Category: News Feeds

I’m getting tired of listening to the same old questions asked of the candidates during the Democratic primary debates:

“Could you please squabble some more about health care?”

“Could you please try to outdo each other on climate change?”

“Could you please rant about the need to get money out of politics?”

Let’s try some new ones:

“Do you promise that you will appoint no political ambassadors, and all of your ambassadors will come from the ranks of career foreign service officers?”

This has been a hot issue lately, and it’s surely worth asking about.

A few of the candidates might jump at the chance to make this commitment.  That would be interesting.

Several of the candidates will insist that they don’t take money from the wealthy, so there’s no chance that they’d appoint political donors as ambassadors.  Fair enough.  (They’d probably appoint their brothers-in-law, but that’s another story.)

Surely a few of the candidates would insist that there’s a need for political ambassadors, because every once in a while you get a good one.  For those candidates, the questioner should follow up:  “Yeah, but you get about one good ambassador out of a hundred from among political appointees and one good ambassador out of two when you pick from among career diplomats.  Why not take my pledge and increase the odds that you’ll have decent appointees?”

However you feel about the issue, you’d probably be interested in the discussion.

Next question:

“We hear an awful lot about ‘white privilege’ these days.  What about ‘political privilege’?  Should the relatives of politicians be given jobs for which they’re not qualified simply because of nepotism?  If you agree that this is wrong, can you give a few examples of unqualified people who’ve been the beneficiaries of ‘political privilege’?”

That’s probably too easy for most of the candidates.  They’d agree that people shouldn’t get jobs for which they’re not qualified and, because the debates are among Democrats, they’d all rail about the president’s children.  The questioner shouldn’t accept that:  “Can you give any examples of relatives of Democratic politicians who’ve gotten advantages because of familial relationships?”

This starts to get interesting.  Joe Biden is put to the test.  Does anyone care to go after the Clintons, whose daughter is getting vast publicity for her new book because of the identity of her co-author?  (Would the child of Joe Bag-o’-Donuts get the same publicity for the child’s book?  Or is co-authoring a book the sort of advantage that the children of politicians legitimately get, unlike jobs?)  Would anyone care to reach back in history and think about one particular appointment made after the 1960 election?  Any other historical examples?  This is a real chance to show knowledge, and guts, for candidates who possess one of those things.

Last question for the candidates:

Did you know that today was the ninth anniversary of Mark Herrmann’s column at Above the Law?

The candidates would certainly be shocked:  “Has it really been that long?  It feels like only yesterday.”  “That’s 550 columns!  Truly remarkable!”  “He ran out of things to say in 2012; why’s he keep writing the damn thing?”  And so on.

But surely those candidates, like you, would be tempted to click on this column and celebrate with me.

Not only that — this column had a smidgen of substance, unlike my previous birthday columns, which were designed solely as clickbait.

Anyway, as long as you’re here, I’ll remind you to read my cutest column of all time:

“Things My Son Said . . . ”

(Although the little turd’s now in a pediatric critical care fellowship.  Eight years will do that to a guy.)

And read the first honest advice you’ll get about whether blogging yields business for a lawyer at a large firm, from a guy who blogged at a large firm before moving in-house:

“Blogging For Business Development.”

(I’ve re-titled that one for today’s purpose.  You get wiser as the years pass.)

Or how about advice on business development generally, from someone who actually attracted a little business before going in-house:

“Building A Practice:  A Case Study.”

Or how about the 547 other little ditties that have appeared in this space across the years?

550 columns.  Nine years.  Heaven help me.

Ah, well.  Another year gone by.  Another clickbait scam to entice others to celebrate my anniversary with me.  Another slice of cake.

And another thank you for have followed along for all this time.

Celebrate with me!  And remember:  Drink responsibly.

Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now deputy general counsel at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Inside Straight: Advice About Lawyering, In-House And Out, That Only The Internet Could Provide (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.

* Settlement talks are underway to break up Cellino & Barnes into two separate firms. No news yet on which firm will keep the infamous jingle. [Buffalo News]

* A winner has finally been declared in the close San Francisco District Attorney race. [Washington Post]

* Woody Allen has ended his year-long lawsuit against Amazon involving Amazon canceling projects with Allen over #MeToo allegations. [New York Times]

* A North Carolina attorney has pleaded guilty to tax fraud for paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses, including plastic surgery, out of his business account. Can’t he argue that plastic surgery is a business expense? [Charlotte Observer]

* Hundreds of Penn Law community members have voiced dissatisfaction with the school’s new name honoring a donor. Hey, money talks. [Daily Pennsylvanian]

* A Queens attorney has been sued over extremely graphic allegations of sleazy behavior in the workplace. This attorney must not practice employment law. [New York Post]

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

HARARE, Zimbabwe

Residents of Zimbabwe’s capital have found a solution to a deepening electricity crisis.

More than 18 hours every day, there is no power which resumes only around 11.00 p.m. local time (2100GMT). But the majority of homes in a medium-density area called Homelink, in Westlea in Harare, are immune from the country’s electricity crisis, with solar panels installed on every rooftop, lighting homes in the midst of incessant power cuts.

About two months ago, Zimbabwe hiked power tariffs by more than 300% despite power cuts lasting more than 18 hours daily amid intensified power rationing, as the country contends with energy deficits.

But as Zimbabweans have taken the first steps to embrace solar energy, the government has been on record in the media saying it requires $3 billion in aid to meet its goals to expand off-grid solar power laid out in a plan drawn up as part of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Five months ago, Zimbabwe removed import duties on solar-energy-related products.

Solar answer

Homelink is home to many like 46-year old Pritchard Mvundura, who is amongst hundreds of Zimbabweans, who by turning to solar, have evaded the power deficits.

“You can see for yourself that there is no electricity here, but my home including several others, are brightly lit. We have gone solar as the country goes dark,” Mvundura told Anadolu Agency.

Even indigenous businessmen like 53-year-old Mike Ngorima running a printing and photocopying firm in Harare, has no regrets he gave solar a chance.

“The solar system I installed is keeping my printing and photocopying machines running, meaning my business is up non-stop despite power cuts,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Top humanitarian organizations have also stepped in, raising the banner of renewable energy use.

Since last year, 405 health care facilities were fitted with solar systems countrywide, thanks to support from the United Nations Development Programme in conjunction with the Zimbabwean government and The Global Fund which also funded the project.

Solar energy is gaining tract as Zimbabwe struggles to import electricity from neighboring countries like South Africa and Mozambique.

‘Lighting in most of our homes has solely gone solar,” said Ngorima. “We mourn no more for state electricity.”

Inadequate hydro power

Mozambique’s Hydro Cahora Bassa currently sells 50MW of hydroelectricity to Zimbabwe while South Africa also supplies it with 400MW of power, still inadequate to meet demand.

Zimbabwe requires 2000MW of electricity monthly to meet its monthly power obligations.

The Kariba dam, which has provided the country with the bulk of hydro power, has been over the past few years experiencing falling water levels, subsequently causing a drop in supply of hydroelectricity.

Hwange thermal power station, which has also over the years contributed to the power requirements, contends with obsolete equipment.

As these and more power woes mount on the country, Zimbabwe’s Energy Minister Fortune Chasi sees solar as the answer.

“The government backs the use of solar energy and sees its adoption as a viable, clean and lasting alternative to the challenges of insufficient power supply,” Chasi said.

Solar projects slowed

But delays in carrying out solar energy projects have added to the country’s energy woes.

For instance, the 2016 solar power station being constructed by Intratrek, a company reportedly owned by Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivhayo, contracted by the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), is still a work in progress in Gwanda, in the country’s Matabeleland South Province.

Even so, with the poverty of electricity pounding this country, more people Sophia Mhizha, 48, have had to switch to solar to light their homes, not only in the city, but also in the countryside.

“I have installed solar at my home here in Harare and also at my rural home because even the rural electrification program that government bragged about over the years, is no longer reliable,” the widow told Anadolu Agency. “There is no electricity more often.”

More solar users

More than 100 000 solar power systems are installed in homes across Zimbabwe, according to figures from the Ministry of Energy.

Mhizha and many others like Mvundura, who, amid the power cuts, have seen the light in solar.

As state power utility Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) struggles to produce sufficient electricity to meet demand, power outages have derailed businesses in recent years, according to the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI).

Climate change eats hydro power

Climate change experts have pinned the blame on dry weather conditions which has depleted water resources countrywide.

“You can’t have enough power without enough water in dams like Kariba which is surely a major source of electricity for the country. It has been hot over the years and we have seen water levels in Kariba falling because of the heat and this means a fall in power supplies,” Zisunko Ndlovhu, an independent climate change expert in Zimbabwe, told Anadolu Agency.

But, Ndlovhu also said “with increasing temperatures owing to climate change, many people have turned to the same sun, which is sucking away their water bodies, using the same sun to generate the energy they require.”

As the ship of state, Zanu PF Zimbabwe, slips like the Titanic beneath the waves, the call goes out at the lifeboats: soldiers and police first!

While doctors get fired for striking for more money for the health service, and teachers protest they don’t earn enough to go to work, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announces that the security services are to get the lion’s share of the new budget.

The Zimbabwe Independent reveals the reason in their story ‘Hungry soldiers spark government fears’. The essence is that the economic situation has become so bad that the Mnangagwa regime is in danger of rebellion by its dissatisfied foot soldiers.

The problem is that the president seems to have no idea what to do beyond hiring a plane to fly him to his next destination, Zimbabwe Airways having apparently been sacrificed to pay for the renovation of a house belonging to a relative of government minister Joram Gumbo.

Foreign diplomats in Zimbabwe are said to be increasingly disturbed by Zimbabwe’s lack of direction. A senior British Foreign Office official Harriet Matthews, accompanied by the British Ambassador and a senior official from Britain’s Department for International Development, had a meeting with Mnangagwa this week. Mrs Matthews said afterwards they had frank discussions. ‘The first thing I think is a call for a step up in reforms, in particular human rights and on corruption’.

This week also saw the dismissal by the constitutional court of a petition by the MDC leader Nelson Chamisa contesting the legitimacy of the last elections. MDC Treasurer-General David Coltart, himself a lawyer, said ‘It is hard to believe that trained, experienced, judicial officers could have written this judgment.’

For his part, Chamisa said Zimbabwe was now in a de facto state of emergency. It was in reality a police state and Mnangagwa’s days were numbered. He was speaking after police blocked civil servants from marching to government offices with a petition demanding better salaries, although the protest had earlier been approved.

Other points

• Thanks to all those who came on a very wet day to set up and pack up the Vigil: Norah Bomani, Cynthia Chibanda, Benjamin Chigamba, Patience Chimba, Rangarirai Chivariro, Miriam Gasho, Beaulah Gore, Simbarashe Jingo, Josephine Jombe, Jonathan Kariwo, Chido Makawa, Heather Makawa, Rufaro Makaya, Dambudzo Marimira, Patricia Masamba, Joyce Mbairatsunga, Benjamin Molife, Bianca Mpawaenda, Lucia Mudzimu, Washington Mugari, Esther Munyira, Fungisai Mupandira, Beverley Mutandiro, Mary Muteyerwa, Hazvinei Saili, Ephraim Tapa and Kevin Wheeldon.
• For latest Vigil pictures check: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimb88abwevigil/. Please note: Vigil photos can only be downloaded from our Flickr website.

FOR THE RECORD: 28 signed the register.

EVENTS AND NOTICES:

• ROHR Reading Christmas Party Fundraiser. Saturday 30^th November from 6.30 – 11 pm. Venue: The Spice Oven Buffet Restaurant, 2 – 4 Church Street, Reading RG4 8AT. Theme: to restore dignity to the suffering people of Zimbabwe. Tickets: £20 per adult, free entry for children under 5 years. For more information, contact: Deborah Harry 07578894896, Nicodimus Muganhu 07877386792, Joshua Kahari 07877246251, Josephine Jombe 07455166668.
• ROHR fundraising dinner dance in aid of women living with HIV/AIDS in rural Zimbabwe. Saturday 7^th December from 7 pm till late. Venue: Lee Chapel South Community Centre, The Knares, Basildon SS16 5SA. Formal dress code. Tickets £30. Contact: Esther Munyira 07492058109, Hazvinei Saili 07857602830, Margaret Munenge 07384300283, Pamela Chirimuta 07762737339.
• The Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe (ROHR) is the Vigil’s partner organization based in Zimbabwe. ROHR grew out of the need for the Vigil to have an organization on the ground in Zimbabwe which reflected the Vigil’s mission statement in a practical way. ROHR in the UK actively fundraises through membership subscriptions, events, sales etc to support the activities of ROHR in Zimbabwe. Please note that the official website of ROHR Zimbabwe is http://www.rohrzimbabwe.org/. Any other website claiming to be the official website of ROHR in no way represents us.
• The Vigil’s book ‘Zimbabwe Emergency’ is based on our weekly diaries. It records how events in Zimbabwe have unfolded as seen by the diaspora in the UK. It chronicles the economic disintegration, violence, growing oppression and political manoeuvring – and the tragic human cost involved. It is available at the Vigil. All proceeds go to the Vigil and our sister organisation the Restoration of Human Rights in Zimbabwe’s work in Zimbabwe. The book is also available from Amazon.
• Facebook pages:
  Vigil: https://www.facebook.com/zimbabwevigil
  ROHR: https://www.facebook.com/Restoration-of-Human-Rights-ROHR-Zimbabwe-International-370825706588551/
  ZAF: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zimbabwe-Action-Forum-ZAF/490257051027515

Post published in: Featured

(Original Caption) Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwe President Canaan Banana attend the ceremony for the independence of Zimbabwe. (Photo by William Campbell/Sygma via Getty Images)

At the end of that period out of about 400 000 school leavers, we end up with a tiny minority who have survived to their 6^th Form years, survived the toughest exams in the school world and emerged with sufficient points to get admitted to the most prized University programme there is – medicine. We then put them through a first degree and then a tough medical training which lasts another 7 years – 23 years of study and sacrifice by the student and parents.

Then we demand that they do an internship in a State-run medical facility before they can escape into the lucrative private sector. Many elects to go on to specialise. Our medical training has always been world-class – why I do not know, but our doctors and nurses find ready acceptance outside the country. Just yesterday I saw a BBC programme on the NHS where the commentator was saying they have a 100 000 vacancies which they cannot fill and arguing for a priority immigration policy – made for Zimbabwe!!

Do we have a surplus of doctors, absolutely not!! We produce a surplus of nurses but they find ready demand outside the country and are a valuable export commodity because they send money home. But not our doctors and if they leave, it’s for good, life out there is just so much better.

Their reward in our system; long hours of work, lousy living quarters, poor food and a paltry salary. Would I strike for better conditions – sure?

The problem is a Government who will not look at the system itself and work out what is wrong, why can the system not provide a decent living and other rewards for a young man or woman who has become a medical doctor? We are spending a lot of money on our medical system – much more than people think, but are our priorities right. Pari Hospital in Harare is world-class – 2400 beds, all the necessary facilities but without committed and well-trained staff, it’s just another run down Government-owned building. Without doctors, it’s a glorified morgue where people go to die.

What are we spending on medicine as a country – first the State contribution which is about 8 per cent of the National budget – let’s say US$500 million a year. The international Community just about double that – another US$500 million, the Faith-based organisations put in another perhaps US$100 million, but the elephant in the room is medical aid – we contribute about US$1,2 billion a year to our medical aid schemes and it covers about 10 per cent of the population. The Diaspora probably contributes another US$700 million. That adds up to US$3 billion a year. Per capita that is not a lot of money at just over US$200 a year.

But international experience tells us it is how you spend that money that makes the difference. In the States they spend over 25 per cent of all State resources on the most expensive medical care system in the world and half the population get very poor service – millions no service at all and that is why we got Obamacare. The UK is much the same but coverers everyone and even so, it is going broke because the State cannot meet the full cost of the level of service provided.

Perhaps the best examples of a health care system that hits all the buttons in even a low-income country, are found in the Far East – China has an amazing system, Taiwan even more so. The Cuban system has long presented the third world with an alternative to the Western models, which we simply cannot afford.

But do we look outside to see what lessons we can learn, no, we fire our most precious possession, our trained and skilled children who are just starting a lifetime of service in the medical world and without which you cannot have any sort of system? We have to think out the box.

The first thing we need to look at is how we provide medical care. When I was an employer I would prefer to send my staff in a vehicle to a Mission Hospital 200 kilometres from Harare simply because I knew that when they got there they would be treated as human beings. The equipment might be old, but it was worked, the sheets on the bed worn, but they are there and they are clean.

Just try an experiment and go and sit in the emergency unit of a State hospital near you. It will shock you as you watch people who need urgent attention, being ignored. Perhaps one light bulb in the room, a hard bench with rows of sleeping people who have been there for hours. Even if you get into award and receive treatment, hygiene and food are a constant problem and when finally, you are released, the hospital will delay sending their bill for treatment for anything up to two years, in my experience. If you need something to treat the patient, the Nurses will offer to supply for a price, perhaps even medicine from the Hospital stores themselves.

That is not a problem of resources, its management and motivation. You cannot fix that by throwing more money at the system – you have to change the way the system works. Mission hospitals work, not because they have more money, no, they work because there is a thing called the Christian ethic at work and because the people running the hospital are totally dedicated to doing so.

In the private sector, it is no better often, I had a friend who had a heart attack at home at three in the morning, was rushed to a private hospital and had to wait for me to arrive after 6 am to pay a substantial sum in USD and local currency before they would admit him. He died in reception. This week a nearby couple in their eighties were attacked at home and robbed – she died and he was denied access to emergency treatment by the same hospital because he could not pay, his children out of reach. Both would have had no difficulty in paying the hospital in due course but for them its Cash upfront or nothing.

How do we solve these intractable problems? For me, the first priority should be how do we, a poor third world country, give everyone automatic access to emergency health care and advice? I personally think the Taiwan system may be the best – give everyone basic medical insurance funded by a small national contribution per capita. This could be reinforced by a national disaster fund financed by a small proportion of third party insurance cover. The contribution by individuals to the national health insurance scheme should be supported by a State subsidy paid out against a means test.

Then we need to convert all State-funded medical institutions to community managed and run organisation with elected Boards and each self-financing. We need then to revert to what we used to do is provide a local community based primary health care clinic within walking distance of every Zimbabwean. This would not cost a great deal and 85 per cent of the medical care needs of the whole population could be met at this level at a very low cost. Again all such centres should be State-funded and Community Managed. Using modern communications technology, we could provide 24 hours’ consultations with a doctor at all such primary health care institutions.

The wealthy can always look after themselves, our concern should be how to give every person medical care with dignity and quality and to reward our professionals to the level that their training and positions demand. I think that is possible, but not if we do not change the system.

Post published in: Featured

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES SERIES 42/2019

[9th November 2019]

Open Committee Meetings Monday 11th to Thursday 12th November

REMINDER: 2020 NATIONAL BUDGET
The Minister of Finance and Economic Development will be
presenting the 2020 National Budget to the National Assembly
on Thursday afternoon, 14th November.

There will be five committee meetings open to the public next week – one on Monday morning, one on Tuesday morning and three on Thursday morning.

The meetings will be held at Parliament in Harare on the dates and at the times and venues indicated below.

Members of the public may attend these meetings – but as observers only, not as participants, i.e. they may observe and listen but not speak. If attending, please use the entrance to Parliament on Kwame Nkrumah Ave between 2nd and 3rd Streets. Please note that IDs must be produced.

The details given in this bulletin are based on the latest information from Parliament. But, as there are sometimes last-minute changes to the meetings schedule, persons wishing to attend should avoid disappointment by checking with the committee clerk that the meeting concerned is still on and open to the public. Parliament’s telephone numbers are Harare 2700181 and 2252940/1.

Reminder: Members of the public, including Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, can at any time send written submissions to Parliamentary committees by email addressed to [email protected] or by letter posted to the Clerk of Parliament, P.O. Box 298, Causeway, Harare or delivered at Parliament’s Kwame Nkrumah Avenue entrance in Harare.

Monday 11th November at 8.30 am

Public Accounts Committee

Oral evidence from Sakunda Holdings on the contracts for Command Agriculture and Presidential Input Support with Government.

Venue: Committee Room No. 4

Tuesday 12th November at 10.00 am

Thematic Committee: Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]

Oral evidence from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Child Care on the quality of health care systems and mechanisms that have been put in place to fight life-threatening diseases in Zimbabwe, such as Cancer, Diabetes and Tuberculosis [TB].

Venue: Committee Room No. 413.

Thursday 14th November at 10.00 am

Portfolio Committee: Energy and Power Development

Oral evidence from ZERA, Solgas Solar, Tokwe-Mukosi (Pvt) Ltd Mini Hydro, Southern Energy, Plum Solar, and Manako (Pvt) Ltd on the state of affairs in the Renewable Energy Sector.

Venue: Committee Room No.  311.

Thematic Committee: Indigenisation and Empowerment

Oral evidence from the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development on Empowerment Policies and Programmes for SMEs and Cooperatives in Zimbabwe.

Venue: Committee Room No.  3.

Thematic Committee:  Peace and Security

Oral evidence from ZCTU, ZFTU and APEX Council on Workers’ Welfare.

Venue: Committee Room No.  4.

Closed Committee Meetings

Most other portfolio committees will be meeting during the week in closed session.

The Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade will be considering its report for the National Assembly on the International Treaties Bill.

The Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services will be deliberating on the public consultations it held on the Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

Post published in: Featured