Category: News Feeds

* The criminal trial of Harvey Weinstein begins today in Manhattan. [New York Times]

* A lawyer mistakenly handed an Austin musician legal papers after he performed a gig. Maybe this musician should apply the alternate definition of shredding to these documents. [Austin Chronicle]

* A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit against the University of Texas over the removal of Confederate statues. [The Hill]

* A disgraced San Antonio attorney who allegedly stole money from clients has taken a plea deal to try and avoid jail time. [KSAT.com]

* Miley Cyrus has settled a copyright infringement lawsuit over her song “We Can’t Stop.” [Page Six]

* A law school graduate who pretended to be an attorney to work in a public defender’s office has been charged with unauthorized practice of law. At least she should be able to represent herself against the charges… [Fox News]

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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.

Parliament is in Recess until Tuesday 11th February

Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 2) Bill Gazetted

This Bill was gazetted in a Government Gazette Extraordinary on Tuesday 31st December 2019 [General Notice 2186/2019 signed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr K.M. Chokuda].  The Bill is available for downloading on the Veritas website [link].  Our analysis of the Bill will follow in due course.

When can the Bill be presented in the National Assembly?

The Bill cannot be presented until 31st March at the earliest.  There is a compulsory 90-day post-gazetting waiting period – section 328(3) of the Constitution provides that a Bill to amend the Constitution may not be presented in either House of Parliament unless the Speaker has given at least ninety days notice in the Government Gazette of the Bill’s “precise terms”.

Although General Notice 2186 was not signed by the Speaker and does not cite section 328(3) of the Constitution, it certainly gives notice of the precise terms of the Bill, and is probably sufficient to start the countdown to presentation of the Bill in the National Assembly on or after 31st March.  [Remember, however, that for the First Amendment to the Constitution in 2017 a notice by the Clerk was promptly followed by a notice by the Speaker – see Bill Watch 1/2017 [link].] 

Consultations with members of the public are essential under the Constitution

Section 328(4) of the Constitution obliges Parliament, immediately after the Bill has been gazetted, to start consulting members of the public about the Bill by inviting them to express their views on the proposed Bill in public meetings and through written submissions, and to convene meetings and provide facilities to enable the public to do so.

A call for written submissions can, therefore, be expected from Parliament soon.  Public meetings, however, will probably have to wait until MPs reassemble on 11th February.

Two Budget Acts Also Gazetted

Also published on 31st December 2019, in a separate Government Gazette Extraordinary, were the following two Acts, both available on the Veritas website:

Finance (No. 3) Act, 2019 (No. 13 of 2019) [link]

Appropriation (2020) Act, 2019 (No. 14 of 2019) [link]

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

Post published in: Featured

The sticking point was, as ever, money. The fringe parties taking part in the theatrically-named Political Actors’ Dialogue (Polad) may only have gained 2% of the vote in the 2018 elections but it was an important 2% because it meant that Mnangagwa could pretend to the outside world that he was engaged in a real dialogue with the opposition when all he was doing was fishing. Then the combined forces of 2% of the opposition came out with their demands for expenses to attend these vitally unimportant discussions when they were shown around Mnangagwa’s farm and how generously he feeds his fish.

Mnangagwa has magnanimously recognized their legitimate demands: cars, housing, wives, immunity from prosecution – all the accoutrements of signing up with Zanu PF. After all, it would help meet his promise about producing a ‘middle-income country’ – even if it is only for Zanu PF bigwigs and their acolytes.

Chamisa, who has refused to take part in the charade, has welcomed the intervention by former South African President Thabo Mbeki to try and resolve the dispute between him and Mnangagwa. But has he missed the boat? Mbeki we mean. He said he would be back in Zimbabwe by the end of the year . . . Perhaps he has been told that Mnangagwa would be too busy feeding his fish to meet him – or perhaps he realizes the boat is the Titanic.

                                                                      

Other points

• The EU has withdrawn its offer of 16 million euros in aid for the development of infrastructure to protect wildlife in the Save Valley Conservancy over the government’s reluctance to end land invasions and protect property rights. Some properties in the Conservancy are owned by investors from EU countries. The government has turned a blind eye to bilateral agreements protecting these properties.
• The British Times newspaper reports that ‘Africa’s richest woman’, the daughter of Angola’s former president dos Santos, has had her assets frozen by the new president. She is said to have corruptly amassed a fortune of more than $2 billion.
• Another article in the Times says Mugabe’s friend President Obiang, ‘the world’s longest serving president’, is now also in a pickle. His family has run through Equatorial Guinea’s oil  wealth and now wants a $283 million loan from the International Monetary Fund after a fall in oil prices. The Times says ‘the value of the IMF package equates to what Teodorin Obiang, the Vice-President, one of the President’s 42 children, spent between 2000 and 2011’.
• Thanks to those who came early to help set up the front table and put up the banners: Rosemary Maponga, Charles Mararirakwenda, Dambudzo Marimira, Benjamin Molife, Esther Munyira, Molly Ngavaimbe, Hazvinei Saili, Ephraim Tapa and Kevin.Wheeldon. Thanks to Rosemary and Hazvinei for looking after the front table, to Kevin, Molly, Rosemary and Deborah Harry for handing out flyers, to Delice for drumming and to Hazvinei for photos. Thanks also to those who brought refreshments: to Rosemary for bringing a thermos flask of hot water with milk for tea and coffee and to Molly for cakes.
• 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: 14 signed the register.

EVENTS AND NOTICES:

• ROHR general members’ meeting. Saturday 11^th January from 11.30 am. Venue: Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre, Belvedere Road SE1 8XX. Contact: Ephraim Tapa 07940793090, Patricia Masamba 07708116625, Esther Munyira 07492058109.
• ROHR Valentine’s fundraising dinner dance. Saturday 15^th February from 7 pm till late. Venue: to be advised.
• 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

The Vigil, outside the Zimbabwe Embassy, 429 Strand, London, takes place every Saturday from 14.00 to 17.00 to protest against gross violations of human rights in Zimbabwe. The Vigil which started in October 2002 will continue until internationally-monitored, free and fair elections are held in Zimbabwe. http://www.zimvigil.co.uk.

Post published in: Featured

By the end of the year, former South African president Thabo Mbeki visited Zimbabwe, engaging key political players in a bid to increase stability going forward.

Fin24 takes a look at the game-changing events that characterised Zimbabwe’s economy in the past year.

150% fuel price hike

On 12 January, President Mnangagwa announced a sharp increase in fuel prices, a measure he said was meant to improve supplies as the country struggled with its worst petrol shortages in a decade.

Petrol prices were increased by some 150% overnight to among the world’s highest at US$3.31 from US$1.24 a litre and diesel prices to US$3.11 from US$1.36 a litre. The price hike saw Zimbabweans taking to the streets, in violent protests, destroying property worth millions of dollars.

The government’s response was brutal, with eight people reportedly killed after army deployment. Fuel has since gone up several times and by year end, was retailing at Z$17.44 per litre of petrol and Z$17.90 per litre of diesel.

Currency float

The fuel price hike was followed by a currency float in mid-February. The Zimbabwean government was, at last, abandoning its three-year local currency peg to the US dollar. The move effectively devalued the quasi-bond note currency from a 1:1 parity to the US dollar to 1:16.65 as at 19 December.

The impact has, however, been devastating, with Zimbabwe returning to hyperinflation, and annual inflation doubling to reach 176% in June. Finance Minister Ncube suspended the publication of annual inflation figures, which independent bodies, using statistics supplied by Zimstat, put at 481% in November.

An even bigger economic knock was to come in June after Ncube outlawed the use of foreign currency for all local transactions. This move meant shares and investments made in US dollars would now be traded in local currency only. This was a staggering blow to the market capitalisation of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, which saw its lowest value since 2009 after losing US$2bn in value in under two months after the foreign currency ban.

Pensioners are also facing value erosion: total assets for pension funds, which were valued at approximately US$10bn in December 2018, are now valued at approximately US$ 622m at the going exchange rate. While properties held by pension funds can be revalued to reflect closer to their former values, shares, where they have invested 40% of their funds, might take longer, if ever, to reflect their intrinsic values.

Currency shortages

The currency float was also not enough to solve foreign currency availability challenges, with more than US$1.2bn belonging to foreign suppliers and shareholders still locked in Zimbabwe. This is in addition to multilateral debt close to US$10bn. The southern African country has struggled to pay for supplies ranging from food, medical drugs, electricity, raw materials and fuel among others.

South African companies such as Eskom, SAA, Multichoice, Tongaat, PPC, Nampak, AB Inbev all have millions of dollars locked in Zimbabwe. The Zim units are not operating at full capacity amid raw material shortages. In February three gold mines owned by ZSE listed RioZim shut down operations over forex availability challenges.

Lights out

Failure to get adequate power supplies from Eskom has also compounded an already dire situation as the Zimbabwe’s main source of power can only generate a small fraction of its installed capacity.

Dwindling water levels at Kariba Dam has meant less than 200MW is being generated from an installed capacity of 1050MW. The coal powered plants at Hwange constantly break down resulting in rolling power cuts of more than 18 hours in some instances.

This has a huge bearing on industry and has reflected in reduced production at farms, factories and mines.

And then there was drought

Zimbabwe also experienced a devastating drought that left some 7.7 million people facing severe hunger as the southern African country battled one of its worst food shortages in years.

The Zimbabwe government was recently forced to relax conditions of importation of grain in order to ensure the continued availability of essential foodstuffs.

Incapacitation

This term came into prominence with employees across the economy claiming incapacitation to come to work. They claimed their incomes had seriously been eroded by inflation and currency depreciation which made it “next to impossible” for them to attend work.

Close to 500 doctors were fired for their failure to attend work for over 90 days following their claim of incapacitation.

Corruption

Having declared his intention to fight corruption, Mnagagwa ovehauled the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) and put Judge Loice Matanda Moyo at the helm. ZACC has, however, been accused by critics of being partisian and only arresting those who would have fallen out of favour with the ruling elite.

Former Tourism minister Prisca Mupfumira became the first senior government official to be arrested for criminal abuse of office involving US$95m. She is out on bail and in December claimed she was not mentally fit to stand trial. A psychiatrist, according to her lawyer, recommended that she be given three months to recover.

The minister of state for presidential affairs responsible for monitoring and implementation of government programmes, Dr Joram Gumbo, was also arrested in November. Gumbo was accused of criminal abuse of office involving US$37m. In character with most high profile cases, Gumbo was released pending further investigations.

The latest corruption-related arrest is that of Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s estranged wife, Mary Mubaiwa, accused of externalising US$1m and laundering another US$990 000.

She is also accused of attempting to kill her husband when she accompanied him to South Africa to seek medical treatment by delaying his admission into a medical facility for more than 24 hours and subsequently attempting to disconnect his life support machine.

Post published in: Featured

By August 2019, Glendale in Mazoe was under siege. The whole city had a 6 Oclock curfew. 6 women were found murdered in the once serene Glendale Country club, within a month.
Mainly, the dismembered body parts, decapitated heads and 1 woman had a beer bottle embedded in her genitals.
The Shurugwis had come home. They marched along unimpeded, fearless, brazen and the law never caught up with them.
They were and are invincible.

It was around 2 am , 2 weeks before Christmas, when my phone went off.
My Mum was calling. I feared for my Dad.
My heart sank when I heard my Mum screaming and saying some Mambo Jumbo gibberish into the phone.
I drove as fast as I could, I found her dressed, my father by her side. Confused.
She said we needed to rush to Glendale. Nyasha, my cousin, had been slashed with a Machete by a Mushurugwi at Jumbo mine.
She wasn’t done. 2 of my cousins were missing. Feared dead. My Uncle had phoned.

My Uncle had been resettled at one of the farms. The hut where everyone had congregated, was poorly lit.
Blood welcomed us from the door to a heap of blankets where my aunt was trying to apply some medical aid. One look at Nyasha, I felt sick. How could a human being have inflicted such to another human being?
Half his face was gone. You could see some dangling teeth. A bone was protruding from his right arm. His left eye spoke to us. Death was imminent.

Before I could talk to anyone, a rundown Honda fit screeched outside. Some Korokozas had picked the 2nd victim. An orphan that my Uncle took care of from birth, had just been brought home. He was with Nyasha when disaster struck.

He was completely butchered. The boys kept bringing some body parts from the car. He was put next to Nyasha.
Concession hospital had no ambulances. Bindura was packed, ambulances would take hours. We drove to Howard Hospital.
We met the 3rd victim, Tonde there. Thank God, he suffered a few lacerations.

He narrated the harrowing story. They were underground for 5 days mining. They were supposed to come out of the tunnel that day when MaBhudhi arrived shouting Murudo Murudo.
Allow me to explain.

MaBhudhi are the most feared group of MaShurugwis. Untouchable and invincible. The police are scared of them. They are the leaders.

Although the Army’s Support Unit mann the entrances and search for any weapons and confiscate them, Mabhudhis somehow roam around freely with their Machetes called Colombias. Purchased in Msasa Harare. They cost about USD40 each. Razor Blade sharp, that one slash decapitates one’s head without effort.

Its a well-known fact that when Mabhudhi approaches you, listen to their lingo.
If they say Murudo Murudo or Murudho Murudho( Ndebele Shurugwis), all they are saying is “Give us all you have mined, even if you have been down here for a month, we mean no harm, it’s all done with love, mine some more and handover to us, and no harm will come your way”

Murudo murudo is welcome. For one is willing to spare your life.
You resist, you are a goner. Simple.
Every miner understands this. Except for Nyasha and his cousins. They were virgins in this field and were ill-prepared.
The love for money drove them, without fully researching the trade.

That is how Mabhudhi’s approached them. But they thought they would put up a fight, without any weapon.
He was shaking as he narrated the events of the night.
One Bhudhi turned to Nyasha and said, ” Zvino iwe chinun’una zvowohoramba nemahwe, unoti Maiguru vako vanohodleyi kumba?” Nyasha said he didn’t care. Those were his last words. For he wasn’t prepared for the disciplinary action that followed.

The Dr walked in, looking sombre and lethargic. Nyasha had closed his eyes indefinitely.
30mins later, death claimed the 2nd victim.
I was in a daze. It was a nightmare in slow motion. The wailing.
They were both aged 17. Nyasha was waiting for his O level results. They are still not out.

Tonde described how Mabhudhi went around slashing people indiscriminately. More bodies laid unclaimed underground.
A week later, I visited the place in Jumbo.
The place was a metropolis marinated with some bedlumic clamour. Kids below 20, speaking some funny language, dirty. They rushed to the car checking if I had brought some Musombodhiya or Weed. Some exhibited some fine tremors typical of drug abuse.
I realised if I so much as ventured outside my car, I would be gone in less than no time. There were thousands of people around, miners and traders alike, adding to the concert.

Before I could say Jack Robinson, there was a stampede of Biblical proportions.

Some Mabhudhis had gone on a revenge killing rampage on the other Mabhudhis. Likely the ones that killed my cousins.
1 Mabhudhi was brought from underground. His head was chopped 3 times with an axe.
I saw a glimpse of his limpy body for people were vying for his blood.
2 bodies were rushed to the hospital, but sadly died en route.

I knew it was time to leave. Good decision, for the Riot police, descended on the site in full force and spared no one.
The most feared MaShurugwis are Goliath and Satan.

I have seen the good side of humanity, I had never been exposed to such cruelty. I feel sick to the stomach as I write this.

I never knew Zimbabwe would descend to such lows. Boko Haram they say.

THIS NEEDS FIXING!! YESTERDAY.
We need a War Like Contingency Planning to curb this and it can be done. Why is it taking long??

Post published in: Featured

Note: This post has been updated with data from Cooley

Despite the fact that 2019 was a big year for digital health initial public offerings after a quiet couple of years, biopharma companies continued to dominate  healthcare and life science IPOs last year, continuing a multi-year trend.  A new eBook from MedCity News spotlights some of the more interesting deals and trends this year across digital health and biopharma.

There were 72 healthcare and life science IPOs last year in the U.S., according to data from the law firm Cooley.

A clutch of digital health companies splashed onto the public markets in 2019, reflecting the increased confidence in the long-term viability of these companies and the sector, such as chronic disease management business Livongo Health, health IT and data analytics company Health Catalyst and patient-intake technology company Phreesia.

A handful of healthcare companies saw their share price surge, such as 10x Genomics, a gene sequencing tech business, whose initial share price of $39 jumped from $52.75 on its debut in September to end the year at $76.25.

There were also some unicorns among the biopharma businesses such as Alector and Gossamer Bio.

The focus of the businesses behind these IPOs spanned a diverse range from organ transplant technology (TransMedics) to  fertility benefits (Progyny) to teledentistry (SmileDirectClub). Companies also demonstrated considerable age differences. Phreesia, for example, started in 2005, while 89Bio, a company with a lead drug aimed at treating nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, only launched last year.

Acknowledging the trend of pre-revenue biopharma companies listing on Nasdaq to advance their fundraising and commercialization efforts, NYSE changed its rules to accommodate these companies last year. Under the new provision, the NYSE adopted a discounted annual fee schedule for businesses with negligible  revenue, as long as their global market capitalization is at least $200 million and meets other listing requirements.

Download it now by providing your information below.

Photo: jxfzsy, Getty Images

The ongoing semanto-linguistic debate over the being and bounds of insider-trading has driven men to hope, despair and the brink of madness, It has even driven Congress to consider that most unprecedented act of all: doing something about it. But what if it were all for naught? What if prosecutors have always (or, at least for the last 17 years) had a bulletproof definition ready to hand, and were just using the wrong part of the criminal code? The very court that started all of the drama thinks they do, which is pretty embarrassing for all involved, and exceptionally bad news for Medicare inside dirt peddler David Blaszczak.