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I am writing this letter on the 18^th April 2020, Zimbabwe’s 40^th   anniversary of Independence. At the time of writing, the official Covid 19 figures in Zimbabwe are: 24 positive/active cases and 3 fatalities. We are in day 20 of a 21 day lockdown.

Our only TV broadcaster in the country, ZBC TV, announced at 8am today that they would broadcast live the President’s address to the nation on the occasion of our 40^th Independence. At 9am I tuned in to ZBC to see President Mnangagwa walking down a red carpet at State House to a podium. About a dozen people, all wearing masks, were seated at a suitable social distance apart and the President began speaking. At 09.25 the screen suddenly froze with President Mnangagwa silenced in mid sentence; a Covid 19 advert sponsored by Coca Cola followed and then a portion of a film about the design of the Zimbabwean flag. No notice or apology for the loss of the live video was made by ZBCTV and at 09.31 the President’s speech reappeared on screen, again in mid sentence. It lasted one minute before freezing again in mid sentence and did not come back and so we were left hanging, searching internet sites for the remaining nine minutes of the speech (because you can say an awful lot of things in nine minutes).

We were sure that the President would have said something in his speech about the extension or not of the Coronavirus lockdown, now just one day from ending but he did not, and again we are left hanging. Do businesses, banks, shops and factories re-open on Monday? Do people go back to work? Have we wasted the gains we may have made during the last three weeks and, most importantly, what’s the plan going forward for getting food urgently to the 7.7 million people who the WFP say are ‘food insecure.’ Two food insecure households that I contacted in the last few days both replied to my question about food aid saying they’d received absolutely nothing from anybody.

In the last few days the warnings from medical professions have been frightening. The Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union said it would be “suicidal” to end the lockdown as the country was still “miles away from being in a solid position.” Health experts say that Zimbabwe has not met any of the World Health Organizations six general conditions that need to be met before a lockdown is lifted.

Day after day in the past twenty days we have seen crowds of desperate people clamouring for food, clearly unable to stay at home because their families are hungry. We’ve read numerous reports of people being beaten by soldiers and police for violating lockdown which culminated in Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights making an urgent application to the High Court to get the beatings stopped. The High Court ruled that: ”soldiers, police and other state security agents should respect human rights, the dignity of people and their fundamental freedoms and rights while enforcing the country’s national coronavirus lockdown regulations.” NewsDay reported one incident in their paper to highlight exactly what was going on while we were all blindfolded because we were staying at home: “In one case, a young man who had forgotten his official letter was asked to lie on the tarmac and was assaulted on his back with a sjambok,[whip] and given five strokes which the soldier in point said was equivalent to the  number of days left before the 21-day mark of the lockdown.”

In common with so many other horrific times in our country however, the worst has exposed the best: private companies and individuals in Zimbabwe have stepped forward to help get us ready to face Covid 19: refurbishing dilapidated hospital facilities, drilling boreholes, providing water pumps, solar systems, ventilators and so much more. We thank them all and we thank all our health professionals at the frontline. I end with a message of condolence to the families and friends of all our Zimbabwean health workers in the Diaspora who have died from Covid 19, far from home but in our hearts, may you go gently into the sunset.

Until next time, thanks for reading this Letter From Zimbabwe, now in its 20^th year, and my books about life in Zimbabwe, love cathy. 18^th April 2020. Copyright © Cathy Buckle.  http://cathybuckle.co.zw/  For information on my books about  Zimbabwe go to www.lulu.com/spotlight/ CathyBuckle2018  For archives of Letters From Zimbabwe, to see pictures that accompany these articles and to subscribe/unsubscribe or to contact me please visit my website http://cathybuckle.co.zw/<

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Members of Ukuthula Trust, a local NGO of pathologists and community workers, exhume the skeletal remains of Justin Tshuma and Thembi Ngwenya in Tsholotsho district [File: Tendai Marima/Al Jazeera[

As I wish you happy Uhuru Day,

I know and I understand that some of you might feel a tinge of some discomfort; because of the very difficult times that you are going through as individuals, families, organisations or communities in your endeavours to make ends meet to sustain your livelihoods.

I also am fully aware that your difficulties have been compounded by impact of the coronavirus pandemic which is threatening lives and livelihoods in our country in ways that, from public health point of view, have not been seen or experienced not perhaps since 1918 when the Spanish Flu attacked humanity resulting in untold loss of life.

Be this as it may, the 40 years of our nationhood is not a short period to be ignored; the attainment of 40 years as an independent nation is a milestone. Applied to an individual, 40 years mark the beginning of life; hence the saying that life beings at 40. But of course, the life of a nation cannot be compared to that of nation.

 It is worth recalling that the number 40 itself, is biblically and spiritually an important symbolic number; not as a judgment point or day as some are wont to see it, but as a period of trials and tribulations that enjoins all of us, as a people united as one nation, to retrospect, introspect and prospect together; in terms of where we have come from, where we are and where we should be going.

It is this opportunity of collective reflection that makes this day, the 40th anniversary of our Independence, an important day in our country’s history.

As such, it is with humility that I have the honour and privilege to extend to you my compatriots, Fortieth Independence Day felicitations to each and all of you in recognition of the milestone we have reached as nation.

It is such a treasurable honour and proud privilege that we have many who were willing to sacrifice all for all. For this, we owe a debt of gratitude and special tribute of adoration to our forebears for answering to the call of national duty.

All this for a new and independent Zimbabwe. Such sacrifice. Such dedication. Such patriotism. Such hope. And such a vision. For themselves and for future generations.

Over the last 40 years, our country has made remarkable strides to redress the injustices visited upon us by and under some one hundred years of brutal and dehumanising colonial rule.

The first two or so decades of our Independence inspired hope, raised national expectations and instilled broad-based confidence in our country; as the new national leadership from the heroic liberation struggle laid a promising foundation for radical transformation in the key areas of reconciliation, education, health and agriculture.

In the circumstances, Zimbabwe became a beacon of peace and stability in the region and our security forces were sought after by the United Nations as peacemakers and peace enforcers around the world; our exemplary primary education system saw the country recording the highest literacy rate in Africa; our healthcare system became second to none; while our agriculture transformed the country into Africa’s breadbasket.

 It is also a tragic truth that the same two decades of commendable success, witnessed the marginalisation parts of our country – notably in the Matabeleland region – where some 20,000 citizens were massacred with many more tortured, while thousands were internally or eternally displaced amid untold destruction of livelihoods in what has come to be known as the Gukurahundi atrocities.

Related to this, another tragic truth is that the last 20 years have witnessed wanton use of violence in our politics.

Cases in point are what happened in the implementation of the land reform programme, while a necessary fulfilment of a fundamental goal of the liberation struggle; its violent implementation, which bordered on racism, was unnecessary, unwarranted and unjustifiable.

 Other challenges of our heroic Independence over the last 20 years include Operation Murambatsvina; the shocking violence in the 2008 presidential runoff election; the 2017 political developments; the 1 August 2018 massacre of citizens in Harare which was repeated between 14 and 28 January 2019 across the country’s urban centres.

On balance, our country’s performance over the last 40 years can be assessed on the basis of key national grievances that were behind the national liberation struggle:

1. Addressing the land question to reclaim the people’s land rights.

2. Addressing the national question to unify the country.

3. Addressing the democratic question to ensure that every Zimbabwean has a right to vote and that the exercise of that right is respected and honoured.

4. Addressing the sovereignty question, which is the essence of National Independence, to ensure that sovereignty belongs the people, and not to a few individuals who call themselves the State.

The land reform programme is now irreversible, notwithstanding the fact that its implementation left a lot to be desired. Going forward, there’s a need for radical transformation by the next generation of leadership to rationalise land tenure issues and to give title deeds and promote productivity on the land.

On the national question, Zimbabweans are today more divided than they were at Independence in 1980. The liberation struggle generation has failed to address the national question. What is now needed is radical transformation by the next generation of leadership to create an enabling environment for an inclusive sense of belonging among Zimbabweans to build the kind of nation that Zimbabweans have always wanted to be.

And the hitherto elusive democratic question must resolved. There’s a need for the radical transformation of Zimbabwe’s electoral politics to put an end to the era of disputed elections. This is a challenge that the next generation of leadership must resolve.

Corruption

Lastly, while sovereignty, that is to say, Independence, has over the last 40 years been for the State; a new paradigm – through radical transformation consistent with our new Constitution – is needed to make clear that sovereignty belongs to the people, not to the State.

It’s the people who are free and who should define their sovereignty.

 Against this backdrop, when we look back over the last 40 years, and especially when we focus on the last two decades, the milestone we rightly commemorate today is a mixed bag: we have made some strides, but we have also failed ourselves in a big way. However, a New beginning is not only possible but is necessary and is coming.  For it to happen, we must each and all of us, play our part and be hold The New!

THE DEMOCRATIC TRANSFORMATION TASK –

As Zimbabwe turns 40 today. Indeed a new nation has to be born. The nation has just to be born again. The next generation has to kick in to rebuild our country.

As we approach the decade before us, we need a new consensus, the intergenerational consensus. This inter-generational consensus is an agreement on solutions to the challenges facing the broad masses of Zimbabwe, namely the struggle for social justice and prosperity. The old should work with the young. The young must take the lead.

We must to create a socially just democratic transformative state with a humble and empathetic God fearing and God Loving leadership in respect of which will adhere to the values of social justice, transparency, accountability and equality.

We also must fulfill the unfinished agenda of the liberation struggle, in particular, the economic emancipation of our people.

We must establish a sustainable, democratic Zimbabwe.

In short, we pledge to create a free New Zimbabwe in respect of which the citizen does not live in fear and is free to pursue her aspirations. A transformed NEW Zimbabwe in respect of which strong institutions, big ideas and a functional state prevails over tyranny, autocracy, big men syndrome and fear.

Let us all build a NEW nation and a NEW Zimbabwe built on pillars of forgiveness, peace, great ideas, progressive alternative policies, freedom, tolerance and patriotism.

We must make Zimbabwe the jewel of Africa and indeed the jewel of the world.

We must all take this moment to press a reset button so as to start promoting greater social cohesion and unity of purpose while discouraging the toxic levels of hostility and intolerance that sometimes characterise much of political discourse.

In building our nation, we must focus on building strong institutions to curtail the vices of the past. Strong institutions are inclusive in both their character and effect. Most countries that have made economic, social and political progress have usually done so on the back of strong institutions.

It is these strong institutions that form pillars of the nation. They provide the social and moral compass. These pillars are the referees that restrain men and women with or without power from indulging in excesses that harm society.

Even nations that have had strong personalities, such as South Korea, have developed strong institutions along the way, placing them in good stead for life long after the departure of the strong leader. Strong institutions must be able to survive governments, which are transient.

Strong institutions are able to resist the corrupting influence of personalities and political factions. Strong institutions stand firm in the face of demagogues and populists.

The first 40 years of our independence have shown us ample evidence of the danger of extractive institutions which benefit only a few elites and their associates. The catalogue of corruption fills many pages. We do not have to look far. The blessings of Chiadzwa diamonds turned out to be a curse for the local community and the nation at large because of extractive institutions.

In the next 40 years we have a generational challenge to build inclusive institutions and to dismantle extractive institutions. We must decisively deal with corruption. We must build strong and modern infrastructure for our great country. We need spaghetti roads, bullet trains, skyscrapers, SMART agriculture, new smart cities and towns, urbanized smart villages and world-class digital health facilities and digital government.

Going forward, we must rediscover and nurture our national values. Our home-grown constitution has a provision which outlines the founding values and principles of the nation. They include constitutional supremacy, the rule of law, good governance, gender equality and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.

There are many more values which derive from our culture as African people. They include Ubuntu, fairness, mutual respect, restraint and cooperation. These values which are present in our day to day lives must also inform how we conduct our politics at national level.

Nation-building and economic prosperity require a progressive national vision. All great nations of this world have been driven by a firm national vision. A national vision can outlive its authors. Some nations have continued to pursue visions crafted more than one hundred years ago. We need a collective effort to craft a national vision. Seven years ago, we achieved something outstanding: a national constitution. It was a product of collective effort, not unilateralism. We must use the same spirit to craft a national vision as an economic, political and social compass for our nation. Indeed, we are 10 years to our silver jubilee.

Our target should not be that we should still be here in 2030. Rather, it must be that our nation will be the jewel of the world. We have a limited time remaining to complete a jubilee with great successes.

Let us join hands and combine minds in a new amity, givenness and Oneness derived from our common essence and desire to build a great Zimbabwe that will be the pride of all Africa and the jewel of the world.

The beauty about our circumstances is that the best days of our lives haven’t happened and are yet to come!

This is the beginning of a new era. Let us embrace it. Let us cherish it. We dare not fail.
I would like to assure you again, that the new independence is here. It has arrived. Feel it.
Remember to wash your hands, keep good hygiene, maintain social distance and spread the message.

Remember to pray for our country and indeed the entire world.

Happy birthday Zimbabwe!

God bless you,
God bless Zimbabwe,
God bless AFRICA.

But for Zimbabwe, this comes within the context of protracted economic and political instability. Calls for reforms in the health and security sectors, among others, have long been echoed. Today, we come face to face with the consequences of a socio-economic and rule of law infrastructure that does not conduce to the best possible response to a disaster of COVID-19 proportions. The state of unpreparedness ravages our people in multi-faceted ways. The virus that threatens to infect thousands if not millions, faces a disarmed healthcare system. Socio-economic deterioration exposes many to the risk of infection and subdued capacity for survival in the wake of COVID-19 responses that include lockdowns, and the risk of encountering brutal security enforcement is all too real if one leaves home confinement in search for survival.

The right to health
COVID-19 tests our national preparedness to deal with significant disasters in an extraordinary way. Yet the test comes at a time when our health system finds itself in man-made crisis. For the past years, the crisis of mismanagement, under-resourcing and brain drain in the public health sector has been exacerbated by the industrial action of medical professionals fighting for a review of their conditions of service and the state of public health facilities that most of our people rely upon.

The Government’s consistent response has been to dismiss these realities, rightly raised by the health professionals, and instead threatening disciplinary action and dismissals. The disaster that faces us dictates that government commits resources to fight the pandemic, and take leadership. Government does not have to wait for court orders or external pressure for basic measures to be rolled out, as the High Court had to order in the case of Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights v Minister of Health & Others.

While Zimbabwe may benefit from external philanthropic gestures, government funding ought to sustain the national response.

Socio-economic security
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESR) aptly observes in General Comment No. 14 that the right to health is closely linked to and dependent upon the realisation of other human rights, including the right to water, food, housing and work. For a country where life and survival for the majority depends on the informal economy, confinement to the home and cessation of economic activity is a matter of life and death. Government’s foremost duty to its subjects is the preservation of life. Within our capacities as a nation, government should see to it that people are catered for in their survival needs.

The NTJWG welcomes the courts’ judgments ordering various local governments and central government to ensure provision of constant supply of water. Without water, hygiene is impossible, and so is life itself. The NTJWG points out that it needs not wait for courts for government to do the responsible, and ensure the provision of basics.

Security enforcement of measures
To date, human rights groups have recorded worrying figures of human rights violations, with the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum having verified and reported almost 170 arrests, 160 assaults, and 10 attacks on journalists. The government reports that arrests have reached the thousands. Since the dark days of Gukurahundi, the police and the army have been implicated in gross human rights violations. The NTJWG has observed remnants of this culture of impunity permeating the lockdown enforcement. State security forces continue to derogate from the freedom from torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment, and the rights to human dignity and personal security.

No doubt, states of disaster are extraordinary times calling for suspension of certain freedoms for the public good. Nonetheless, our Constitution, in letter and spirit, contemplates such situations, and calls for a fine balance such that basic rights, including human dignity, are not infringed. Thus government and its agents remain bound to be Constitution-compliant in enforcing the lockdown and other COVID-19 response measures. No person should have to fear for their life and security at the hands of State security, and journalists should carry out their lawful duties to capture and disseminate information, in pursuit of truth and truth-telling, free from unjustified interference. Access to information is a critical need in this crisis.

The unceasing calls for legal and security sector reform, and for implementation of the Constitution, are all the more urgent in this crisis. For example, the need to act on section 210 to create an independent complaints mechanism is evident, as this will allow the public to report security sector human rights violations and get redress. The call is amplified for government to provide leadership as is expected of it by its subjects.

A call for leadership
We are hard-pressed as a nation to ensure that our response to this dreadful pandemic, does not create an opportunity for further atrocities added to our catalogue of dark episodes in our past. Our national response to the pandemic must inspire hope.

For all intents and purposes, COVID-19, and how we respond to it, is not only a pressing health and humanitarian issue; it also is a human rights and a transitional justice issue, and the response should be accordingly attuned. Human rights should be at the centre of any public health measures, strategies and interventions. Institutions of government must uphold human rights and the rule of law, and not take occasion to subvert due process and constitutional standards. The NTJWG acknowledges to this end, the statement issued by the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, raising similar concerns and encouraging a human rights oriented approach in the national response.

Responsible leadership at this juncture, calls for depoliticising response action. The principles of good governance as captured in section 3(2) of our Constitution embody the kind of leadership required at this defining time. It is imperative for government to be candid about infections, both in the statistics it releases and the information of how cases are being managed. It is not the time to put up appearances and engage in politicking at the expense of health and lives.

The pandemic threatens lives. As such, government and its institutions and functionaries are reminded that government’s foremost charge is protect the lives of its subject, and wilful and negligent failure to do so will no doubt meet with the people’s demand for accountability, now and in the future.

As the nation demands accountability and leadership, we encourage citizens to be responsible and to exercise self-leadership to protect ourselves, our families and communities. Citizens need to follow the WHO guidelines and other international best practices to avoid, combat and prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is through maintaining physical distance, observing the best possible personal hygiene, and sharing responsible and accurate messaging.

The First Lady, Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa;
Honourable Vice President, Gen. (Rtd) Dr. C.G.D.N. Chiwenga;
Honourable Vice President, Col. (Rtd) Cde. K. C.D. Mohadi and Amai Mohadi;
Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Advocate J.F. Mudenda,
Honourable President of the Senate, Amai M.M. Chinomona,
Honourable Ministers,
Honourable Minister of State for Harare Metropolitan Province, Cde. Oliver Chidawu,
The Chief Justice, Honourable Luke Malaba,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Service Chiefs,
Families of the Heroes of our Liberation Struggle,
War Veterans, War Collaborators, Ex-Detainees and Restrictees,
Traditional Leaders,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Fellow Zimbabweans,

I am honoured and privileged to make this video address on the occasion of the 40th Independence Day commemorations for our country’s freedom. Forty years ago, we became a self-governing people after nearly a century of settler colonial rule; a sovereign Nation born out of protracted armed struggle.

As we celebrate this important milestone in our history, let us not forget those who started the journey, the thousands of gallant freedom fighters who lost their lives and others who lost limbs. All of them made sacrifices so that we can today stand tall, as masters of our own destiny; a free people in our own land.

May our children and grandchildren always enjoy freedom, while defending their rich cultural heritage and working hard, in unity, for an ever prosperous future.

Congratulations Zimbabwe, Makorokoto, Amhlophe! Happy 40th Independence Anniversary Zimbabwe!
This year, we had planned to celebrate this grand occasion, in Bulawayo Province; marking the beginning of a decentralized way of celebrating this important national day. Devolution in action, as one people and a united nation, from Beitbridge to Chirundu, and from Plumtree to Mutare.

However, the reality of the COVID-19 Pandemic is seeing us endure a necessary lockdown in our homes.
Although we are physically separated, we are united in spirit. The time to celebrate together shall come. For our founding fathers, and gallant heroes and heroines, the patriotic thing to do was to fight for our freedom. Today, our task, in relation to Covid-19, is to stay at home, keep our distance and wash our hands. In addition, we must produce, produce and produce; that way, we celebrate our Independence by saving lives and our economy. Together we will get through this, as we celebrate the old, and embrace the new.

Fellow Zimbabweans;

We celebrate our milestone 40th Independence Anniversary in the context of unprecedented times, that of the threat brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I would like to once again thank the nation for the collective response to our appeal towards our preparedness to fight the pandemic within our jurisdiction. I applaud the responses from the Health Services Sector, Security Sector, Higher Education and Tertiary Institutions, Pharmaceutical Sector, the private sector, churches, Traditional Leaders and Non- Governmental Organizations. I further commend the nation as a whole for the manner we have carried ourselves during this National Lockdown.

In unity, love and common purpose nothing can prevail against us. May this national character continue to grow and flourish.

I equally want to thank some countries and partners from abroad such as the People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom, United States of America, UAE, European Union, the World Health Organization and other United Nations Agencies, as well as the Jack-Ma Foundation, among many other international organizations and well-wishers, who have generously supported our fight against COVID-19.
Fellow Zimbabweans;

40 years after Independence, let us remain hopeful and steadfast in spirit. Vision 2030 is alive and beyond COVID-19, its accomplishment must be accelerated.

Our present experiences, in the wake of this pandemic, teach us that friends and investors may assist us. However, it is the collective efforts of all of our nationals across all sectors, that will make the difference. We must, thus, scale up dialogue among each other to harness our abilities, competencies, skills and resources.

Achieving food security remains a key priority to my Government. Today our stocks are being replenished through massive food imports. Food will reach vulnerable households so that no one will starve.

This includes those in urban areas. Orphans and vulnerable children continue to benefit from the Basic Education Assistance Module, BEAM, with a total of 1, 2 million children expected to be on the scheme this year.

Our situation is compounded by the continuing illegal economic sanctions, which we have endured for close to half of our years of Independence. These sanctions have limited our options and constricted our possibilities of freely interacting in the global economy. I thank the European Union for softening its stance towards us. I implore Washington to promptly lift these illegal sanctions against us without any preconditions. They are illegal and hurtful to our people; Zimbabwe does not deserve them.

Our Land Reform Programme remains a fundamental cog to our independence and sovereignty. The land shall forever remain united with the people, and the people to their land. To this, there is no wavering or going back. However, we shall not shy away from fine-tuning our strategies to enhance land utilization, equitable access and productivity.

I want to express gratitude to all our farmers who have managed to produce to sustain and feed our Nation, even under several consecutive droughts. Henceforth, our thrust is to make our agriculture adapt to climate-change. The more than half a billion dollars set aside for the rehabilitation and expansion of irrigation projects countrywide, has marked the emphatic implementation of smart agriculture.

The expansion of grain production to a broader variety of traditional crops, besides maize, will eventually yield the desired benefits.

Government will continue to put in place the appropriate incentives to encourage this new trajectory. The Presidential Input Support Scheme and other Smart Agriculture strategies outlined in the Agriculture Recovery Plan, are being consolidated to enable beneficiaries under these schemes to excel. Meanwhile, the mechanization project is on course, with more agricultural equipment coming in from across the world.

Beyond grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have to keep our economy functional. Unavoidable shocks and disruptions must be mitigated. Once the lockdown is over, we must all get back to work, with discipline and harder effort as we ready ourselves for a speedy economic recovery.

The silver lining to the present global health crisis is the awakening of our national creativity and inventiveness.

It is commendable that local industries and universities have become hubs for import substitution, starting with the essential materials needed for immediate use in our health sector. My administration is committed to support the manufacturing processes developed as part of our defence against Covid-19.

It is the expectation that buoyant industries that meet our needs, while serving regional, continental and even global demand will emerge henceforth. Scientific research, development, innovation and technologies for the vast economic spectrum towards greater value addition will be encouraged. Let us strive to be a knowledge-building, and knowledge-driven society, by turning our literacy levels to real goods and services for our people and beyond.
The mining sector must redouble its efforts to facilitate the resuscitation of our economy. Projects already underway across different minerals, coupled with the ongoing reforms give hope that the target of a 12billion dollar mining sector by 2023, is achievable.

In the energy sector, it is pleasing that the water inflow into Kariba Dam, which is a key source of our hydro-power, is improving. It is integral that the energy mix continues to improve with regards to both the thermal generation capacity as well as renewable energy sources.

I, thus, urge all stakeholders to be robust, flexible and responsive and to keep the bigger national interest in perspective. Silo mentalities have no place in the course we are taking. The two Units, 7 and 8 at Hwange Power Station under construction are expected to be commissioned during the second quarter of next year.
These will bring in an additional 600MW to the National Grid. As such, the production of all the supporting through-put to facilitate the smooth increment of our energy supply must begin now.

A number of our key capital projects, principally infrastructure, must be completed as soon as we are able.
The tourism sector must prepare innovative strategies for recovery. Our manufacturing sectors must diversify, riding on innovation, inventions, ICTs and the broader modernization agenda, all-be-it seeking to meet the needs of our society and also penetrate the global value chains.

In respect of our social service sector, Government is engaging all stakeholders to facilitate the modernization of the sector. In this regard, Local Authorities must shift focus from their traditional political roles, to being engines of economic development and transformation.

Our rural sector has proved a refuge and fortress in times of national and global crisis. Government will move with greater speed to relook at, and implement our Rural Development Policy. The need for suitable housing, sanitation, energy, along with accessible water, ICT and other social amenities in our rural areas should not be placed on the back burner of our national development agenda.

Our towns and cities must also be modernized and service provision enhanced. In this regard, my Government will continue working closely with urban and local authorities to ensure a shared development vision and common pace.
Roads are an economy and a key enabler to economic development. The widening and dualisation of major roads, from our own resources, is the preferred strategy going forward. Meanwhile, our rural and urban roads must be constantly and timely maintained.

The District Development Fund, will continue to receive the requisite fiscal support so that it plays its statutory role more effectively. Equally, the resuscitation of our country’s public transport system will be quickened.
To date, it is gratifying that this sub-sector is showing pleasing results following the re-introduction of ZUPCO buses.

Success in these efforts must now motivate the urgent rehabilitation and expansion of our national railway network internally, and to our borders with neighbouring countries. Riding on our country’s geographic advantage, the nation’s transport strategy is set to position us to be a regional transport hub.

I am aware that our economy is now highly informal. My administration under the 2nd Republic will accelerate multi-pronged empowerment initiatives for start-ups and SMEs, especially those run by the youth and women, to grow and strengthen our manufacturing industrial base.

My administration will carry on using the law as a tool for development. Hence, the legislative agenda will be informed by this underlying principle.

The modernisation, improvement and strengthening of our public service, institutions and state-controlled commercial entities, in line with global best practices, is ongoing.

Inclusion of women and youth in decision making positions in the public sector, will also be consolidated. My Government made devolution a key tenet of governance under the 2nd Republic. To this end, I am happy that the Constitutional requirement of Devolution has taken effect and has gained traction.

Fellow Zimbabweans;

The culture of reconciliation remains a fundamental foundation for national unity and racial harmony. Consequently, our socio-economic stature since Independence in 1980, has been greatly transformed.

From a racially divided society, riddled with inequities; we have become a united, non-racial society where our citizens mix and mingle without any regard to colour, creed, tribe or region.

On the international relations front, we remain committed to our Engagement and Re-engagement Policy. Forty years later, Zimbabwe continues to make new friends, while deepening relations with old, established allies and friends.
The country’s diplomatic missions have refocused towards economic diplomacy, through the promotion of trade and investment, for win-win partnerships.

Although our country has been a victim of unjustified illegal economic sanctions and other hostile measures, we continue to reach out for unqualified friendship.

We harbour no ill-will against any nation. Zimbabwe seeks and pursues friendship with all peoples and nations. We are further optimistic that those Nations which have wronged and hurt us, will realize that there is more to be gained from friendship and alliances. Meanwhile, we thank all those who have weighed in to call for the lifting of these illegal sanctions.

The reforms to make our country more approachable, through the adoption of global best practices, have advanced. The Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency Act is now law, and has seen the establishment of a One-Stop Investment Centre which now has the requisite Board and Management, in place. The Special Economic Zones are also taking shape.
These measures are evidence that the Engagement and Re-Engagement as a national policy is being given effect through laws, policies, practices and institutions.

This saw our country move fifteen places up in the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Index. Let us all, in both the public and private sector, continue to make ourselves more attractive and competitive.

In our region, we remain active members of SADC in which we are the present Chair of the Organ on Politics Defence and Security, while at bilateral levels we are constantly reviewing and improving our relations to make them more responsive to the dynamics of our present economic realities.

At the continental level, Zimbabwe is an active participant in the various institutions and organs of the African Union. To date, we have signed the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, and acceded to the African Peer Review Mechanism which promotes democracy and responsive governance. Now, the onus is on all of us to increase our productivity, trade and exports, to reap the rewards from these landmark developments.

With regards to Zimbabweans abroad, the Diaspora Desk, which is housed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, is facilitating platforms and space for the Diaspora to play a more transformative role, here at home.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Government took a deliberate position to welcome home any and all Zimbabweans from the Diaspora, who want to come home. They are a part of us. However, all those returning must observe days of mandatory quarantine.

Fellow countrymen and women,

Unity, peace, development and hard work must remain the hallmark of our country. Violent disagreements and conflicts should never again be given leeway in our wonderful country.
Let us cherish the enduring legacy and culture of unity and harmony, bequeathed to us by the late founding fathers and heroes of our great land.

The 2nd Republic is a Republic of rights, of peace, love, harmony, dialogue and of inclusive development which leaves no one behind. In addition, democratic principles, accountability, good governance, the rule of law and Constitutionalism, which the gallant heroes of our country fought for, must be consolidated and entrenched. As a society, let us always uphold and defend our culture, high moral standards, ethics and norms. Corruption has no place in the Zimbabwe we all want.

I want to pay tribute to our men and women in the security sector for keeping the peace, assuring safety and guaranteeing our territorial integrity.

Zimbabwe is a peaceful country; Zimbabweans are a law-abiding people. We must never trade in, this character.
In the recent past, there has been a disturbing trend of cross-border armed crime. I commend the vigilance of our security services who have accounted for most of these criminals. Our country has zero tolerance on armed crime and all those toying with such unlawful ideas stand warned.

Let us all cherish peace, cultivate, maintain and defend it at the family, community and national levels. Going forward, we should sustain the new culture we have begun under the 2nd Republic, that of always putting dialogue in the forefront, united in the knowledge and persuasion that we are diverse, but one.

Independence is about determining our own fate and choosing to take our destiny into our hands. We are now a 40-year-old democracy; a mature nation.

As we begin this important ‘Decade of Action’, may we never lose focus of the bigger vision, to develop and modernize Zimbabwe towards an Upper Middle Income Economy by 2030.

I, therefore, urge you all listening and watching, to join me in seizing the moment with fighting spirit, as gallant and fearless warriors; towards a prosperous future.

Through us, individually and collectively, the vision, hopes, dreams and aspirations of those who lifted our flag and celebrated that 1st Independence Day 40 years ago, must remain alive!
Our beloved Zimbabwe lives. Our proud and free Zimbabwe lives eternally.

Happy 40th Independence Anniversary Zimbabwe!! Congratulations Amhlophe, Makorokoto.
Long Live Zimbabwe!
Long Live our Independence!
God bless you all.
God bless Zimbabwe.
I thank you.

Post published in: Featured

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Olga V. Mack is the CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat and Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security. You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.

This past Saturday was (apparently) “National Pet Day.” I have pets and was unaware of this, but I’ll survive. Anyway, the US Copyright Office thought that this would be a good day to tweet out this utter nonsense:

On the off chance the Copyright Office comes to its senses and takes down that tweet, it shows a (cute!) picture of a sleeping kitten, and then says in the text of the tweet:

Happy #NationalPetDay from the Copyright Office. All 10k of the photos you took of your cat while asleep are protected by copyright from the moment they are created.

You’d think that someone at the Copyright Office would have enough sense to recognize that this message just makes basic copyright law appear to be the insane mess it truly is. Remember, under the Constitution, the sole reason that Congress is allowed to enable copyright protections over creative works is to “promote the progress of science and the useful arts.” In short, copyright in the US (under the Constitution) is designed as an economic right in order to create an incentive for the production and distribution of creative works.

Now, who the hell takes 10,000 photos of their pet because of the copyright granted on those pictures? The answer is basically no one — with the possible exception of a few professional photographers who sell images of animals. Most of us don’t need the 10k photos of our pets locked up under copyright for the rest of our lives, plus an additional 70 years.

Indeed, this tweet by the Copyright Office succinctly reveals the absolute insanity in American copyright law post-1978 when we moved from a copyright system of “formalities” (i.e., you need to register your works to get the copyright) to automatic copyright, where everything that meets the low bar of creativity gets an automatic copyright at the point of fixation. Even if you believe in the necessity of copyright for protecting professional creators, authors, artists, etc., the idea that you’re happy and excited and bragging over the fact that it covers the kind of artwork that needs no such incentive, is not intended for economic purposes, seems pretty messed up and really raises questions about the Copyright Office’s understanding of the underpinnings of copyright law in the first place.

Oh, and it gets worse. Someone on Twitter responded to the Copyright Office by asking “what is the legal position on retweeting this?” and the Copyright Office gave really bad advice:

In case you can’t see that, it says:

All government created work is part of the public domain, meaning you can freely use and reuse it. As cat people, we’d welcome it.

But… that’s wrong. Specifically, it’s wrong in that the photo in question is not a government created work. As the photo itself shows, the photo is from photographer Alena Ozerova, a Russian photographer, and the image is available to license via Shutterstock. Odd that a Copyright Office that is gleefully claiming that photos of cats are covered by copyright, then freely (and incorrectly) suggests that the image it’s tweeting is in the public domain, when that absolutely does not appear to be the case — and that’s not even getting into the question of whether or not retweeting copyright-protected material would be fair use or infringing.

Either way, the whole sequence of events seems like an abject lesson in how screwed up American copyright law is that even the US Copyright Office is both gleefully celebrating unnecessary copyrights that appear to go against the Constitution, and then claiming an actually copyright-protected image is in the public domain.

Update: Hilariously, many hours after giving the misleading advice regarding public domain materials, and after multiple people pointed out on Twitter that they had given an incorrect explanation, the Copyright Office then came back to clarify its earlier misleading tweet. Which brings up a neat follow up point: when even the Copyright Office can mislead the public about copyright in such a way that it has to come back and qualify its earlier incorrect tweet, how the hell are every day people expected to not accidentally infringe?

Why Is The Copyright Office Celebrating That All Our Cute Pet Photos Are Locked Up Under Copyright?

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Stoel Rives had a good 2018, making $225,921,000 in gross revenue and ranking 134th on the Am Law 200. But that historical success is no match for COVID-19. Even Biglaw firms with strong financials find themselves worried about cash flow and the coronavirus economic downturn. As such, austerity measures are the order of the day.

The firm, like so many others, is using a combination of cost-cutting measures to weather the COVID-19 storm. Salary cuts and staff furloughs feature prominently in their austerity plans:

• Reducing partner distributions by 20% effective April 1.
• Effective May 1: implementing tiered hourly reductions for staff with corresponding pay reductions: 5% for those earning less than $75,000; 10% for those earning $75,000-$100,000, 15% for those earning $100,000-$150,000 and 20% for those earning over $150,000.
• Also effective May 1: Implementing a 20% pay reduction for associates, staff attorneys, and of counsel attorneys; on an annualized basis, a 20% cut starting in May through the end of the year would equal a 13% reduction.
• Furloughing approximately 10% of staff members, beginning April 17, 2020 for at least 90 days. Furloughs are temporary, and staff can be called back to work if economic conditions improve. Benefits will continue during the furlough period at the same level they exist now.
• Continuing the existing hiring freeze and spending freeze.
• Deferring staff bonuses.
• Eliminating associate bonuses based on hours and implementing discretionary-only bonuses.
• Eliminating firm reimbursement for perks such as parking and public transportation.
• Evaluating administrative budgets for additional spending reductions.

The firm’s full statement is below.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

“For Christ’s sake men—come on! Do you want to live forever?” – Sergeant Major Daniel Daly, U.S.M.C.

Probably my proudest moment in my legal career was as a third-year associate. I’d been up for God knows how long and was getting out a document production. We’d had some last-minute technical issue, and it was likely going to be going out a few minutes past midnight, which in retrospect was a self-imposed deadline, but I really wanted to get it out by midnight. Also, at that point I’d been doing two-a-week productions for about a month, so I was feeling especially invested in the whole production enterprise.

At some point while I’m walking around the office, the only person on the floor, waiting for the technical issue to resolve, I hit a wall fatiguewise and thought I might collapse. I was together enough to realize that I might fall and hit my head or have an aneurism or something, and if that happened, no one would find me until the next morning.

What I’m proud of are my next two thoughts. The first was that if I was found dead the next morning, that would be a great excuse for the production being late, and it would help the case. The second was that I was going to be a damn legend posthumously. It’s easy to talk a good game, but then you live in constant uncertainty, wondering whether you’ll live up to it when put to the test. When you do, it’s an enormous relief.

Tracing The Problem

For most of my life, I assumed everyone — especially litigators — thought like this. It wasn’t until I was in my mid-30s that I realized that some people didn’t think like this, and weren’t ready, like Harry on St. Crispin’s Day, to go out in noble glory if the professional circumstances required it.

Maybe it was the people I hung out with in college. I remember when my college friends and I read about the Japanese concept of karoshi — death by overwork — how impressed we were at how seriously the Japanese people took their jobs and how great it was that they celebrated those who truly took it past the limit. It wasn’t until much latter that I realized that it was generally considered a bad thing and not, in fact, gloriously celebrated. I was disappointed.

In college, we also used to read and talk about Dennis Block, the legendary then-Weil Gotshal partner who was rumored to throw staplers at associates. This seemed totally normal to us, and we’d sit around and talk about how great it would be to work for someone who was so passionate and debate whether it was acceptable to dodge. We finally decided that if he didn’t say anything you should dodge (as it showed off your reflexes), but if he said “Don’t move” before the throw, then obviously you stood and took it.

Another time, when I was working, I got a decently ugly head injury during lunch after I tripped while trying to get out of the way of a tourist taking a photograph. Shirt drenched in blood, I spent half an hour in a hotel bathroom trying to stop the bleeding with a paper towel while people kept coming in asking me if I was okay — the usual. Once I stopped bleeding, I went into the office without even thinking; obviously, you go back to the office. It showed a proper work ethic and would be important to clients: they obviously wanted the type of firm where associates show up at the office drenched in their own blood. Who wouldn’t? And we shared a building with Debevoise, so there were real stakes in play if the right client saw me in the lobby and started asking questions.

So maybe the lesson is that lightweight rowers have atypical life experiences — although no one can ever take away from me my personal best of losing 10 pounds in 12 hours — or maybe I watched too many Aaron Sorkin shows in my youth. But it seems most people don’t think like this.

The Problem: Clients Deserve Better

Why is this a problem? Because clients deserve better. They trust us to be dedicated to their cases and to getting the best result. Pigs, not chickens, and so forth. I’m reasonably certain that if you ask most clients dealing in high-stakes litigation whether they’d expect their litigator to, if push came to shove, take a bullet for them, and they had to answer truthfully, the answer would be yes. And to be fair to them, most high-stakes litigations are dealing with amounts exceeding the actuarial value of a human life.

In perspective, this isn’t an unusual ask. Military personnel, police, and firefighters put their lives routinely at risk, and make much less than commercial litigators. And to that, now we can add medical personnel in the current climate. It’s almost insulting for us to act like we deserve some special treatment.

Character Is What You Do Under Pressure

Yet many litigators seem to think they deserve special treatment, and value their own safety over winning for their clients. I’ve lost track of how many blast emails I’ve seen from law firms — not to mention other service providers — assuring clients that the safety of their staff is their highest priority. But if I’m a litigation client, this is stunningly tone-deaf: I just care about winning my case.

Some litigators may think that their clients don’t think like this — but they don’t understand human nature. Sure, most litigation clients won’t admit it, and maybe many won’t even admit it to themselves. But they’re thinking it. In their heart of hearts, they are rightfully judging you for your lack of dedication.

But It’s Never Too Late To Change

But if there was any time to turn over a new leaf, you won’t get too many chances better than this. Wherever you’re off socially distancing yourself, this is your big opportunity to take the change in routine to become better, faster, stronger, and less afraid. Don’t let it pass you by.

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Matthew W. Schmidt has represented and counseled clients at all stages of litigation and in numerous matters including insider trading, fiduciary duty, antitrust law, and civil RICO. He is a partner at the trial and investigations law firm Balestriere Fariello in New York, where he and his colleagues represent domestic and international clients in litigation, arbitration, appeals, and investigations. You can reach him by email at matthew.w.schmidt@balestrierefariello.com.