Category: News Feeds

Harare — The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said it will pay tobacco farmers half their earnings in US dollars after producers demanded forex payments due to a lack of confidence in the local currency.

Tobacco is one of Zimbabwe’s top export earners and last year brought in more than US$500m in earnings last year. There were fears farmers would withhold their crop if they did not receive payments in US$ ahead of the tobacco-selling season set to start this month.

Zimbabwe is the largest grower of tobacco in Africa and has some of the best climatic conditions to grow the crop in the world, despite the persistent climate change-induced droughts Southern Africa is facing.

Last year, the Tobacco and Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) sold 256-million tonnes of tobacco, which was the highest output since the chaotic land reform programme 20 years ago.

Despite the record output, experts say the new tobacco growers — mostly communal farmers who are shunning the staple maize crop and other grains — have been bringing to market poor-grade tobacco that sells at a low price or is sometimes rejected.

The future of the tobacco industry also hangs in the balance due to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that restricts smoking and use of tobacco.

Furthermore, the coronavirus pandemic poses a new threat to the tobacco industry as China is the largest importer of tobacco from Zimbabwe.  Though the crop is exported in US dollars, the cash-strapped Zimbabwe government retains part of the forex in it’s coffers and pays the farmers in its almost worthless local currency.

A similar promise to pay half the earnings in hard currency was made last season but the government failed to deliver as forex shortages continued. The failure prompted calls to hold this year’s crop by the growers.

This year, the RBZ says farmers are free to keep money in their foreign currency accounts as well as conduct foreign transfers without limits. The RBZ is battling to keep its local currency relevant as most businesses prefer to use foreign currency due to the unpredictability of the local unit.

In June last year, the central bank re-introduced the local currency after 10 years of a multi-currency system dominated by the US dollar and the rand. It also accepted sterling, the yen and Botswana’s pula.

“The 50% foreign currency portion shall be paid directly into the growers’ foreign currency bank accounts, and the 50% local currency portion directly into the growers’ local currency bank accounts or e-wallets on the day of the sale,” a joint statement from the RBZ and the TIMB said.

Tobacco farmers have been permitted to conduct inter-foreign currency accounts payments without any restrictions and the account balances will not be subject to any liquidation requirements. Farmers who took loans in foreign currency will also repay them in US dollars.

“We are happy for now but we wait to see if the banks will readily release the forex,” the Tobacco Association of Zimbabwe (TAZ) president George Seremwe told state media on Friday. The TAZ represents all commercial growers.

Other producers said they have reluctantly agreed to the 50% forex payment but they would have preferred 100% payment in US dollars.

In the bright light of the moon a pair of owls call to each other across the neighbourhood: Hoo hoo, Whoo hoo. It’s not quite 4.00am but already their dominance of the darkness is being disturbed as Zimbabwe wakes to try and get a head start on the next sixteen hour power cut. Outside the sky is clear, the stars bright and for a moment you linger, eyes closed, letting the balmy pre dawn air of our beautiful but broken Zimbabwe wash over you. Within quarter of an hour the electricity has gone and within an hour the buckets are being readied for the daily water collecting.

Every day we look at the spreading red stain on world maps of the Covid 19 Coronavirus and we see nothing marking Zimbabwe. Every day we wonder what is more frightening: not seeing any cases being recorded or wondering why we aren’t seeing any cases. Even more frightening is how we will cope when Coronavirus gets to Zimbabwe.

So far only one message from the Ministry of Health and Child Care has circulated on mobile phone networks which is the main source of information and communication for 90% of Zimbabweans with no electricity for radio and TV and unaffordable newspapers. The message came on the 3^rd of March and read: “Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing preferably with a tissue. Dispose it right away and wash your hands to prevent the spread of the virus.” (sic) The message from the Ministry of Health didn’t even name the Coronavirus; didn’t specify signs and symptoms, didn’t tell you what to do if you think you’ve got the virus; didn’t tell you how or where or even if you could get tested.

Neither the Ministry of Health nor the government of Zimbabwe have addressed the huge crisis we are facing already in just something as simple as washing our hands. We have no water in our taps five days a week; some places have no water in their taps ever. Around wells and boreholes with hand pumps, every day in every town scores of people come with buckets; hundreds throughout the course of a day. Everyone’s hands are touching the same pump handle to get water from the wells and boreholes. How then, government of Zimbabwe, do we stop the spread of Coronavirus?

The next crisis is soap. In the past week the rate of exchange between the US dollar and Zimbabwe dollar has increased from 25 to 40 and it is still rising. Today you need Z$40 to buy US$1. As a result the price of everything (imported and paid for in US$) has increased by 50%. Last week a 200ml bottle of liquid Dettol soap was Z$54; today it is Z$95. A 375g bar of Dettol soap is $30. A 9 pack of toilet rolls is anything from Z$80 to Z$200. An average monthly income for most people is around Z$300 a month; enough for one pack of toilet rolls and two bottles of Dettol soap but no food, rent, transport or anything else. How then, government of Zimbabwe do we wash our hands or sneeze into tissues?

In government buildings and public toilets there is usually no water and there is always no soap. At roadside vendors’ stalls where fruit and vegetables are sold individually there is no water for vendors or customers to wash hands. In buses, minibuses and pirate taxis people are crammed in and there is no way to prevent being contaminated and no other means of travelling. Our hospitals are in a shocking state, without basic equipment or medication and countless numbers of medical staff incapacitated and unable to afford to go to work.  How then government of Zimbabwe do we treat people who contract Coronavirus?

A few suspected cases of the virus in Zimbabwe have made it into the press and each has been shrouded in mammoth bungling: premature release of a woman from isolation and then her re-admittance a few days later, a man running away from isolation, going into the community and then headlines saying there was a ‘manhunt’ to find him, a woman dying on the way to hospital, medical staff running away because they had no protective gear. We are told that all of these cases have been negative for Coronavirus but alarm bells are banging.

At election time our government leaders plaster our towns with pictures of themselves but now, when the country needs them most, there are no signs and posters, no flyers under our doors, no clean running water in our taps and soap and toilet paper that we can’t afford to buy.  Perhaps we’ll see our government leaders in Zimbabwe’s hospitals for this first time in forty years because like us, if they get Coronavirus they won’t be able to fly off to China or India or South Arica for treatment. Like us they will have to pray that the hospitals have staff, gloves, medicines, respirators, oxygen, water and electricity to run the life saving machines.

Until next time, thanks for reading this Letter From Zimbabwe, now in its 20^th year, and my books about life in Zimbabwe, a country in waiting, love cathy 13 March 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 subscribe/unsubscribe or to contact me please visit my website http://cathybuckle.co.zw/

Post published in: Featured

Mostly we can say, ‘it affects them’ and we contribute our resources and our prayers. But with this latest plague – the corona virus – it affects us, whereever we are. It cannot be contained locally despite the best efforts of the most advanced nations in Asia, Europe and North America.   In fact these are the continents most affected. They are the places most travelled to and from.

Globalisation has brought many benefits but we are realising that it has also brought many costs. America gets much attention in the media and it is noticeable that this virus has really knocked them off course.  Their president has his eyes on his ‘approval ratings’ but he also has his eyes on the stock markets. This virus is making them plunge.  This is awkward for him and distracting from his re-election bid. It is exposing the vulnerability of a country that preens itself on being ‘great’. They cannot even provide health care for their citizens or sick pay.

So Corona – the word means ‘crown’ – is a shock to the system of the most powerful nation.  In the long run it might help them become a more caring society.  Politicians, nearly everywhere, are urging people to ‘think of others’. Don’t visit your old folk in homes.  You may carry the virus unknowingly. Wash your hands lest, in greeting others or doing anything for others, you may transmit the virus. Don’t, as we do, put your hand to your mouth or nose when you sneeze or cough.  Your hand may become a carrier. And we are told many such ‘dos’ and ‘donts’ so as to show our care for others.

I do not think I have heard politicians speak so emphatically about ‘caring for others’ before this plague, or pandemic, hit us.  This is something we would like to see become contagious! Every culture must have its equivalent to the English proverb, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. It conveys the fact that women and men in every age have proved their worth by struggling against obstacles in their path.

The Corona virus is, to my thinking, the first truly global challenge in history – even more intrusive to our lives than climate change.  Suddenly the daily bulletins coming out of an office in Geneva, Switzerland, which most of us have never heard of, is top of the news every day. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, Secretary General of the World Health Organisation, is the most listened to person on the planet. This has to be a ‘silver lining’.

15 March 2020                    Lent Sunday 3 A

Exodus 17:3-7                     Romans 5:1…8                   John 4:5-42

Post published in: Featured

According to ALM’s 2020 Go-To Law School data, from how many different law schools did Kirkland & Ellis hire their 2019 new associate class?

Hint: K&E had the largest new associate class last year, at a whopping 245.

See the answer on the next page.

Now might not seem like an ideal time to hold an initial public offering. Sure, the Dow’s up a bit today, but only about 10% of what it was down yesterday, which is to say 10% of what it was worth at the beginning of that day. Global stocks followed suit and all in all, there’s $16 trillion less sloshing around global markets than there were about a month ago, and maybe soon there won’t be anyone to trade anything anyway. This may seem especially true of Italy, where you’re essentially not allowed to go outside anymore.

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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.  

The morning after Hurricane Sandy hit Brooklyn, I turned on my faucet, drained my bathtub, and wandered around my neighborhood. Typically, Dumbo is bopping with tourists posing in front of our bridge for a famous photograph. But this morning, instead of selfie stick holding millennials, small fish scattered the sidewalks. My street was impacted, but it could have been much worse.

As I checked my office email, I breathed a similar sigh of relief. Our emergency plans had done what emergency plans needed to do. Generally, our people, servers, and things were safe. We were a fortunate mix of prepared and lucky. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for other places, companies, and people. Because sometimes no amount of planning can plan around a catastrophe.

Like bracing for a hurricane, as concerns over COVID-19 spread, in-house attorneys for startups are digesting information, assessing risks, making plans, and answering questions. Frequently, on top of the typical workload, the legal department is tasked with leading and coordinating with stakeholders concerning complex and risky situations. The team must provide tangible advice that goes beyond purchasing soap and hand sanitizer.

The pressure on the lawyers to make quick and thoughtful decisions in an unclear and changing world would be unbearable without formal and informal networks. In the past few weeks, generous and thoughtful in-house lawyers in my networks have shared, for example, response-plan templates, reliable websites and statistics, and work-from-home policies and resources. As well, there have been several lively debates on the topic of force majeure clauses.

As the New York City subways turn empty, it is comforting to have an inbox full of accurate, up-to-date information to keep the baby unicorns as safe as possible. We are a community. We have a duty to help each other. Remember to wash your hands and hooves. Be safe out there, little fish.

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Sarah was the General Counsel/first Lawyer at Etsy and Vroom. She’s a co-founder of The Fourth Floor, a creator and producer of Legal Madness, an NYU Law School Engelberg Center fellow, a board member, an investor, and a speaker. You can also find Sarah hammering silver, eating candy, and chasing her child. sarahfeingold.com.

We have some incredibly sad news from Bellevue, Washington, where an executive legal assistant at Davis Wright Tremaine, has died from unknown causes. According to a statement from Jeff Gray, the firm’s managing partner, Lisa Carney was 60 years old and had been with the firm for more than 16 years. Carney reportedly left the office on Tuesday because she had flu-like symptoms, worked from home on Wednesday, and was found dead in her home on Thursday morning.

Perhaps believing that this was too close to the epicenter of the coronavirus breakout in the area, DWT has rolled out a plan to protect its employees. Here’s an excerpt from Gray’s statement on Carney’s unexpected passing (available in full on the next page):

Since we do not yet know the cause of her death, in the interest of the health and well-being of all our employees, we are closing our Bellevue and Seattle offices until further notice and have asked everyone in those offices to work remotely. In addition, we have asked those in the Bellevue office to self-quarantine according to the CDC’s guidelines during that time.

While carefully navigating the death of an employee that could be related to coronavirus, the firm is also dealing with another office that was possibly exposed:

Yesterday, we were also told of a confirmed case of an individual, not from our firm but in the building where our Portland office is located, who has tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, we have also decided to close our Portland office and have asked everyone in that office to work remotely today while it is deep cleaned.

Because of all of these unfortunate things happening at once, DWT has decided to offer all its employees work-from-home capabilities:

We are instructing our employees in all our other offices to work remotely if possible, starting Monday, March 16. We are continuing to carefully monitor this situation across the firm and are prepared to implement additional measures to ensure safety.

We here at Above the Law would like to extend our sincere condolence to Lisa Carney’s friends, family, and colleagues, and thank Davis Wright Tremaine for its delicate handling of the situation so that all employees are protected from harm.

(Flip to the next page to read the Davis Wright Tremaine statement in full.)

What is your firm doing to protect lawyers and staff from coronavirus? Please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “Coronavirus Response”). Stay safe.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

This afternoon at 3pm, President Trump is expected to announce a state of emergency under the Stafford Act. Finally.

“We have things that I can do, we have very strong emergency powers under the Stafford Act,” Trump bragged to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday. “I have it memorized, practically, as to the powers in that act. And if I need to do something, I’ll do it. I have the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even know about.”

The Stafford Act is 192 pages, but … fine, whatever.

As The Los Angeles Times pointed out this morning, when and if Trump declares an emergency, FEMA will have access to $40 billion of disaster relief to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It will also become much easier for individual states to use Medicaid waivers to expand services and eligibility for thousands of people who will soon find themselves simultaneously sick and out of work as the gig economy grinds to a halt.

“Getting an emergency declaration would really help us get services to people who need it,” said Cooper. Medi-Cal currently covers about 13 million low-income Californians.

Among other things, Cooper said the state wants to shorten lengthy verification procedures to quickly enroll people. Public health experts fear that gaps in insurance coverage make controlling coronavirus more difficult because patients who don’t have insurance won’t seek medical attention and testing they fear they can’t afford.

California and other states also want to ensure that mobile clinics and other temporary facilities set up to handle a crush of patients can bill Medicaid, which also would require a waiver.

If Trump hadn’t spent the past month swearing that the virus would disappear in warmer weather “like a miracle,”  refusing to let states administer their own coronavirus tests, and locking cruise passengers on a floating petri dish to keep the number of confirmed cases down at “15,” he could have declared an emergency weeks ago.

And if he had, states would have had flexibility to enroll newly unemployed residents quickly to ensure they could afford to get tested and treated. But expanding access to health care for poor people is really not the Trump administration’s bag. From imposing work requirements on Medicaid recipients to shifting to block grants that would allow states to kick millions of people off the rolls, if it takes coverage away from poor people, they are on it.

“Medicaid could be the nation’s biggest public health responder, but it’s such an object of ire in this administration,” Sara Rosenbaum, a Medicaid expert at George Washington University, told the LA Times. “Their ideology is clouding their response to a crisis.”

And yet, he waited just one day after hammering out a budget with Democrats agreeing to $1.4 billion for his southern border wall to declare a national emergency to justify filching $3.8 billion from military construction funds to build that wall the Mexicans were going to pay for.

It’s all about priorities. And the health of poor Americans is … not one of them.

Trump administration blocks states from using Medicaid to respond to coronavirus crisis [LA Times]

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Elizabeth Dye lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.