Your financial life is about much more than just your portfolio. It’s also about your “human capital.”
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The long view: Planning for financial happiness
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When do Roth conversions make sense?
In this 14-minute podcast, Vanguard Wealth Planning Specialist Boris Wong discusses when Roth conversions make sense from a tax perspective.
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Accept Your Failure and Leave Sowore Alone, Odumakin Tells Buhari
President, Centre for Change, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, has called on the Nigerian Government to steer clear of its plan to rearrest human rights activist and journalist, Omoyele Sowore, saying such move would be counter productive.
Sowore had raised the alarm over moves by the Nigerian Army to secretly secure an order from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to rearrest him over SaharaReporters publication revealing that President Muhammadu Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, had been infected with Coronavirus.
Odumakin said such attempts by the government was tantamount to taking Nigeria back to the dark age and total into abyss.
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She said the President should concentrate on finding solutions and remedy to the problems created by his failure and negligence in tackling Covid-19.
In a statement on Friday, Odumakin said, “Our attention has been drawn to the alarm raised by Publisher of SaharaReporters, Mr Omoyele Sowore, that the Federal Government was planning an onslaught on him for reporting that Mr Abba Kyari was Coronavirus positive.
“Does it mean that our government would have concealed Kyari’s status and allowed Coronavirus unchecked among the top echelon of Nigerian society?
“If the status of UK Prime Minister can be made public, who is Kyari that his status must not be known?” she queried.
Okei-Odumakin said SaharaReporters had done a great service to the country by making the information public.
She advised government to begin to remedy its failure by doing whatever it can to provide services for citizens.
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Condom shortage looms after coronavirus lockdown shuts world’s top producer
KUALA LUMPUR: A global shortage of condoms is looming, the world’s biggest producer said, after a coronavirus lockdown forced it to shut down production.
Malaysia’s Karex Bhd makes one in every five condoms globally. It has not produced a single condom from its three Malaysian factories in the past 10 days due to a lockdown imposed by the government to halt the spread of the virus.
That’s already a shortfall of 100 million condoms, normally marketed internationally by brands such as Durex, supplied to state healthcare systems such as Britain’s NHS or distributed by aid programmes such as the UN Population Fund.
“We are going to see a global shortage of condoms everywhere, which is going to be scary,” Karex Chief Executive Goh Miah Kiat told Reuters this week.
“My concern is that for a lot of humanitarian programmes deep down in Africa, the shortage will not just be two weeks or a month. That shortage can run into months.”
Malaysia is Southeast Asia’s worst affected country, with 2,161 coronavirus infections and 26 deaths. The lockdown is due to remain in place at least until April 14.
The other major condom-producing countries are China, where the coronavirus originated and led to widespread factory shutdowns, and India and Thailand, which are seeing infections spiking only now.
Makers of other critical items like medical gloves have also faced hiccups in their operations in Malaysia.
Goh said Karex was in the process of appealing to the government for an exemption to operate under specific conditions. Malaysia is approving other essential goods producers to operate with half of their workforce.
“The good thing is that the demand for condoms is still very strong because like it or not, it’s still an essential to have,“ Goh said. “Given that at this point in time people are probably not planning to have children. It’s not the time, with so much uncertainty.” — Reuters
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Learn how new U.S. tax law can affect deductions
In this 14-minute podcast, Vanguard Senior Tax and Wealth Planning Specialist Jackie Youssef tells advisors how the new tax law affects clients’ tax planning.
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Webcast replay: Maximizing year-end giving in an evolving tax environment
In this replay of a recent webcast, Vanguard experts discuss defining charitable goals and motivations, understanding the new tax laws, and philanthropy and long-term legacy planning.
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Schistosomiasis elimination: refocusing on snail control to sustain progress
Substantial progress has been made during the past decade to prevent and control schistosomiasis (also known as bilharziasis) globally. The disease affects more than 230 million people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
Progress is mainly due to large-scale periodic treatment of affected populations with praziquantel, the only medicine recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) against all forms of schistosomiasis. Regular treatment cures mild symptoms and prevents
progression to severe, chronic disease.“Through progressive scale-up of periodic large-scale treatment
to control morbidity in many endemic countries, we are closer to
achieving the minimum target of 75% global coverage of all school‐aged
children,” said Dr Amadou Garba Djirmay, who leads WHO’s global schistosomiasis control programme. “But
if we want to achieve elimination, we must go a step further to
introduce snail control in hot spots and in areas targeting elimination.
This is bound to increase impact and accelerate progress towards
interruption of transmission.”Expansion of treatment is largely supported by donated praziquantel from Merck KGaA of up to 250 million tablets annually. In 2018, almost 78 million children were treated, representing 63% of all school‐aged children eligible for treatment.
Transmission: role of snails
Schistosomiasis is an acute, chronic parasitic disease caused by infection with trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma. It is prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas, especially in poor, rural communities that have little or no access to
safe drinking‐water and basic sanitation. Infection is transmitted when people suffering from schistosomiasis contaminate freshwater sources when evacuating urine and faeces containing the parasite’s eggs.Once an egg comes into contact with fresh water, it releases miracidia (hatchlings) which enter a snail and produce hundreds of cercariae (larvae) daily. The cercariae enter the human body on contact with the skin and develop into adult worms.
Besides treatment with praziquantel, eliminating snail hosts and improving sanitation are important methods for sustainable prevention of the disease. Dam and irrigation projects are known to be potential sites for outbreaks of the disease. Snail management,
often achieved through mollusciciding, can help to reduce transmission by eliminating these intermediate snail hosts.Vector control
In 2017, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision making body – adopted resolution WHA70.16 on the Global Vector Control
Response, calling on Member States to develop or adapt national vector control strategies and operational plans. The strategy aims to reduce by at least 40% the incidence of vector borne diseases, including schistosomiasis, by 2025.In response, WHO is reinforcing snail control as part of its strategic approach to achieve the target of eliminating schistosomiasis as a public health problem and, ultimately, the goal of elimination of transmission. Snail control will complement mass
treatment campaigns and sustain the public health impact of this core intervention.To facilitate implementation of snail control, in 2019 WHO published on specific, standardized procedures and criteria for efficacy
testing and evaluation and in 2017 a manual on the use of molluscicides in the field. WHO is also planning to strengthen capacities
of health staff in medical malacology in order to reinforce snail control activities in countries.In the past, molluscicides (particularly niclosamide1 based products) were widely used in schistosomiasis control programmes. For example, in China programmes largely relied on snail control for over 30 years to overcome the disease as a public
health problem. In other parts of the world, however, snail control programmes were gradually discontinued and competencies faded away.“Snail control is a crucial component of the global schistosomiasis elimination strategy,” said Dr Rajpal Yadav, Scientist, WHO Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “It
is time we look for new snail control products that are cost–effective
and of low risk to humans and the environment. Some efforts are being
made to explore molluscicide compounds from plants, marine algae and
microorganisms.”An integrated control strategy involving mass treatment with praziquantel, snail control and environmental modification, wider access to sanitation and safe water, economic and environmental development, health education and poverty-alleviation can greatly
contribute to sustainable control and elimination of schistosomiasis.WHO’s new road map on neglected tropical diseases for 2021–2030, due to be launched later this year, advocates enhanced financial and political support to achieve the target of interruption of transmission. Additional research to address gaps,
develop tools and optimize the impact of existing programmes with snail control will complement the core strategic approach.Schistosomiasis: forms of the disease
There are two major forms of schistosomiasis – intestinal and urogenital.
Intestinal schistosomiasis usually results in diarrhoea and blood in the stool; enlargement of the liver and of the spleen and portal hypertension are common in advanced cases.
Urogenital schistosomiasis is characterized by the presence of blood in the urine. Chronic infection results in fibrosis of the bladder and ureter that can evolve to hydronephrosis and create conditions for bladder cancer.
In women, urogenital schistosomiasis can cause vaginal bleeding, pain during sexual intercourse and nodules in the vulva, a condition now described as female genital schistosomiasis. In men, urogenital schistosomiasis can induce disease in the seminal
vesicles and prostate.
1Limitations with the use of formulations based on niclosamide include restrictions on the usage of water immediately after application and temporary toxicity to non-target aquatic organisms including
fish, amphibians and invertebrates.
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Medicare questions? Here’s what you need to know from A to D.
Understanding your Medicare options is an important part of planning for health care costs in retirement.
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Justice For Sambo Abdullahi, Victory For Whistleblowers In Nigeria By Chido Onumah and Godwin Onyeacholem
Whistleblowers are the first line of defence against corruption, crime and cover-ups, according to a 2019 paper by the All–Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on whistleblowing in the UK.
For Sambo Abdullahi, head of internal audit at the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, it has been one long tortuous journey. Over the past two years, he has been at the receiving end of the retaliation whistleblowers around the world, including in Nigeria, face for shining the light on malfeasance around them: denial of wages, job losses, expensive court cases, abuse, psychological trauma, blacklisting across their sector, and sometimes death.
Abdullahi has been denied his salary and other allowances since December 2017, threatened, blacklisted, arrested and sued. All of this for acting professionally and responding patriotically to the call of the Nigerian government asking citizens to join the fight against corruption by blowing the whistle on corrupt practices and other forms of wrongdoing in the country.
In two separate courts, in Ifo, Ogun State, and Okitipupa, Ondo State, where in a most brazen abuse of judicial process, Abdullahi was summoned to answer charges of defamation levelled against him by his boss, Dr. Marilyn Amobi, Managing Director of NBET, he easily walked through the doorway of victory. Both cases were struck out on account of Dr. Amobi’s lack of seriousness in prosecuting.
The crisis of corruption in NBET has been going on for almost three years and the government appears not to have any solution. The appointment of Dr Amobi as the second substantive MD/CEO of NBET signified doom not only for Abdullahi as head of internal audit but also for the entire staff of the company. The MD withheld Abdullahi’s salary and other emoluments just because he exercised the right to decline participation in her fraudulent activities and rejected an unwarranted deployment to a new department unilaterally created by the MD to continue to perpetrate fraud.
Abdullahi, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), graduated in Accounting from a reputable university and has over two decades of experience. He acquired experiences from both the private and public sectors before joining NBET. He was the pioneer Head of Internal Audit of NBET in 2012; a position he held till 2016 when Dr Amobi joined the company.
Within one month of Dr. Amobi’s assumption of office, Abdullahi discovered the illegal over-payment of N2 billion to two generating plants, Omotosho Power Plc and Olorunsogo Power Plc, both of which have no Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) and Gas Transportation Agreement (GTA) as required by industry agreement. The implication of this fraudulent transaction is that electricity consumers on a monthly basis pay N2billion in excess of what they ought to have paid if this fraud is averted. It is on record that the very first month the fraud was detected, Dr Amobi assumed the role of internal auditor by signing off the payment vouchers.
Her defence for this unlawful violation was that the mandatory GSA and GTA had been waived. The questions for her are, who approved the waiver? Why was the waiver not extended to other thermal plants? And why did the waiver idea come only after the head of internal audit had uncovered the fraud?
Other transactions that made Abdullahi to incur the wrath of Dr. Amobi was his refusal to endorse other payment vouchers for illegal procurement of alcohol using taxpayers’ money, proposed monthly payment of N2.5million to one Engr. Achinaya (an ex-staff of both NEPA and PHCN) without procurement process, procurement of legal advisory services of Azinge & Azinge and Aelex law firms in gross violation of the Procurement Act, and payment for return flight ticket from London for Dr Amobi to resume work in NBET in violation of the NBET Board-approved benefit compensation packages just to mention a few.
As a retaliation against Abdullahi for doing his job professionally, which to Dr Amobi connotes standing in her way, she colluded with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to get rid of Abdullahi and his colleague Waziri Bintube. Both were removed from their duly appointed and NBET Board- approved functions as head of internal audit and Chief Finance Officer respectively. While Abdullahi’s salary was stopped, Bintube was sacked.
In response, the duo wrote a petition to the Ministry of Power in 2017. The ministerial committee report was released in March 2018 and vindicated them, while indicting Dr. Amobi. But despite the minister’s (Babatunde Fashola) directives that Abdullahi’s salary should be restored and Bintube reinstated immediately, and in fact that both workers should enjoy the rights of NBET staff, Dr. Amobi refused to comply with the directives.
Till date, she denies Abdullahi his salaries and Bintube has not been called back. Dr. Amobi heads a government agency supervised by a Ministry, but her insolent defiance of a Ministerial order is unprecedented in the history of public sector administration in Nigeria. And it is strange that this is happening under a government that claims to prioritize due process and accountability in the public sector.
As if the stoppage of salaries and sacking were not enough, Dr Amobi got Abdullahi and Bintube detained in the facility of the State Security Services (SSS) for more than twenty-four hours. Several directives by Babatunde Fashola, then Minister of Power, were rebuffed by Dr Amobi who insisted that as an appointee of President Muhammadu Buhari she would only take directives from the president.
While the issue of salary suspension remained unresolved in spite of interventions from the Ministry of Power, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the office of the Vice President, among others, Abdullahi approached the National Industrial Court in December 2018, twelve months after the unlawful stoppage of his salaries, with Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Dr Marilyn Amobi (MD/CEO), Hon Minister of Power and the Ministry of Power as defendants.
On March 11, 2020, Abdullahi (the claimant) once again walked the path of victory with the court delivering judgement in his favour. According to Hon Justice O. O. Oyewumi, the act of the suspension of the claimant’s salaries from December 2017 till date was wrongful; the denial of the claimant’s 2017 and 2018 leave was wrongful; the 1st and 2nd defendants, contrary to its terms and conditions of service, withheld the claimant’s salary and other emoluments wrongfully. The judge ordered the payment of Abdullahi’s salaries and other allowances, noting, “All sums awarded in the judgement is to be paid within 30days of the judgement, failure upon which it attracts 21% interest thereon per annum.”
While the case lasted in court, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Auditor General of the Federation and the Bureau of Public Procurement all issued reports indicting Dr Amobi while recommending her immediate prosecution. Sadly, some higher powers are preventing this from happening.
Governance problems are commonly found in federal government agencies due to either lack of a Board or total collapse of the governance structure. The Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Akoh, noted in a letter to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, dated January 7, 2020, that “for the past 14 months, no Board meeting of the company (NBET) was held, a situation which has serious consequences on the corporate governance of the company”. Truth is, no Board meeting of NBET has held since August 2018 when Professor Yemi Osinbajo, then Acting President, ratified the reconstitution of the NBET Board of Directors recommended by Kemi Adeosun, the immediate past Minister of Finance.
The governance collapse in NBET has entrusted the fate of about 80 million electricity consumers in Nigeria in the hands of Dr Amobi who sees herself as not only untouchable, but also a sort of “Alfa and Omega.” She formulates and executes policies at will, such as changing the company organogram whenever she sees any staff as standing in her way. The entire senior management has passed a vote of no confidence in Dr Amobi but despite this and other fraudulent activities traceable to her, no action was taken by the government to ameliorate the problem in the power sector and curb the continuous fraud being perpetrated in NBET.
The Minister of Power of Power Engr. Sale Mamman, in December 2019, made a daring move to respond to the situation by suspending Dr. Amobi from office indefinitely. But curiously, he was overruled by President Muhammadu Buhari in less than two weeks and Dr. Amobi was returned to office.
This forced the Minister to fire a letter dated January 8, 2020, to Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, detailing investigations by the ICPC, EFCC and the reports of the Auditor General of the Federation which implicated the NBET boss “for breach of due process in the award of contracts and several financial wrongdoings.” In that letter copied to President Buhari, the Minister reminded the SGF of “the additional baggage which the suspended MD carries in the light of the anti-corruption stance of the Federal Government.”
If this government wants to be seen as genuinely fighting corruption, the NBET case is a golden opportunity to faithfully demonstrate that conviction. Dr. Amobi has been indicted for corruption by government anti-corruption agencies. The place for her, therefore, is the courtroom, not a cushioned seat of a government agency.
Meanwhile, before Dr. Amobi’s prosecution, government should direct her to obey without delay the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in the suit filed by a whistleblower, Sambo Abdullahi, the head of internal audit of NBET.
In addition, government should realize that all whistleblowers deserve full and effective protection from all kinds of retaliation, without which its whistleblowing policy will not succeed as an instrument for reducing corruption in the country.
Onumah and Onyeacholem are with the African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
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Singapore entry: Work pass holders from Malaysia must get prior approval from MOM
SINGAPORE: All new and existing work pass holders, including dependants, planning to enter Singapore from Malaysia, are required to obtain the approval from the republic’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) before they commence their journey.
In its website, the ministry said upon arrival in Singapore, all affected work pass holders will be placed on a mandatory 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN).
“When applying for entry approval, employers will be required to declare to MOM that they have arranged for suitable housing premises for these employees and have made appropriate arrangements for food for the duration of their SHN,” it said.
The ministry also advised the employers to inform their affected employees, including their dependents, not to make travel plans to Singapore until approval has been received from MOM.
“The employers will be required to send the MOM approval letter to the employees who will need to show it to the airline staff upon check-in (if travelling by air) and at the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) checkpoint upon arrival in Singapore,” the statement said.
However, those conveying essential services, or supplies – lorry drivers, vegetable supply truckers, frozen supply truckers – via land and sea crossings will be exempted from MOM’s entry approval and SHN requirements.
This is following the Singapore-Malaysia Special Working Committee which has agreed that the transport of all types of goods between Malaysia and Singapore will be facilitated during the duration of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO), it said.
The MCO period has been extended to April 14, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced today. – Bernama
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