By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/martin-plaut-319416">Martin Plaut</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/school-of-advanced-study-1058">School of Advanced Study</a>

Exactly a year ago Eritreans could hardly contain their joy as Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/ethiopia-pm-abiy-ahmed-eritrea-landmark-visit-180708083000438.html">touched down in Asmara</a>. The city had seen nothing like it in a generation that knew war rather than peace. Men and women lined the streets and waved Ethiopian flags as Abiy arrived to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44764597">seal a peace deal</a>. 

Less than a week later Eritrea’s president Isaias Afwerki made a reciprocal visit, landing in Addis Ababa to an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-44824676">equally rapturous welcome</a>. In September a formal treaty was signed between the two leaders in the Saudi capital, Jeddah, witnessed by King Salman and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who described it as an <a href="http://www.arabnews.com/node/1372886/saudi-arabia">“historic event.”</a>

The treaty <a href="http://shabait.com/news/local-news/27076-agreement-on-peace-friendship-and-comprehensive-cooperation-between-the-federal-democratic-republic-of-ethiopia-and-the-state-of-eritrea-">covered a number of things</a>. It ended the state of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia; declaring a new era of peace, friendship and comprehensive cooperation.

As part of this deal, there were two important provisions. One called for “the establishment of joint special economic zones. The other was a pledge to establish a high-level joint committee, as well as sub-committees where needed to guide and oversee the implementation of this agreement.

But there has been little apparent progress on either front. Economic co-operation was probably one of the key drivers of this reconciliation. These included plans to develop a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-23/eritrea-mulls-new-port-as-ethiopia-rapprochement-spurs-investors">massive potash mine that would straddle the border</a>. But little has been heard of the project in recent months.

Much the same can be said of the joint committees that were given the job of sorting out the many issues bedevilling relations between the two countries. 

What’s become clear is that the warmth of a year ago has largely gone. With little progress on implementing and institutionalising the relations between the two countries an air of uncertainty and suspicion is <a href="https://www.ethiopia-insight.com/2019/01/31/politicized-eritrea-peace-perpetuates-conflict-cycle/">creeping back</a>.

<h2>Disputed border</h2>

One of the sticking points between the two countries is the disputed border. The border was <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/eritrea/eritrea-ethiopia-boundary-commission-decision-regarding-delimitation-border">formally designated</a> by the Boundary Commission established after the 1998–2000 border war. The conflict had many causes: rivalry between the liberation movements that had been operating in both countries and economic competition. But it was competing claims to the insignificant border town of Badme that was the spark that <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/why-eritrea-border-ethiopia-conflict-zone-469739">ignited the war.</a> 

The two countries signed what became known as the Algiers Peace Agreement in 2000. The agreement made clear that the boundary commission could only make decisions based strictly on legal and historical grounds. This barred it from being able to allow for what might be considered just and fair – what’s known as <a href="https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/file/resources/collections/peace_agreements/eritrea_ethiopia_12122000.pdf">ex aequo et bono</a>. 

As a result, the border the Boundary Commission came up with resulted in settlements being dissected and villagers separated from their farmlands. And it left some people on both sides of the border concerned at being transferred from one state to the other. 

Changes could only be made by both countries agreeing to any adjustments. This was one of the questions that the joint commissions agreed to in Jeddah was meant to resolve. Others included the terms of trade between Eritrea and Ethiopia, for example exchange rates and economic relations which were seen as important <a href="http://www.dehai.org/conflict/analysis/alemsghed2.html">contributing factors</a> in the 1988 – 2000 border war.

<h2>Distractions</h2>

Rather than working to consolidate the peace, the leaders of both countries have drifted elsewhere. Ethiopia has been caught up in increasingly <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/ethiopia-needs-act-fast-solve-its-internal-displacement-problem">complex and bloody ethnic conflicts</a> that have driven more than a million people from their homes. Coming to grips with this is taking much of Abiy’s time and attention. 

He has also been working <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXHBo4Sug6k">on behalf of the African Union</a> to help resolve the political crisis in Sudan. Eritrea’s Isaias has also been to Sudan, but with a rather different remit. <a href="http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67719">Welcomed warmly by</a> by the deputy chairman of the Transitional Military Council, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo &#8220;Hemetti”, Isaias issued a statement that showed his agenda was quite <a href="http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67719">different</a>, as shown by his recent statement:

<blockquote>
The Government of Eritrea requests the AU to refrain from internationalising and exacerbating the situation in Sudan. 
</blockquote>

His approach isn’t difficult to understand. Isaias enjoys <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201904110180.html">strong relations</a> with Saudi Arabia and the UAE both of which have been embroiled in a war in Yemen. Eritrea has <a href="http://www.madote.com/2016/09/how-eritreas-assab-port-became-major.html">allowed its ports and airfields</a> to be used by both countries to prosecute this war. At the same time the Sudanese military <a href="http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article67591">provide troops</a> to fight in Yemen and have been open in their support for the Saudi and UAE in their war aims. 

Saudi Arabia was therefore <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/05/saudi-arabia-sudan-uprising-omar-al-bashir">alarmed</a> at the challenge posed to the Sudanese government by the popular uprising in Khartoum and other Sudanese towns and cities. 

<h2>Border remains tense</h2>

Even though the glow of last year’s events has faced, Eritrea has nevertheless reaped many gains from the rapprochement with Ethiopia. One consequence is that it <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47934398">signalled</a> the end of its international isolation. Limited United Nations sanctions were <a href="https://theconversation.com/sanctions-are-being-lifted-against-eritrea-heres-why-106881">lifted</a> and the country now holds a <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eritrea-in-the-un-human-rights-council-fox-guarding-the-henhouse/a-49378901">seat on the UN Human Rights Council</a>, a body that frequently criticised its lack of adherence to international human rights norms.

Eritrea has also taken the chair of the <a href="https://www.khartoumprocess.net/about/actors-and-governance">Khartoum Process</a>. This is a critical position, since it is the key forum in which African states negotiate with the European Union.

But the situation along the Ethiopia-Eritrea border remains tense. The Ethiopian government attempted to move its heavy artillery away from the border, but this was <a href="https://ecadforum.com/2019/01/09/military-trucks-blocked-in-tigray-region/">blocked by local residents</a> of Tigray, fearful that there might be renewed conflict with Eritrea. 

Their concerns are hardly surprising. Isaias has made <a href="http://www.shabait.com/news/local-news/26520-president-isaias-speech-on-martyrs-day">vituperative statements</a> about his immediate neighbours, describing the Trigrayan ruling party &#8211; the TPLF – as “vultures”, and accusing them of following a “toxic and malignan” agenda.

It is difficult to know how relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara will develop. The fear is that Isaias has gone back to his unpredictable ways, making any predictions difficult.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119931/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/martin-plaut-319416">Martin Plaut</a>, Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/school-of-advanced-study-1058">School of Advanced Study</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-glow-of-the-historic-accord-between-ethiopia-and-eritrea-has-faded-119931">original article</a>.

Is the glow of the historic accord between Eritrea and Ethiopia fading ?

NIAMEY (Reuters) &#8211; African leaders met on Sunday to launch a continental free-trade zone that if successful would unite 1.3 billion people, create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development.



After four years of talks, an agreement to form a 55-nation trade bloc was reached in March, paving the way for Sunday’s African Union summit in Niger where attendees will unveil which nation will host the trade zone’s headquarters, when trading will start and discuss how exactly it will work.



It is hoped that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) &#8211; the largest since the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1994 &#8211; will help unlock Africa’s long-stymied economic potential by boosting intra-regional trade, strengthening supply chains and spreading expertise.



“The eyes of the world are turned to Africa,” Egyptian President and African Union Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said at the summit’s opening ceremony.



AfCFTA “will reinforce our negotiating position on the international stage. It will represent an important step.”



Africa has much catching up to do: its intra-regional trade accounted for just 17% of exports in 2017 versus 59% in Asia and 69% in Europe, and Africa has missed out on the economic booms that other trade blocs have experienced in recent decades.



Economists say significant challenges remain, including poor road and rail links, large areas of unrest, excessive border bureaucracy and petty corruption that have held back growth and integration.



Members have committed to eliminate tariffs on most goods, which will increase trade in the region by 15-25% in the medium term, but this would double if these other issues were dealt with, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates.



The IMF in a May report described a free-trade zone as a potential “economic game changer” of the kind that has boosted growth in Europe and North America, but it added a note of caution.



“Reducing tariffs alone is not sufficient,” it said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">&nbsp;DIVERGENT INTERESTS</h3>



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Africa already has an alphabet soup of competing and overlapping trade zones &#8211; ECOWAS in the west, EAC in the east, SADC in the south and COMESA in the east and south.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But only the EAC, driven mainly by Kenya, has made significant progress towards a common market in goods and services.



These regional economic communities (REC) will continue to trade among themselves as they do now. The role of AfCFTA is to liberalise trade among those member states that are not currently in the same REC, said Trudi Hartzenberg, director at Tralac, a South Africa-based trade law organisation.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The zone’s potential clout received a boost on Tuesday when Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, agreed to sign the agreement at the summit. Benin has also since agreed to join. Fifty-four of the continent’s 55 states have signed up, but only 25 have ratified.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; One obstacle in negotiations will be the countries’ conflicting motives.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For undiversified but relatively developed economies like Nigeria, which relies heavily on oil exports, the benefits of membership will likely be smaller than others, said John Ashbourne, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Nigerian officials have expressed concern that the country could be flooded with low-priced goods, confounding efforts to encourage moribund local manufacturing and expand farming.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In contrast, South Africa’s manufacturers, which are among the most developed in Africa, could quickly expand outside their usual export markets and into West and North Africa, giving them an advantage over manufacturers from other countries, Ashbourne said.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The presidents of both countries are attending the summit.



The vast difference in countries’ economic heft is another complicating factor in negotiations. Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa account for over 50% of Africa’s cumulative GDP, while its six sovereign island nations represent about 1%.



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;“It will be important to address those disparities to ensure that special and differential treatments for the least developed countries are adopted and successfully implemented,” said Landry Signe, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative.



Regulations governing rules of origin, removal of non-tariff barriers and the development of a payments and settlements system are expected to be unveiled at the summit.



Reporting by Boureima Balima, Alessandra Prentice; Additional reporting by Alexander Winning and Edward Mcallister; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Edward Mcallister and Dale Hudson

African leaders launch free-trade zone, what you need to know about this potential economic “game changer”

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elizabeth-gravier/">Elizabeth Gravier</a>



Before Elon Musk became obsessed by space travel and electric cars, he was a kid who played&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-favorite-video-games-photos-2017-1" class="">a lot of video games</a>.



Speaking at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVW50KRaBd8" class="">video game convention</a>&nbsp;in Los Angeles earlier this month, Musk addressed the impact video games have had on his vision and the careers of engineers everywhere.



“Part of the reason, maybe the reason, I got interested in tech was video games, ” Musk said. “I probably wouldn’t have started programming if it wasn’t for video games or wouldn’t have been as interested in computers and tech if it wasn’t for video games. I think video games are a very powerful force for getting young kids interested in technology; it has way bigger knock-on effects than people may realize.”



Musk speaks from experience. At just 12 years old, he coded and published a space fighting game called “Blastar” which later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/04/the-first-jobs-of-15-billionaires-like-warren-buffett-and-jeff-bezos.html" class="">sold for $500</a>&nbsp;to trade publication PC and Office Technology magazine. He once worked at a gaming startup ( “Which weirdly was called Rocket Science — fate loves irony,” Musk has joked). And though his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/business/elon-musk-interview-tesla.html" class="">more recent birthdays</a>&nbsp;may have been spent pulling all-nighters at Tesla, Musk once celebrated his birthday by asking for a life-size statue of Vault Boy – the fictional mascot character from&nbsp;<a href="https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/" class="">video game Fallout</a>.



But Musk isn’t the only one who has found inspiration – and success – through gaming. The link between the two is obvious when he interviews his future employees.



“If we’re interviewing somebody for a software engineering role at Tesla or SpaceX, many times we’ll [ask], ‘How’d you start programming?’” Musk says.



“I think many of the best software engineers in the world are at, or spent much of their career at, video game houses,” Musk says, emphasizing how problem-solving in video games transfers over to problem-solving in software engineering. “If people had to try to create incredibly realistic graphics using very little computer power, it’s a hard problem, so a lot of people had to write really tight code and come up with really clever ideas to do that.”



For Musk’s team at Tesla, the enhanced graphics in video games enable them to better simulate self-driving cars with the help of artificial intelligence. Hetasks his simulation team with creating a photorealistic world of what he says are some of the most boring things: skid marks on the road, concrete curves, shadows, and faded street lines. These simulations have been essential to the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motortrend.com/news/consumer-reports-right-wrong-tesla-autopilot/" class="">autopilot cars</a>, which are scheduled for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/22/18510828/tesla-elon-musk-autonomy-day-investor-comments-self-driving-cars-predictions" class="">full rollout next year</a>.



He also credited video game <a class="" href="https://www.cyberpunk.net/us/en/pre-order">Cyberpunk</a> (as well as the movie “Blade Runner”) as the inspiration for the <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/14/elon-musk-tweets-about-tesla-pickup-truck-prototype-for-2019.html">Tesla pickup truck</a>.



“It definitely doesn’t look like a normal car, it looks like it should not be on the roads, like it came out of a movie or something,” Musk says. “It won’t appeal to everyone, but it’ll be something that’s different. I think I would buy it.”



Musk wasn’t just at E3 to talk about his new pickup truck. He announced the addition of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/bored-charging-your-tesla-play-videogame-your-car/" class="">video games to Tesla vehicles</a>&nbsp;— drivers can play games on the car’s center screen while docked at a charging station. He even hinted at developing games for his space capsules going to Mars.



“My experience is, if you’re trying to figure out what others love, but you don’t love it, it’s really hard to make that great,” he says. “So when you work on something, if you fall in love with it, that’s a good sign – and then don’t worry about if others do. If you do, others will.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/elon-musk-talks-about-how-video-games-got-him-hooked-on-programming.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/elon-musk-talks-about-how-video-games-got-him-hooked-on-programming.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Elon Musk says playing video games is how he and ‘many of the best software engineers’ got into programming

By Gary van Staden, Senior Political Analyst, NKC African Economics



Parties
that want to contest national and provincial elections in October have until
the end of July to submit their list of candidates to the national electoral
commission (CNE). Meanwhile, the armed opposition Mozambican National
Resistance (Renamo) party continues to squabble over its leadership.



The
submission of candidate lists opened this week, July 2, and will end on August
1 ahead of the elections scheduled for October 15. A total of 39 parties and
coalitions have registered with the CNE to take part in the national and/or
provincial polls. 



Realistically,
only the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) party, Renamo, and the
Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) that stunned Renamo last time out by
winning some seats in its backyard have any prospect of success. 



Frelimo
is expected to emerge victorious once again and Renamo is likely to claim fraud
and contest the outcome once again. 



Renamo’s
performance in the central and northern regions will be a key test of its
electoral appeal. Changes to the constitution will allow Renamo to select the
regional governor in those provinces where it obtains a majority, if any. 



Meanwhile,
local media reported in early July that a new group of Renamo fighters based in
Funhalouro district in the Inhambane interior have threatened to block the
demobilisation and disarmament process until the party’s leader, Ossufo Momade,
resigns. 



The
call comes after accusations that Mr Momade had removed those who did not
support him at the party&#8217;s congress earlier in the year. 



A
spokesperson for the Funhalouro group told media that there were 280 armed men
in the district – a claim likely to be unreliable given the total absence of
Renamo activity in the region for some time. 



The
new threats follow those made to media by Renamo dissidents in the central
province of Sofala in June when Major General Mariano Nhongo threatened that
dissidents would kill Mr Momade unless he resigned. The dissident fighters have
been labelled deserters and criminals by the Renamo leadership and their credibility
is in question. 



Their
claims that Brigadier Josefa de Sousa was executed on Mr Momade&#8217;s orders were
proved false when the “dead” brigadier appeared at a press conference to say
claims of his death had been exaggerated.



With
electoral season now underway, there is a heightened possibility of renewed
dissident Renamo conflict in parts of the country, coupled with localised
Islamist fundamentalist activities in the Tanzania border regions that are
likely to attract media attention. 



We
do not believe that these activities pose a serious threat to overall stability
in the country. But given the proximity of the elections, they could prove
disruptive at times and closer to the polls, there is an increased prospect of
violence. 



Frelimo
remains the most likely winners of the polls, but we anticipate Renamo will
once again reject the outcome, allege widespread rigging, and possibly provoke
more short-term conflict. 



Dissident
Renamo activities are unlikely to have a major impact on stability or on
Renamo, as their numbers remain small and they are isolated.

Op-Ed: Mozambique’s parties line up candidates for October polls

(Reuters) &#8211; Old Mutual said on Friday it intends to file court papers in response to former Chief Executive Peter Moyo’s plans to drag the South African insurer to court after he was fired following a row over an alleged conflict of interest.



Old Mutual said it would deliver a full response to Moyo’s allegations in court on July 16, adding that, business was not affected by the former CEO’s claims.



The company said in June it had terminated his employment following unsuccessful attempts to engage with him.



The dispute between Moyo and the company relates to dividend payments made by NMT Capital, an investment firm Moyo founded, where he was a non-executive director and in which an Old Mutual subsidiary is the only institutional investor.



Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty

Old Mutual threatens legal action against former chief Moyo, what you need to know

PRETORIA (Reuters) &#8211; South African state defence company has asked the government for a 2.8 billion rand ($200 million) cash injection to help it emerge from a financial crisis and secure lucrative export deals, its chief executive said.



Denel, a cornerstone of the country’s once-mighty defence industry, is one of several state firms whose finances were damaged by years of mismanagement during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure.



CEO Danie du Toit, appointed late last year to oversee a turnaround plan, said recovery efforts were progressing well and Denel could win 30 billion rand of deals in the next two years if it received help to overcome acute liquidity constraints.



Denel produces military equipment from ammunition and armoured vehicles to missiles and attack helicopters for the South African armed forces and for export.



“We have an excellent return on investment potential on recapitalisation,” he said in an interview at Denel’s offices outside Pretoria.



He said he hoped the cash injection would be announced this month and that the funds would arrive in September or October.



He added that Denel would not sell equity in any of its divisions to Saudi Arabia’s state defence firm SAMI, which made a $1 billion bid last year for a broad partnership with Denel.



Under current President Cyril Ramaphosa, public finances are stretched by the need to rescue other ailing state firms such as loss-making power company Eskom and South African Airways, which have both already received cash injections.



($1 = 14.0450 rand)



Reporting by Alexander Winning and Joe Bavier; editing by Jason Neely

Why South Africa’s Denel asked government for $200 million cash injection

SEATTLE/CHICAGO (Reuters) &#8211; Boeing Co said on Wednesday it would give $100 million over multiple years to local governments and non-profit organizations to help families and communities affected by the deadly crashes of its 737 MAX planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.



The move appears to be a step toward repairing the image of the world’s largest planemaker, which has been severely dented by the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane in March just five months after a similar crash of a Lion Air flight in Indonesia.



The two crashes killed a total of 346 people.



Boeing is the target of a U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation into the development of the 737 MAX, regulatory probes and more than 100 lawsuits by victims’ families.



The multiyear payout is independent of the lawsuits and would have no impact on litigation, a Boeing spokesman said.



The $100 million, which is less than the list price of a 737 MAX 8, is meant to help with education and living expenses and to spur economic development in affected communities, Boeing said. It did not specify which authorities or organizations would receive the money.



Many of the passengers on board the Ethiopian Airlines flight were aid workers or involved with health, food, or environmental programs.



“If the money is spent on furthering the work of the people on that airplane it would be money well spent,” said Justin Green, a New York-based attorney representing several of the Ethiopia crash victims.



But he said the fund would not affect his clients’ courtroom strategy: “What families really want to know is why this happened. Could this have been avoided?”



Anton Sahadi, a representative of relatives of the Lion Air crash victims, said the families appreciated the $100 million fund but it did not mean they would stop lawsuits.



“We will continue to fight for our rights in the courts,” he said. “Boeing is doing this to build their image back.”



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CHARM OFFENSIVE</h3>



After the Lion Air crash on Oct. 29 Boeing started developing a software&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-airplane-southwest/boeing-sees-fix-for-latest-737-max-software-flaw-in-september-idUSKCN1TS26Q?enowpopup">here</a>&nbsp;fix on a stall-prevention system called MCAS believed to have played a role in that disaster, as well as in the Ethiopian crash.



The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide after the second crash and regulators must approve the fix and new pilot training before the jets can fly again.



But just last month, regulators identified a new problem that will delay commercial flight for the jets until October at the earliest.



Boeing is in settlement talks over the Lion Air litigation and has separately offered to negotiate with families of Ethiopian Airlines victims, but some families have said they are not ready to settle, exposing the planemaker to a lengthy court battle.



“The Boeing brand is worth far more than $100 million and the board and executive leadership understand that is what is at stake,” said William Klepper, a Columbia Business School professor.



Following an initial response that public relations experts criticized as stilted and lawyer-driven, Boeing has been on a charm offensive, with executives at the Paris Airshow last month repeatedly apologizing for the loss of life. Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg posts regular Twitter updates on efforts to safely return the 737 MAX to service and win back public confidence.



Robert Clifford, a Chicago-based attorney with several of the Ethiopian crash cases, suggested some of Boeing’s $100 million pledge could be spent assisting efforts to return the remains of victims to their families.



“These families are distraught about the effort to get back their loved ones,” Clifford said. “They want closure.”



Boeing has also offered to match any employee donations in support of the families and communities impacted by the accidents through December.



Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; additional reporting by Cindy Silviana in Jakarta and Tina Bellon in New York; editing by Bill Rigby and Grant McCool

Boeing makes $100 million pledge to help families and communities affected by deadly crashes of its 737 MAX planes in Ethiopia and Indonesia

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Mining company Vedanta said on Thursday that it is seeking an urgent court order in South Africa to prevent Zambia’s mining investment arm ZCCM from winding up its disputed Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) business.



Vedanta is locked in a dispute with the Zambian government, which accuses KCM of breaching the terms of its licence.



Vedanta denies that KCM has broken the terms of its licence and says it will defend its assets in Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer.



The case has intensified concerns among international miners about resource nationalism in Africa.



A ZCCM spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.



Vedanta said in a statement that it had obtained a temporary order in South Africa’s High Court allowing it to make an urgent request on July 16 for an injunction against ZCCM and a provisional liquidator at KCM.



Vedanta holds a majority stake in KCM, with ZCCM holding a minority stake.



“Vedanta will seek an interim court order declaring that ZCCM has breached the KCM shareholders’ agreement by pursuing winding-up proceedings against KCM in Zambia, and directing ZCCM to withdraw those proceedings,” the statement added.



Vedanta applied to the South African court because the KCM shareholders’ agreement makes provision for arbitration in South Africa.



Reporting by Alexander Winning, editing by Deepa Babington

What you need to know about Vedanta’s appeal to South African court to protect Zambian business

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; A Zimbabwe human rights lawyer asked the High Court on Tuesday to overturn a government decision to ban the use of foreign currencies, a move that could potentially derail plans for a new currency if the court finds in his favour.



The government has introduced an interim currency, the RTGS dollar, in a bid to end a decade of dollarisation. On June 24 it renamed the new currency the Zimbabwe dollar and declared it Zimbabwe’s sole legal tender.



For many Zimbabweans, the name Zimbabwe dollar brings unpleasant memories of 2008, when the local currency was wrecked by hyperinflation of 500 billion percent, which wiped out pensions and savings and forced authorities to adopt the U.S. dollar and other foreign currencies the following year.



Godfrey Mupanga, a member of the group Zimbabwe Lawyers For Human Rights, petitioned the court to reverse the decision to ban other currencies.



In his court application seen by Reuters, Mupanga said the decision by the national treasury and central bank was “grossly unreasonable” and should be declared unconstitutional.



The court did not immediately set a date for a hearing.



In banning foreign currencies, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube used regulations under emergency presidential powers, which lapse in six months unless parliament passes a substantive law.



Ncube told a parliamentary committee on Monday that dollarisation was throttling an economy grappling with shortages of U.S. dollars, fuel and bread, and 15-hour daily power cuts.



Many businesses had resorted to selling goods in U.S. dollars to protect them against near triple-digit inflation as the RTGS dollar was fast losing value before the government’s surprise intervention.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe

Zimbabwe challenged in court for banning the use of foreign currencies, what you need to know

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<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tafadzwa-makonese-750988">Tafadzwa Makonese</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

Zimbabwe’s government has announced its facing critical power shortfalls. The country’s anchor power producer, Kariba Dam, might <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/zimbabwe-to-approach-eskom-for-help-as-kariba-dam-levels-drop-20190603">have to stop</a> production in weeks due to dropping water levels. Tafadzwa Makonese spoke to Moina Spooner from The Conversation Africa about what can be done.

What are the main challenges facing Zimbabwe’s energy system?

Zimbabwe has a severe energy crisis because its major sources of electricity are struggling to keep up with demand. 

Kariba power plant dam – where Zimbabwe gets <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304021888_Renewable_energy_in_Zimbabwe">57% of its electricity</a> – has low water levels due to poor rains last year. At the moment the dam, which sits on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, is producing <a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/zimbabwe-darkness-eight-to-ten-hour-load-shedding/">just 34%</a> of what it usually can. If Kariba stopped producing Zimbabwe would <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/World/power-production-on-the-verge-of-shutdown-at-zims-kariba-dam-20190531">lose about 358 MW daily</a>, that’s about 300 000 homes without power. 

On top of this, Hwange colliery – which provides <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-02/hwange-of-zimbabwe-coal-output-to-surge-on-underground-mining">almost all</a> of Zimbabwe’s coal for power generation – is producing less <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/World/power-production-on-the-verge-of-shutdown-at-zims-kariba-dam-20190531">because of</a> old and deteriorating infrastructure. 

Currently Zimbabwe <a href="https://af.reuters.com/article/africaTech/idAFL8N237276">produces</a> 1100 MW of power against a national demand of 1500 MW. This leaves a supply gap of 400 MW. The deficit is catered for <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/zim-looks-to-sas-eskom-to-help-stave-off-load-shedding-20190512">by imports</a> from Mozambique and South Africa. 

But payments for these imports aren’t easy to keep up with. For the past 10 years Zimbabwe has been going through a <a href="https://world-news-monitor.com/money/finance/2019/05/31/zimbabwe-strikes-imf-deal-to-boost-new-currency/">currency crisis</a> caused by hyperinflation. This has severely eroded the power of local currency, leaving the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority in a financial quagmire. They <a href="https://www.fin24.com/Economy/Africa/zimbabwe-to-approach-eskom-for-help-as-kariba-dam-levels-drop-20190603">currently owe</a> Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, over $33million.

Because of these challenges, any drop in national production means the government has to ration electricity. The government recently started a load shedding plan <a href="https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/zimbabwe-darkness-eight-to-ten-hour-load-shedding/">to prevent</a> the collapse of the country’s power grid.

What are the short to medium term solutions?

One short-term solution could be small solar power systems that are rolled out while the government works to improve national power generation through additional hydropower plants, solar and wind farms. 

Small solar systems are an effective source of electricity in off-grid communities or they could be set up as mini-grids in communities that constantly suffer from power-cuts. Zimbabwe <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0973082614000787">has enough</a> solar power to support these.

These solar systems could be made cheaper through the introduction of subsidies and tax incentives. Even better, the government could waive taxes on all certified systems coming into the country. 

And more needs to be done to publicise the use of gas in urban and rural households. Gas is underused in Zimbabwe, partly because it is more expensive compared to other energy sources including kerosene. The government could look for investments through private partnerships to build gas mines. Zimbabwe <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/zim-to-set-up-own-gas-mines/">has over 40 trillion</a> cubic feet of potentially recoverable methane gas in the Lupane-Lubimbi area. Considering the cost of building infrastructure to transport the gas from the production sites, it would be significantly cheaper to exploit these than to import from Mozambique. 

Industries that need to cope with power cuts should turn to energy storage. In Johannesburg, South Africa, some industries <a href="https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/energy-storage-a-viable-solution-to-load-shedding-2019-04-05">have integrated</a> energy storage into their micro-grids – the solar energy <a href="https://www.altenergymag.com/article/2019/02/energy-storage-microgrids/30388/">is stored</a> in batteries that are used when the grid fails. 

Are there experiences from other countries, in fixing a dilapidated electricity system, that Zimbabwe can draw lessons from?

Nepal and Bangladesh are good examples. 

In 2014 Nepal was experiencing up to 12 hours of power cuts for the residential and industrial sector. This was <a href="https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2018-05-14/entire-country-is-now-free-of-loadshedding.html">finally stopped</a> in 2017. Nepal invested heavily in run-of-the-river micro-hydropower plants. These are hydroelectric systems that harvest the energy from flowing water to generate electricity in the absence of a large dam and reservoir – as opposed to conventional hydroelectric power plants which rely on the power of water falling a large distance. 

It all paid off when water levels in major rivers rose and power could be generated. By 2018 the country <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/books/renewable-hydropower-technologies/hydropower-development-in-nepal-climate-change-impacts-and-implications">produced</a> 1000 MW from 782 MW in 2016.

Zimbabwe relied heavily on the Kariba Dam power station, without establishing more hydropower plants elsewhere. It <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876610217354486">has huge</a> small-hydro potential. 

Bangladesh meanwhile shows how energy-saving behaviour – like turning off lights in unused rooms, use of solar water geysers, and use of energy efficient home appliances – under its national energy efficiency and conservation master plan <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40095-019-0302-3">reduced demand</a> by up to 51%.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118209/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tafadzwa-makonese-750988">Tafadzwa Makonese</a>, Senior Research Fellow, Sustainable Energy Technology and Research Centre, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-johannesburg-1275">University of Johannesburg</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/quick-fix-solutions-to-zimbabwes-huge-electricity-crisis-118209">original article</a>.

What are the short-term solutions to Zimbabwe’s huge electricity crisis ?

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/david-neagle/">David Neagle, Contributor</a> 



The path to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-agree-giving-up-this-one-thing-will-make-you-more-successful.html" class="">great achievement</a>&nbsp;and leadership is not an easy one. You need a ridiculous amount of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/the-2-minute-rule-how-to-stop-procrastinating-and-start-new-habits.html" class="">focus</a>, drive and the ability to inspire others.



While there is no one-size-fits-all&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/money-mistakes-millionaires-like-warren-buffett-bill-gates-google-eric-schmidt-never-make.html" class="">approach to success</a>, there are a few traits worth adopting from some of the world’s most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/04/self-made-millionaires-swear-by-these-5-morning-routinesand-they-all-take-less-than-10-minutes.html" class="">accomplished leaders</a>, from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-agree-giving-up-this-one-thing-will-make-you-more-successful.html" class="">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/12/amazon-billionaire-jeff-bezos-explains-why-the-smartest-people-change-their-minds-often.html" class="">Jeff Bezos</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/how-the-wojcickis-parents-raised-23andme-founder-youtube-ceo.html" class="">Susan Wojcicki</a>.



Here are the top five:



1. They aren’t fazed by failure



Things won’t always turn out the way you expected them to. Most startups fail —&nbsp;<a href="http://innovationfootprints.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/startup-genome-report-extra-on-premature-scaling.pdf" class="">90 percent of them</a>, research finds. Many of your ideas might not work. People may give up on you. But successful people don’t let any of those things get in their way. Instead, they learn from their failures.



When Bezos launched Amazon in 1994, he only gave himself a 30 percent chance of success. “That’s actually a very liberating expectation, expecting to fail,” he told&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20000407181649/http://www.time.com/time/poy/bezos.html" class="">Time magazine</a>&nbsp;in 1999, when they crowned him as Person of the Year.



Indeed, the Amazon founder has had his fair share of failures, from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/making-money/business/jeff-bezos-worst-business-failures/" class="">Fire smartphone to Amazon Wallet</a>, but he never stopped taking chances in the pursuit of success.



“If you’re going to take bold bets, they’re going to be experiments,” he said on stage at <a class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-on-big-bets-risks-fire-phone-2014-12">Business Insider’s Ignition Conference</a> in 2014. “And if they’re experiments, you don’t know ahead of time if they’re going to work. Experiments are by their very nature prone to failure. But a few big successes compensate for dozens and dozens of things that didn’t work.”



2. They shoot for the moon



Tesla co-founder Elon Musk took this one literally when he said his mission was to take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39111030" class="">tourists to the moon.</a>&nbsp;One of the most admirable traits about Musk is always sets the most ambitious goals, from building underground<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/tech/boring-company-tunnel-elon-musk/index.html" class="">&nbsp;tunnels to beat traffic congestion</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-launches-neuralink-to-connect-brains-with-computers-1490642652" class="">connecting our brains to computers.</a>



Setting (and attempting to achieve) highly ambitious goals can take a lot out of you. But many&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/38/4/622/1856977" class="">studies</a>&nbsp;have found that this can make you happier in the long run. In one&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/38/4/622/1856977" class="">experiment</a>, researchers observed two groups of people: One who set sky-high goals, and one who set more conservative goals.



The first group reported feeling more fulfilled after having achieved their goals. The reason? When you set conservative goals, as opposed to more ambitious ones, the satisfaction you get from achieving them is much lower.



Oprah Winfrey is also a master when it comes to going big. She started off as a television reporter, then expanded her media empire by including movies, podcasts and websites. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” still remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American history. By age 32, she had already reached millionaire status.



 3. They lead from personal experience



In 2017, a Google software engineer published a&nbsp;<a href="https://gizmodo.com/exclusive-heres-the-full-10-page-anti-diversity-screed-1797564320" class="">10-page memo</a>&nbsp;against the tech giant’s diversity initiatives. The document went viral, prompting a quick response from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/" class="">Google</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/how-google-ceos-brilliant-answer-in-a-job-interview-helped-him-get-hired.html" class="">CEO Sundar Pichai</a>.



But the most daring and bold response came from YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Rather than speaking out in a corporate and sterile tone (which was expected, given that Google owns YouTube), she spoke about her personal experience and addressed the pain and empathy she felt for others who had read memo.



“I’ve had my abilities and commitment to my job questioned. I’ve been left out of key industry events and social gatherings. I’ve had meetings with external leaders where they primarily addressed the more junior male colleagues,” she&nbsp;<a href="http://fortune.com/2017/08/09/google-diversity-memo-wojcicki/" class="">wrote in an article for Fortune</a>.



Wojcicki’s response focused on how to empower the next generation of young women. Her viewpoint not only showcased her vision for the future, but also captured the hearts of many. The most successful leaders know when to lead from an objective strategy, and when to lead with empathy and humanity.



4. They know the greatest ideas come at the most unexpected times



Studies about the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/genius-genetics-intelligence-neuroscience-creativity-einstein/" class="">brain and internal thought processes</a>&nbsp;(i.e., daydreaming, imagining) have revealed that our “aha” moments often appear at the most unexpected times. “Information comes in consciously, but the problem is processed unconsciously, with the resulting solution leaping out when the mind least expects it,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/genius-genetics-intelligence-neuroscience-creativity-einstein/" class="">writes Claudia Kalb</a>, a best-selling author and journalist who reports on human behavior.



In a <a class="" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_ceocto_of_a_rocket_company_ama/">Reddit AMA session</a>, Musk said that he thinks up the most brilliant ideas he’s when taking a shower. CEOs and executives from some of the most successful companies in the world — including <a class="" href="http://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn</a>, <a class="" href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>and <a class="" href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a> — <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/23/why-ceos-at-google-facebook-and-linkedin-love-walking-meetings.html">hold meetings on foot</a> (i.e., standing, walking) because they believe that’s when people are most focused, creative and productive.



Like all successful leaders, it helps to allow things to flow in and out of your brain naturally, instead of getting too attached to when and where they come from. If there are certain activities, locations or times where you find yourself most relaxed, be willing to have an open mind and let your creativity ignite on its own.



5. They think outside the box and beyond the status quo



Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/03/12/stitch-fix-ceo-katrina-lake-on-how-algorithms-boosted-margins.html" class="">recently told CNBC</a>&nbsp;using&nbsp;artificial intelligence (A.I.) to create in-app algorithms helped boost the company’s earnings. The algorithms lifted Stitch Fix’s net revenue per client by six percent year-over-year.



When you’re at the top of the mountain, there isn’t a status quo to reference or a path to follow; you’re the one blazing the trail. It’s a distinct leadership trait at the C-suite level, but you don’t need to spend years climbing the ladder to acquire the same foresight.



Instead, reap the benefits now by mapping out five, 10 or even 20 unconventional solutions to your current business quandary. You’ll have a greater chance of successfully solving your problems by doing so. When your entrepreneurial muscles does this type of heavy lifting on a regular basis, you’ll soon be able to master “thinking outside the box” more nimbly, which will put you at the front of the pack.



<a class="" href="https://davidneagle.com/">David Neagle</a> is the founder of <a class="" href="https://davidneagle.com/">Life Is Now, Inc</a>., a leadership coaching company. David’s coaching has expanded to more than 30 countries, and his work has been featured in Forbes, CBS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, Inc., and Entrepreneur. He’s also the best-selling author of ”<a class="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Millions-Within-Manifest-Exactly-What/dp/1614482772">The Millions Within. ”</a> Follow him on Twitter .



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/04/5-traits-that-separate-millionaires-like-jeff-bezos-mark-zuckerberg-bill-gates-from-those-who-never-succeed.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/04/5-traits-that-separate-millionaires-like-jeff-bezos-mark-zuckerberg-bill-gates-from-those-who-never-succeed.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

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5 powerful traits that separate successful Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg from everyone else

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/courtney-connley/">Courtney Connley</a>



The flexibility to work remotely is a perk many workers dream of having.



But according to bestselling management author and CNBC contributor Suzy Welch, working from the comfort of your home or coffee shop can easily become “a career killer.”



“I understand that as an employee, sometimes remote work is the only way work is possible,” Welch tells&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/make-it/" class="">CNBC Make It</a>. “And I understand as a boss, sometimes remote work is the only way to get the person you need.”



However, she says, though working remotely has a few “very real upsides,” it has serious drawbacks as well.



“Here’s the truth,” says Welch. “The best work in an organization, the important work, it never gets done on the phone, or over email or on Slack.”



Instead, she says, “it is almost always facilitated by relationships and understandings that only happen when people are together physically.” Great teams are built on “the banter, the lunches, the late nights, the jokes, the asides, the shared ah-has!”



That type of bonding, she says, “builds layers of trust, and trust is a career’s rocket fuel. You can fly without it, but you can’t soar.”



Welch emphasizes that if you’re content with where your career is now, or you’re not interested in a leadership role, working remotely may be a perfectly acceptable option for you. “You can contribute working remotely,” she says. “You can even get promoted.”



But, if you want to move up the ranks and become a leader in your organization, “you need to be in the building.”



“Leadership is an inside job,” says Welch, “and it starts in the room where trust happens.”



Suzy Welch is the co-founder of the <a class="" href="http://jwmi.com/?mcv=jdg469">Jack Welch Management Institute</a>and a noted business journalist, TV commentator and public speaker. Think you need Suzy to fix your career? Email her at gettowork@cnbc.com.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/01/suzy-welch-why-working-from-home-can-be-terrible-for-your-career.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/01/suzy-welch-why-working-from-home-can-be-terrible-for-your-career.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Suzy Welch: Why working from home can be terrible for your career

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Steinhoff International said on Tuesday it had started legal proceedings against former Chief Executive Markus Jooste and ex-finance chief Ben La Grange to recover certain salary and bonus payments they got prior to 2017.



The South African retailer’s CEO Louis du Preez told lawmakers in March that Jooste, la Grange, along with six other people, were involved in inflating Steinhoff profits and asset values over several years, forcing the firm to restate years of financials.



Steinhoff first flagged holes in its accounts in December 2017 — leading to the exposure of a more than $7 billion accounting fraud — shocking investors who had backed its rise from a small South African outfit to a discount furniture retailer straddling four continents.



Steinhoff, which is also listed in Frankfurt, said it launched the legal proceedings on June 19 in the Cape Town High Court. Jooste’s lawyer, Callie Albertyn, could not be immediately reached for comment. La Grange’s lawyer was also not available for immediate comment.



In its delayed 2017 annual report, the owner of Mattress Firm in the U.S. and furniture retailer Conforama in France, said that Jooste received a bonus payment of 2.1 million euros ($2.37 million) in March and May 2017. It said 500,000 euros of that amount was neither proposed by the human resources and remuneration committee nor approved by the supervisory board.



Steinhoff also said it received summons on June 21 from Barents &amp; Krans on behalf of Hamilton B.V, initiating legal proceedings against the retailer and others “for declaratory relief relating to currently unquantified damages arising from alleged wrongful acts”.



($1 = 0.8856 euros)



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; editing by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

What you need to know about Steinhoff seeking to recoup payments made to ex-CEO

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By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olayinka-stephen-ilesanmi-764219">Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-ibadan-1955">University of Ibadan</a>

Brain drain is a major challenge facing the <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/rejhs/article/view/165775">Nigerian health system</a>, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of doctors in the country. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Nigeria is <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/international-migration-outlook-2015_migr_outlook-2015-en">one of the three leading African sources</a> of foreign-born physicians. 

Doctors leave for a variety of reasons depending on where they are in their careers. For example, many leave immediately after graduation. They usually leave for one or two reasons. Firstly, to pursue international residency training. Most in this category usually don’t return to the country. They prefer to work where their newly acquired skills can be put to better use. The second reason is if they fail to find a job or space for residency training. Most in this category also never return home to practice.

There are usually another two sets of leavers: those who leave five to 10 years after graduation – usually for better pay. Finally, there are those who leave after specialist training, which can be up to 10 to 15 years after graduation. Specialists – the most qualified and competent doctors – leave because of better prospects in other countries.

The <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5q36r5xq">exodus</a> has led to a <a href="https://print.ispub.com/api/0/ispub-article/6444">drop</a> in the quality of health care service due to the absence of skilled personnel. 

Nigeria hasn’t been able to get on top of the problem because nothing has been tried. The government doesn’t seem to be concerned. Nigeria was the only African country listed among the <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2f74/1754ee67696ba66341f922cc2c5764b6c288.pdf">20 top exporters</a> of physicians in 2004, with a loss of 5 499 doctors up from 1 519 in 1991. 

Health indicators may continue to decline in the absence of aggressive interventions to stop this. More doctors leaving the country will eventually lead to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5427605/">shortage of Nigerian medical doctors</a>. This, in turn, will add to the stress and dissatisfaction among those remaining. The poor will not be able to access care while the rich will travel out of the country for medical care. 

African politicians – <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-politicians-seeking-medical-help-abroad-is-shameful-and-harms-health-care-82771">including Nigerians</a> – who have the responsibility of improving the country’s health system usually travel abroad for their medical needs. The usual destinations are Europe, North America and Asia. And ordinary citizens spend over <a href="https://www.imtj.com/news/nigeria-spends-1-billion-outbound-medical-tourism/">USD$1 billion</a> annually on what’s become known as medical tourism.

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/african-politicians-seeking-medical-help-abroad-is-shameful-and-harms-health-care-82771">African politicians seeking medical help abroad is shameful, and harms health care</a>
 
 

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<h2>Reasons for leaving</h2>

Poor pay is a major factor for leaving, particularly for mid-career doctors who have families to support. 

Apart from pay packages that are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15375449">low</a>, actual payment of salaries is often irregular. In some states, government workers’ salaries aren’t <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/23-states-owing-workers-says-labour/">paid on time</a> every <a href="https://qz.com/africa/663626/nigeria-has-a-culture-of-not-paying-workers-and-its-not-about-to-change-anytime-soon/">month</a>. Delayed salaries were <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201806200428.html">reported</a> in Plateau State and <a href="https://punchng.com/n500m-monthly-loan-repayments-responsible-for-irregular-salary-in-kogi-govt/">Kogi State</a> among others. This is true for doctors too. 

Another major driver is poor working conditions. This includes having to work extra hours due to inadequate staff, lack of diagnostic facilities or to supplement monthly income. 

These problems spring from the Nigerian government’s low funding. In this year’s budget only <a href="https://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/index.php/2018-budget">3.9% </a> was allocated to health. This is much lower than the estimated <a href="https://www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF_South_Africa_--_2017_--_Health_Budget_Brief.pdf">13.5%</a> of South Africa’s national expenditure dedicated to health. 

In 2001 African Union countries met and pledged to set a target of allocating at least <a href="https://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/abuja_declaration/en/">15%</a> of their annual budget to improve the health sector and urged donor countries to scale up support. <a href="https://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/abuja_report_aug_2011.pdf?ua=1">Ten years</a> after that commitment was made only Mauritius, Seychelles and Eritrea had met the target. 

The lack of funding has led to poor remuneration, the underfunding of hospitals which in turn means that medical facilities are inadequate and infrastructure is obsolete.

Other reasons for leaving relate more generally to a lack of infrastructure in the country which makes it difficult to ensure a good standard of living in a favourable environment that promises good future prospects for children. This includes the lack of social amenities such as a good health care system, quality education, roads, electricity and piped water.

<h2>What needs to be done</h2>

To reverse the brain drain, the Nigerian government should create a conducive environment that will ensure <a href="https://www.stearsng.com/article/why-are-medical-doctors-leaving-nigeria">employment opportunities</a> and reduce poverty. It must provide the needed infrastructure such as good roads and transport systems, affordable and functional education, water supply, security, stable energy in addition to good health care system.

On their own, these won’t be enough to prevent the brain drain among medical doctors – and other professionals. It would need to be supplemented by other strategies. These should include providing financial and other incentives to stay. Institutional capacity-building that promotes career development should be fostered, along with mentorship opportunities as well as efforts to improve <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5q36r5xq">working conditions</a>. 

A central human resource planning body should be instituted. This would ensure a continuous increase in the number of health care workers through careful coordination and prediction of number of <a href="http://seahipaj.org/journals-ci/mar-2016/IJIHCR/full/IJIHCR-M-2-2016.pdf">medical graduates</a>. 

Enforcement of Bill of Patients’ Rights in Nigeria as well as National Health Insurance are <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/03/28/experts-charge-fg-doctors-to-halt-brain-drain/">due for consideration</a>. Without policies that will lead to available and accessible health care for all the bill may not have its desired impact.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117860/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olayinka-stephen-ilesanmi-764219">Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi</a>, Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-ibadan-1955">University of Ibadan</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-nigerias-doctors-are-leaving-and-how-the-problem-can-be-fixed-117860">original article</a>.

Here’s why Nigeria’s doctors are leaving the country, and how the problem can be solved

HARARE (Reuters) &#8211; Zimbabwe’s government expects to pay $10 million to South African state power firm Eskom by the end of Monday, Zimbabwean Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said.



Zimbabwe, which is grappling with severe power shortages, imports power from neighbouring South Africa. But Eskom cut back power exports to Zimbabwe because of unpaid debts of around $33 million.



Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; writing by Alexander Winning; editing by Jason Neely

Zimbabwe plans to pay $10 million to South Africa’s Eskom by the end of Monday

LAGOS (Reuters) &#8211; Global ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc is in talks with regulators over plans to expand into two West African countries and provide a boat service in Nigerian megacity Lagos, a company executive said on Thursday.



In much of sub-Saharan Africa there are low levels of personal car ownership, rapidly expanding populations and a lack of efficient mass transport systems in fast-growing cities.



Uber, which said it has 36,000 active drivers in sub-Saharan Africa, operates in a number of countries in East and South Africa but is largely absent from West Africa, aside from Nigeria and Ghana.



The firm has identified the region as a target for potential expansion, Chief Business Officer Brooks Entwistle told Reuters. He said the company was in talks with regulators in Ivory Coast and Senegal regarding the possible launch of services.



“Both Abidjan and Dakar are logical opportunities for us,” said Entwistle, adding that discussions were at an early stage. He did not disclose further details.



“We have talked about West Africa today as being a big growth priority for us and launch priority for us moving forward,” said Entwistle.



Ivory Coast and Senegal have two of the world’s fastest growing economies, according to the International Monetary Fund. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is also the continent’s most populous nation.



A number of motorcycle ride-hailing firms have also targeted West Africa as an area for expansion in the last few months.



Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, a megacity of around 20 million inhabitants built on a lagoon where Uber began operating in July 2014, is beset by heavy congestion.



Entwistle, who spoke to Reuters during an interview in Lagos, said the company was in talks with state regulators about providing a transport system on the city’s waterways as a way of bypassing its choked roads.



“We are looking at the waterways here, which are very interesting to us as it relates to a potential service,” said Entwistle.



The company has launched a boat service in the Indian city of Mumbai in the last few months.



“We did launch Uber Boat in Mumbai and we have watched the product develop. It’s in its early stages and we think there is high relevance here,” he said, referring to Lagos.



The Uber executive, who described Lagos as “one of the great growth opportunity cities in the world”, said the company has also held discussions with a bus firm and regulators in the city.



He said the talks were in line with a global push by the company to develop products that can work alongside public transit systems.



Entwistle said the combination of population growth and congestion made Lagos, and other cities in the region, attractive.



The United Nations predicts that Nigeria’s population will more than double to 400 million by 2050, which would make it the third most populous country in the world after China and India.



Uber faces stiff competition in African cities from Estonian ride-hailing firm Bolt, which until early 2019 was called Taxify. Bolt has grabbed business largely by taking a smaller cut from drivers using its app.



Reporting by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Jan Harvey

Uber aiming for expansion in fast-growing West African markets

By Francois Conradie, Head of Research at NKC African Economics



A
recent change in Tunisia’s electoral legislation is a self-preservation bid by
the major parties that control Parliament. The major parties have started to
feel threatened by populists who appeared to be strong contenders to win the
presidential election that is supposed to be held in November (first round) and
December of this year and have accordingly moved to exclude them. 



On
Tuesday, June 18, 122 of the 170 deputies present in the House of People’s
Representatives voted in favour of changes to the voting code, of which the
most important are a ‘representativeness threshold’ in the parliamentary race,
which means that parties that win less than 3% of the overall vote will no
longer obtain representation in Parliament, and two oddly specific new clauses
that were plainly introduced purely to exclude particular candidates. 



In terms of the first, “any person who has in the year preceding the poll granted advantages of any kind, in money or in kind, to citizens” is barred from running; the second new clause bars anyone who uses language “that does not respect the democratic regime and the Constitution,” “criticises the revolution [of 2011]” or “has nostalgia for the Ben Ali era.” 



By
contrast, a proposal to ban floor-crossing by members of Parliament was voted
down.



The
clause barring those who give gifts is designed to disqualify Nabil Karoui, a
55-year-old media tycoon who owns Nessma TV, the most popular television
channel in the country. 



His
station’s inexpensive Turkish soap operas have given it wide reach, and Mr
Karoui has used this to his advantage by trumpeting his charitable efforts,
which reached a crescendo during Ramadan when he gave thousands of iftar meals
to the needy – on television, obviously. 



In
April, when his political clout was becoming apparent, the broadcasting
watchdog closed Nessma down for a few days. It was also on Nessma TV on May 27
that Mr Karoui announced his intention to contest the presidential race. 



The
change in legislation also targets Olfa Terras Rambourg, the wife of a French
hedge fund multimillionaire, who has boosted her popularity by similar means. 



The
language about apologists for deposed President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali,
meanwhile, is plainly aimed at Abir Moussi, an unapologetic fan of the former
leader who has been campaigning on nostalgia for the security that his era
represents in the memories of many.



The
law now has to be signed by President Beji Caid Essebsi to become active, but
the possibility exists that the president will refuse to do so. He has a
political motivation to block it to get back at the alliance between Prime
Minister Youssef Chahed’s Tahya Tounes party and the Islamists of Ennahdha, who
got the law voted. 



Also,
there are legal considerations: the law barring candidates for their past
actions obviously violates the legal principle that a new law may not apply
retroactively (which is part of Tunisian law), but as the country still does
not have a Constitutional Court, there is no way to challenge it and the
president may elect to decline to pass it for this reason. 



If
he does sign, the final decisions on who will be allowed to run rest with the
Higher Independent Elections Authority (Isie).



An
opinion poll by Sigma Conseil, published on June 12, found that 25% of
respondents intended to vote for Mr Karoui. He was followed by Kais Saied (23%)
– a fairly conservative 61-year-old law professor whose positions on social
matters are those of the pious majority (and whose gimmick of speaking only
literary Arabic instead of Tunisian dialect or French impresses people). In
third place was the ‘Benaliste’ Ms Moussi with 11% – way ahead of Mr Chahed
with 7% (down from 31% in February) and former President Moncef Marzouki with
6%.



The
vote in Parliament further confirms the dominance of the political environment
by the loose coalition between Mr Chahed’s Tahya Tounes and Ennahdha. It now
seems as though Ennahdha will instruct its supporters to vote for Mr Chahed in
the presidential election. 



Given
the dearth of talent in Mr Caid Essebsi’s Nidaa Tounes, he currently looks to
be the favourite despite his collapsing popularity. But the legislation just
passed through Parliament is dubious, and it may end up being challenged in the
courts in some way – if it is not blocked by the president first. 



The period of pre-election instability is here.

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