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Don McGahn (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
* A federal appeals court has ruled that President Trump’s former White House Counsel, Donald McGahn, does not have to testify before Congress. [CNBC]
* Roger Stone called an adversary’s lawyer a “little bitch” at a deposition last month. Check out the video to see if the insult was warranted. [VICE]
* Lori Loughlin’s attorney says that notes written by the mastermind of the Varsity Blues racket exonerate Loughlin of wrongdoing. [Forbes]
* This week, the Supreme Court will hear its first major abortion case of the Trump era. [Reuters]
* A new lawsuit alleges that Disney is breaking the law by making people with disabilities wait too long for rides. I sense an episode idea for Curb Your Enthusiasm here… [Texarkana Gazzette]
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.
As ruthless land evictions continue in Chisumbanje, in the south-eastern part of Zimbabwe, to make way for a voracious ethanol producer, everyone feels vulnerable, but women – who have traditionally been economically and socially marginalised – find themselves in an especially desperate situation.
“When it was time to get compensation land (for their own which had been seized by the ethanol firm with tacit approval of the government), the headman said if I wanted to get half a hectare of land, I had to have sex with him,” says a woman from this Chisumbanje area in an a documentary done by the Zimbabwean chapter of Transparency International (TIZ). “I had to agree because we are poor and landless. I only did it because I wanted land, but he wanted to continue having sex with me, indefinitely. When I refused to continue with the relationship, the headmen kicked me out of Bepe Village.”
According to a report, Gender and Corruption in Zimbabwe, published by TIZ at the end of January, this is just but a tip of the iceberg as cases of “sextortion” like this are on the rise as the socio-economic situation gets even dire in the southern African nation.
Sextortion
Sextortion is an abusive practice in which sexual favours are demanded in return for access to land, jobs, food, water, education, healthcare among other basic socio-economic needs, most of which are in critical short supply in Zimbabwe. The major findings from the survey indicate that most women are experiencing corruption in accessing these everyday social and public services. The rights of women are seriously undermined by the increasing need to bribe when accessing public goods.
The Chisumbanje interviewee also indicated that several women had traded sex in return for land in the area, but they could not disclose it as this would ruin their marriages or the community would label them prostitutes.
“This study noted that sextortion is a growing form of corruption that is least reported due to factors that are embedded in the social structure of the Zimbabwean societies,” the TIZ said. “These factors include the fear of condemnation by and expulsion from the community and the fear of losing the land, the asset that they would have sacrificed their health and morals to gain.”
According to the findings of the research, sextortion is now so commonplace that more than half of women in Zimbabwe have faced it as they carry out their day-to-day activities.
Worrisome statistics
More than 57 percent of the people surveyed by corruption watchdog revealed that sexual favours were a currency used in Zimbabwe to access a wide range of socio-economic benefits, including even when seeking placements at schools for their children.
About 45 percent of the women said they had received requests for sexual favours to access a service and 15 percent had used sex to get employment.
“57.5 percent of these respondents noted that sexual favours are the form of non-monetary bribe they had experienced. Sextortion is thus a part of the bribery culture in Zimbabwe. Women who do not have money to pay for bribes are thus forced to use sex as a form of payment,” reads the report.
Sex-preneurs
Women in business seeking government tenders were also found to face similar sexual harassment from men in positions of authority.
“At times you get asked for sexual favours in return for tenders or business,” a woman entrepreneur told the researchers. “What makes the situation difficult, especially for state contracts, is how women in business are perceived by men in control of these processes. When they see a woman, for most of them sex is the first thing that comes to their minds. Hence women are sexualised and seen as sex-preneurs rather than entrepreneurs,” TIZ reported.
No recourse
The study revealed that the prevailing harsh economic situation in Zimbabwe is forcing women into corruption, while fear of repercussions ensures that most of these cases go unreported.
“For some respondents it was fear of reprisal that stopped them from reporting whilst others indicated that there was no reward for reporting corruption. Regarding sextortion, respondents cited the justice system as too masculine, hence they opted not to report. All the key informants who took part in the research indicated that Zimbabwe lacks a robust corruption reporting system. They also highlighted the need for a system to promote and protect whistle-blowers,” TIZ reported.
The research also showed that in the social, political and economic environment prevailing in Zimbabwe women lack both political and economic muscles, which greatly hinders their ability to demand transparency and accountability to highlight their specific concerns about corruption.
“Sex is a currency in many corrupt deals in Zimbabwe,” the researchers quoted one informant from civil society as saying. “Sexual harassment is institutionalised, and women have been suffering for a long time. There is need to actively deal with all forms of sexual harassment in all sectors.”
Recommendations
The researchers recommended that institutions dealing with corruption be sensitised so that in patriarchal societies, such as Zimbabwe, issues affecting women do not remain at the periphery of mainstream social debates.
“Women’s experiences are in many ways marginalised and there is lack of formal institutional support to respond to women’s unique experiences of corruption,” the researchers pointed out. “In this regard, the capacity of formal anti-corruption institutions such as the police, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the judiciary must be strengthened to respond to corruption using a gender lenses.”
The report warned that the everyday normalisation of corruption has serious implications for gender equality and attainment of sustainable development goals.
Zimbabwe has long been a member of the club of failing states which, with Russia’s help, include such corrupt regimes as Iran, Syria and Venezuela. An article in the UK Times this week explained how these regimes prosper from catastrophe: how the unbelievable becomes the reality.
The writer, Roger Boyes, concludes that ‘enforced poverty depoliticises rather than radicalises the population’. He says: ‘Revolutions erupt because of rising but thwarted expectations. So the primary task of kleptocrats is to banish ambition. The ambitious, the able-bodied, the desperate flee the country in droves. And the leaders are OK with that, too. One day, they figure, the pressure of refugees mounting up in western countries will force the outside world to strike a deal with leaders who have demonstrated their survival skills. Allowing their states to fail gives them a perverse advantage: it makes them indispensable. As a result many people in these miserable states don’t even pretend to trust their leaders. Better muddle through with the ruler we know, is the short-term calculation, than topple him and risk the wholesale collapse of society.’ (See: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/1063-why-do-some-failing-states-never-fail.)
A sobering assessment, which perhaps explains Russia’s renewed interest in Africa’s raw materials and profitable reasons for propping up the Zanu PF regime – with or without Mnangagwa, whose tenure in office may soon be terminated, according to the maverick former Zanu PF minister Jonathan Moyo, stirring up trouble from the safety of South Africa.
Moyo talks of an exit package being agreed with military chiefs under which Mnangagwa would get a settlement of US$10 million and continued benefits on leaving office, as well as ‘a modest motorcade’. In a separate tweet Moyo speaks of Mnangagwa’s daughter collecting an apparent down payment of a quarter of a million dollars from the Reserve Bank as part of a payment of $5 million (See: https://zwnews.com/mnangagwa-daughter-fraudulently-gets-us250k-from-rbz-no-receipts-for-transaction/.)
In Harare’s febrile culture these stories may prove to be off mark, but allegations of secret money printing by the Central Bank are anchored on a statement by the International Monetary Fund. IMF officials found that more of the dodgy Zimbabwe dollars were being printed to provide subsidies for gold producers (see: https://www.ft.com/content/4ae27da8-5967-11ea-abe5-8e03987b7b20).
As the cost of living soars the government have resorted to providing soldiers with subsidised basic commodities to stem unrest (see: https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/africa/Zimbabwe-military-shops/4552902-5471140-tqj028z/index.html). The police will have to be next . . . and then teachers . . . until the only ones paying the cost will be – who else but the people.
A welcome revelation came in the state-owned Herald newspaper that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has identified over US$7 billion in cash and assets stashed abroad. ZACC Chairperson and former High Court judge, Loice Matanda-Moyo, said ‘Informally, we have now identified over US$7 billion worth of property and cash all over the world which were siphoned by our former leaders, current leaders, private sector and individuals. So this information we only got informally, so now we have to formalise the process so that we start the processes of repatriating the monies back home’. (See: https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/zimbabwe-pursuing-billions-of-dollars-stashed-in-foreign-countries-43505463.)
Good luck to judge Matanda-Moyo but the Vigil bets the odds on jailing any ‘former or current leaders’ are approximately zero.
Other points
FOR THE RECORD: 9 signed the register.
EVENTS AND NOTICES:
Post published in: Featured
Kudakwashe Matambo – Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu of Harare, who is also President of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC), on Thursday, addressed a press conference, at the Africa Synod House, in the country’s capital, Harare. During the press event, Archbishop Ndlovu said that the country’s Catholic Bishops had renewed their appeal for urgent food aid meant for the country’s nearly eight (8) million people who could starve due to a poor harvest. The country’s drought situation and the general economic meltdown are some of the significant factors that have led to food insecurity.
Outlining the Bishops’ appeal to journalists, Archbishop Ndlovu confirmed the World Food Programme’s report which estimated that nearly eight million people would require food aid in 2020 as the country faces severe food shortages.
The Archbishop further said the food insecurity is already affecting not only rural but urban communities, school-going children, newly born babies, mothers and refugees.
“This food insecurity will affect urban and rural communities. Millions of school-going children, refugees, and the poor will suffer from the severe effects of this drought,” said the Harare prelate, adding, “Our health coordinators in our hospitals are telling us that (already) some of the newly born babies instantly show signs of not being healthy. Their mothers too, because they (probably) eat only once a day and as a result may not produce enough breast milk for the babies and that will affect the development and growth of that child,” said the Archbishop.
The Bishops are targeting to raise over US 1 million dollars for the initial response programme, which will be administered to all people, without exception, through Caritas Zimbabwe.
“Our appeal and response is on behalf of the people of every race, culture, gender and religion in Zimbabwe who are and will soon be in dire need.” He continued, “Our goal is to mobilise sufficient food aid for us to make a difference to the lives of the many millions who face starvation, including children, women and those living with HIV/AIDS,” said Archbishop Ndlovu.
The Archbishop further revealed that through the Zimbabwe Bishops’ Caritas Appeal, the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe had so far received over US 200 000 dollars and distribution to needy areas was presently underway.
Speaking at the same press conference, the Bishop of Mutare Diocese, Paul Horan, took the opportunity to brief the media about the Church’s efforts in responding to the Cyclone Idai emergency of 2019. Among some of the Diocese’s major projects is the ongoing construction of houses that collapsed due to torrential rains that came with Cyclon Idai.
With Zimbabwe gripped by a hunger crisis and hyperinflation, Emmerson Mnangagwa has told the international community that political and economic change will cost money. Photograph: Valery Sharifulin/Tass
The president of Zimbabwe has appealed for help in pulling his debt-ridden country out of “financial isolation”.
Emmerson Mnangagwa made his passionate call for international funding after he failed to secure new loans from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Paris Club due to outstanding foreign debts of $8bn (£6.2bn).
Addressing the Africa forum on sustainable development in Zimbabwe’s northern town of Victoria Falls this week he said: “Our five-year national development plans running up to 2063 will endeavour to achieve an upper middle-income status by 2030.
“The need to remain alive to the shocks of drought and the impact of climate change through the necessary social safety nets cannot be overemphasised,” he said. “We appeal for multilateral support to augment our efforts.”
His pleas come amid Zimbabwe’s worst hunger crisis in a decade, with 5.5 million people in rural areas facing starvation. Humanitarian agencies have said $200m (£155m) is needed to ensure people have food.
The country is also facing rising poverty levels and hyperinflation. Mnangagwa knows that only immediate political and economic reforms will secure fresh funding but he has stressed that change will cost money.
“It should be understood that we are undertaking the reforms without the requisite external financial support as is the norm. It is regrettable that the funding gap for the sustainable development goals in Africa remains low and weighs down on the attainment of [the] SDGs in Africa,” he said.
The forum heard that no African country is on track to achieve the 17 goals – the UN blueprint to end poverty, protect the planet and address inequalities – by the 2030 deadline.
Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa and Cape Verde have all made significant advances in reducing poverty, improving health, protecting the environment and reducing gender inequalities.
Amina Mohammed, UN deputy secretary general, said climate change had weakened Africa’s chances of meeting the SDGs, citing the current locust outbreak as a threat to food security.
“Major scientific and analytical reviews have made it clear that we are not on track to achieve the SDGs by 2030, and just a few weeks ago the African Union first report on the implementation of agenda 2063 demonstrated that, despite earlier progress, there is still an urgent need for enhanced action,” she told the forum.
“As we begin this exciting decade, it is vital that we recognise the progress being made in Africa on multiple fronts. Africa continues to have some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and growth is projected to remain stable in 2020.”
She said progress had been made in “the quest for peace and security” but the number of people living in poverty had risen since 2013 and youth unemployment rates are more than twice that of adults.
“There have been considerable gains in health outcomes – with less women and children dying in childbirth or because of diseases; improvements in access to education and electricity; and a dramatic rise in internet connectivity,” she added.
Delegates were lauded for increased commitments on climate action, with most African countries having signed the Paris agreement, and 48 countries have ratified the convention.
Initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement are also expected to spur growth.
“Since no country is on track to deliver by 2030, every country must increase its ambition,” said Mohammed.
“That starts with national plans, policies, budgets and institutions that are commensurate with what it will take to deliver universal access to quality social services and an economy that provides decent jobs for all. It also requires national financing frameworks that support governments in mobilising and aligning financing from all sources.”
Paul Mpuga, economic affairs officer at the Economic Commission for Africa, said funding was a huge issue for a continent that needs $2.5tn to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
“We have the funding gap challenge because the requirements to realising sustainable development are huge,” Mpuga said. “This is going to be an uphill task. Realising [the] SDGs is not going to be easy. Most countries may not … but the potential is strong if they take action in good governance.”
Post published in: Business
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES SERIES 8/2020
Open Committee Meetings Monday 2nd and Thursday 5th March
There will be committee meetings open to attendance by the public in Parliament Building, Harare, this coming week, as 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 2nd March at 10.00 am
Portfolio Committee: Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services
Oral evidence on petitions received from the Coloured Community and the Chikunda Tribe
Venue: Committee Room No. 1
Portfolio Committee: Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry
Oral evidence from Mr Madungure on his petition on alleged emission of toxic pollutants by Steel Brands Company in Houghton Park
Venue: Committee Room No. 413
Portfolio Committee: Higher and Tertiary Education
Oral evidence from student representatives and stakeholders on the recent higher and tertiary education tuition fees hikes
Venue: National Assembly chamber
Monday 2nd March at 2.00 pm
Portfolio Committee: Budget, Finance and Economic Development
Oral evidence from the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe Mobile Money Transfer companies, CZI and ZNCC on the state of the economy [money supply situation, premiums charged by mobile money transfer companies]
Venue: Senate Chamber
Portfolio Committee: Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services
Oral evidence from POTRAZ on the sharing of infrastructure by mobile network service providers
Venue: Committee Room No. 413
Thursday 5th March at 10.00 am
Portfolio Committee: Energy and Power Development
Oral evidence from Independent Power Producers [IPPs] and ZERA [Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority] on the state of affairs in the renewable energy sector
Venue: Committee Room No. 311
Portfolio Committee: Information, Media and Broadcasting Services
Oral evidence from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe [BAZ] on regulations for establishment of Community Radio Stations
Venue: Senate Chamber
Portfolio Committee: Youth, Sport, Culture and Recreation
Oral evidence on the state of sporting facilities from the:
· Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation
· Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing
· Zimbabwe Football Association [ZIFA]
· Sports and Recreation Commission
Venue: Committee Room No. 2
Other Committee Activities of Interest
Inquiry into access to safe, clean and potable water
The Senate Thematic Committees on Human Rights, SDGs and Gender and Development will not only hold public hearings on this subject [as indicated in Veritas Parliamentary Committee Series Bulletin 7/2020 [link]], but will be touring Kwekwe Water Treatment Plant, the Nyamandhlovu Water Aquifer, the Nyazvidze Water Treatment Plant in Chivhu, the Masvingo Water Treatment Plant, the Rusape Water Treatment Plant and the Chipinge Water Treatment Plant.
Fact-finding visits to local authorities, 2nd to 10th March
The Portfolio Committee on Local Government will be paying fact-finding visits to Binga Rural District Council,
Hwange local authority, Victoria Falls local authority, Bulawayo City Council, Kadoma City Council, Chegutu Municipal Council and Zvimba Rural District Council. They are expected to receive briefings by council officials, and tour road networks, water works, clinics and schools.
Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.
29.2.2020 11:37
Following the police raid on Job Sikhala’s house this morning, MDC youths clashed with police around the Huruyadzo shopping centre in Chitungwiza.
There were running battles between the MDC youths and Zanu pf youths in the area.
Post published in: Featured
29.2.2020 11:32
Anti government protect at Kamunhu shopping centre in Mabvuku. Riot police with water canon patrolling. Running battles between Citizens and police as Citizens are saying enough is enough.
Going For The Gold: Some associates are Olympic hopefuls.
Orange Is The New Black: Law school donor giving to Women’s Prison Project.
RBG Working Hard: She’s churning out opinions.
