health Foods, Johnson Matthey
SA, and Hatch Goba in the small,
medium, and large categories at
the awards, hosted by Discovery
Vitality recently.
The official rankings and results
of the survey were revealed at the
awards where companies were
recognised for health promotion
initiatives.
“We have moved beyond the
point of defining return on invest-ment
and impact on absenteeism
and prioritising the health of our
workforce is good for business and
critical for society,” says Dr Craig
Nossel, head of Vitality Wellness.
“A trend that emerged is a
significant shift in how employee
health is viewed by companies.
There is increasing focus on
improving and managing health
and wellbeing and how this
is affecting their bottom line,”
he said.
According to Nossel, this
is due to the worsening gen-eral
state of health around
the world, in particular with
chronic lifestyle diseases.
The risks of chronic life-style
diseases play a signifi-cant
role in employee illness
and absenteeism, reduced
levels of workplace morale,
engagement and productiv-ity.
Research has shown that
these lifestyle diseases can
be mitigated through tailored
interventions to promote a
healthier diet, physical
activity and regular health
checkups.
Since people spend a great
deal of their lives at work and
work significantly impacts on
stress and lifestyle, employ-ers
have a unique opportu-nity
to positively influence
their employees’ ability to
make healthy choices and
help them to manage stress
and reduce illness.
This year, Discovery part-nered
with the University
of Cambridge and Rand
Europe, who have offered a
global perspective on corpo-rate
wellness.
Christian van Stolk of
Rand Europe said: “Suc-cessful
wellness initiatives are
those that encourage a culture of
health in the workplace and moti-vate
individuals to take control of
their own health.
“As a consequence, there is a
strong business case for compa-nies
to look at health and well-being
more closely and invest in
improving employee health.”
The index showed improve-ments
in employee health. For
example, a measurement of health
risk-related age was 5.8 years
older than the average real age
in this year’s results compared
to 6.4 years older in 2012.
“It indi-cates
that
people
are more
physically
active, are
manag-ing
stress
better,
and smoke
less,” said
Van Stolk.
The
index showed that South Africans
suffered an 11.4% loss in working
days due to suboptimal health,
which equates to 25 working days
per employee.
“When compared to the UK,
SA employers have a 2.3% higher
productivity loss rate due to
employees being unhealthier and
taking more sick days,” said Van
Stolk.
Recommendations for a health-ier
workplace include canteens
that offer healthy, affordable food
and drinks that are subsidised
where possible, having flexible
work hours to allow employees
Successful wellness
initiatives are those
that encourage a
culture of health in
the workplace and
motivate individuals
to be active before or after work
and recruiting health advocates
to champion corporate wellness
goals will help an organisation to
lead the way when it comes to the
health and wellbeing of their staff.
business@thenewage.co.za
wellbeing: There is increasing focus on managing health in companies. PICTURE: SHUTTERSTOCK
Department of Finance, Economy and
Enterprise Development
Call for Nominations of Members to fill Vacancies
in the North West Gambling Board
The MEC of Finance, Economy and Enterprise Development, Mrs Wendy Nelson invites
interested parties to submit nominations for the appointment of additional members to the
Board, as required by the provisions of Section 5 of the North West Gambling Board Act,
2001 (Act No 2 of 2001) as amended. The North West Gambling Board (“the Board”) is a
Schedule 3C Public Entity in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1
of 1999), responsible for gambling activities in the North West Province.
Three (3) vacancies exist in the Board for members to be appointed in terms of:
• Section 5(1)(b) of the Act, which requires the appointment of a member who is an
Accountant or an Auditor registered in terms of the Public Accountant’s and Auditors
Act, 1991 (Act No 80 of 1991)
• Section 5(1)(c) of the Act, which requires the appointment of a member who has
knowledge of and experience in the field of welfare or socioeconomic development
• Section 5(1)(h), which requires the appointment of a member with proven business
acumen, knowledge of the gambling industry or who is suitable for appointment as a
member of the Board
The following persons are not eligible for appointment to the Board: • Public servants
• Political office-bearers • Persons having direct or indirect interest in any gambling
activity or any other business or enterprise that may conflict with the proper performance
of his or her duties as a member of the Board.
Nominations should be in writing and accompanied by • A Curriculum Vitae (CV) of the
candidate • Certified copies of academic qualifications, any supporting information and
contact details of at least two (2) referees • A signed letter of acceptance of the nomination
from the candidate.
Kindly note that all eligible nominees will be subject to vetting processes.
Nominations must be sent to the Head of Department, Finance, Economy and
Enterprise Development, Private Bag X15, Mmabatho 2735, or
delivered by hand at the Department of Finance, Economy and
Enterprise Development, Development House, cnr Provident and
University Drives, Mmabatho 2735.
Closing date for nominations: 16 December 2014
Enquiries: Kgosietsile Sehularo, tel. (018) 387-7777 (office hours only)
or e-mail: ksehularo@nwpg.gov.za
Kone Solutions K23867
Chief Financial Officer
Salary: R998 152 - R1 181 469 pa (Level 14)
(The successful candidate will be required to enter into a
Permanent Employment Contract, and to complete a
Performance Agreement with the Manager of the post.
The all-inclusive package consists of 70% basic salary and
30% flexible portion or 60% basic salary and 40% flexible
portion that may be structured in terms of the applicable rules)
Requirements: • Postgraduate degree (or equivalent) in Financial Management • Six years’
experience at Senior Management level • Registration as a Chartered Accountant would serve as an
added advantage • Knowledge of relevant legislative requirements. Skills and competencies: Given
the scope of financial management in the public sector, it is recognised that the CFO must be
technically trained and proficient in at least one of the following subject areas: • Strategic
management • Business planning and design • Financial accounting (including principles of GAAP/
GRAP) • Internal and external audit • Information systems • Communication skills (written and
verbal) • Analytical skills • Attention to detail • People management • Ability to work in a highly
pressurised environment.
Duties: • Establish and maintain appropriate systems and policies to ensure effective and efficient
management of resources • Manage financial information and respond to changing needs for
financial information and advice • Provide leadership in the development and continuous
evaluation of short- and long-term strategic financial objectives • Ensure that internal financial
targets and budgets are fully consistent with the Secretariat’s strategic plan and relevant
agreements with Government • Monitor financial risks and implement an anti-fraud and corruption
strategy in collaboration with risk management • Manage Secretariat revenue and expenditure in
accordance with the vote of the Department, main divisions within the vote and the PFMA
• Compile budget estimates, monthly forecasts, and project planning and produce adjusted cash
flow • Ensure that quarterly and annual financial statements are compiled and submitted timeously
in accordance with applicable standards and legislative requirements • Develop tools and systems
to provide critical financial and operational information to the Secretary of Police and make
actionable recommendations on both strategy and operations • Formulate creative solutions to
enhance cost effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of the services and the administration of
the Secretariat • Manage activities pertaining to financial transaction processing and reporting
services, supply chain services, asset management services, vote account, costing, budget
management and the standardisation of processes, norms and standards • Manage the
subordinates.
Enquiries: Ms DP Sambo and Ms L Raseroka, tel. (012) 393-4379/1916/2500
Closing date: 19 December 2014
The Civilian Secretariat for Police is an equal opportunity, and gender sensitive employer and it is
the intention to promote representivity in the Public Service through the filling of the post. The
Secretariat for Police is committed to the achievement and maintenance of diversity and equity
employment.
Note: • Applications must be submitted on the prescribed application form Z.83 of the Public
Service, obtainable from any Public Service Department or Department of Public Service and
Administration website or Recruitment Office within the Secretariat for Police • All applications
must be accompanied by a comprehensive Curriculum Vitae, certified copies of all educational
qualifications and supporting documents, such as Identity Documents, driver’s licence, etc • No late
applications will be accepted • Persons who retired from the Public Service by taking severance
packages, early retirement or for medical reasons, as well as persons with previous convictions, are
excluded • Applications must be mailed timeously to Private Bag X922, Pretoria 0001 or hand
delivered at the Reception, 7th Floor, Van Erkom Arcade Building, 217 Pretorius Street, Pretoria
• Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be considered • Failure to comply with this requirement
will result in the candidate being disqualified • If a candidate is shortlisted, it can be expected from
him/her to undergo a personal interview, and competency assessment for Senior Managers • Short-listed
candidates will be subject to a security clearance • The Secretary of Police has the right not to
fill the post • The post is based in Pretoria.
Human Communications 114777