The Zimbabwean
19 June 2013
Minister David Coltart believes it would be wrong to withdraw from politics when there is so much unfinished business. He told Mkhululi Chimoio he did not think the struggle for democracy would take so long and that he feels an obligation to see it through to completion.
(MC): What inspired you to join politics?
(DC): I come from a political family. My grandfather ran for political office in Scotland and just before the Second World War became deputy Lord Provost (Deputy Mayor) of Edinburgh. Although my father never ran for office, he always took a keen interest in politics. He opposed UDI and as a bank manager in the 1960s he was ironically warned by the CIO not to loan Joshua Nkomo money. We always had very keen political debates in our home.
When I went to Cape Town University in South Africa I got involved in student politics and ended up as chairman of the Zimbabwe society, an organisation which represented the interests of Zimbabwean students. I was threatened with deportation by the apartheid government in 1981 when I encouraged Zimbabweans to return home. On my return to Zimbabwe in 1983, I was the campaign manager for Bob Nixon in a by-election; he was the first independent white candidate to beat the RF. In the 1985 election I ended up as the campaign manager for the entire independent group who opposed the RF.
In the same year, I received instructions from ZAPU for the first time to represent members of the Central committee such as Sydney Malunga and Stephen Nkomo who had been detained. Although I never joined ZAPU, I ended up representing many members of the Central committee and on one occasion Joshua Nkomo himself.
When Enock Dumbutshena established the Forum Party in the early 1990s I was asked to be its legal adviser and I also drafted its first manifesto and policy document. Although I became a member of the forum party I never held any office in that party. In 1999, Gibson Sibanda and Morgan Tsvangirai asked me to become the founding legal secretary of the MDC, which I became at the launch of the party in September 1999.
At the inaugural congress of the MDC in January 2000 I was elected as its first legal secretary. That was the first political office I held. I was then elected in 2000, 2005 and 2008. After the split of the MDC I did not attend the Congress of either of the factions in 2006 but when I eventually decided to join the smaller faction I was appointed legal secretary, a post I was re-elected to in the 2011 Congress and a position I still hold.
Can you tell us more about your political journey so far?
It is not easy being an opposition politician in Zimbabwe. Even before I took formal office I enjoyed a variety of trials simply as a lawyer who represented politicians. As far back as 1984 I feared for my life. In February 1989 I was threatened with detention for the first time. In 1994 I received my first death threat. I was publicly vilified by President Mugabe on television in 1998 and several times subsequently. The run up to the June 2000 election was particularly stressful. Just before the election one of my polling agents, Patrick Nabanyama, was abducted by war veterans and has never been seen again. My family and I received threats including one to burn down our home.
When Cain Nkala was murdered in 2001 I was subjected to a variety of threats. On one occasion when I was flying back to Bulawayo on a private aircraft the aircraft had to return to Harare after the pilot received a threat that we would be shot down if I was not returned to Harare.
In March 2003 an attempt was made on my life outside my home in the presence of two of my children. Although there has been a reduction in the level of threats in recent years, in May last year the front left wheel of my vehicle was tampered with causing it to come off.
What motivates you to contest in the upcoming elections and do you think your party will do well?
When I took a political office for the first time in 1999 I did not anticipate that the struggle to bring democracy to Zimbabwe would last as long as it has. I feel an obligation to see the struggle through. It would be wrong to withdraw from politics when there is so much unfinished business.
I’m also aware of the huge sacrifices made by many compatriots, many of whom have suffered greatly. It is important that their sacrifices should not have been in vain.
I am realistic about how the party I represent will perform in the upcoming elections. We face many challenges; unlike the two biggest parties, Zanu (PF) and MDC-T, we are not well funded and do not enjoy the unwavering support of some media organisations. However, our party leadership has worked particularly hard and I think that we could cause some surprises in certain constituencies.
How have you promoted service delivery in your Khumalo area?
As a senator I have a much larger constituency than an MP. Since being elected as Senator of Khumalo I have run a humanitarian fund that pays medical treatment fees, school fees and university fees for disadvantaged members of my constituency. In May 2009, I organised one of the largest cleanups of central Bulawayo. As Minister of sport I lobbied for and arranged the rehabilitation of the Khumalo Hockey Stadium, which has been re-established as a world-class venue. That in turn enabled my constituency to host the Africa Olympic hockey qualifying tournament in 2011.
I have taken a particular interest in the rehabilitation of Bulawayo airport and in that regard have continually visited the site and lobbied Cabinet to complete the project.
I have successfully lobbied Cabinet to reward the zone six Games in 26 to Bulawayo and this will result in a $42 million investment in NUST and sports facilities throughout Bulawayo. I should mention that also in all the various parastatal Boards I have appointed I have made sure that there has been fair regional and gender representation on those boards.
What are your aims for the country?
I’m deeply passionate about Zimbabwe. I believe in this nation and its people. I often say that this should be the jewel of Africa because it has all the necessary ingredients. The only missing ingredient has been democracy. When we create a genuine democracy in Zimbabwe, a tolerant genuinely free nation this country will boom. My personal aim is to do all I can to turn Zimbabwe into the best nation in Africa and a nation that can compete with the very best worldwide.
What challenges have you failed to overcome since you attained office?
While I have had some success in stabilising and improving the education, sporting, arts and culture sectors since taking office there are many projects and policies I would like to have implemented which I have not managed to do. For example, the pressing policy need of reviewing and reforming Zimbabwe’s education curriculum has not been implemented yet.
My goal of establishing academies has barely got off the ground. It is not really appropriate to discuss the reasons why I have encountered these obstacles in detail at this juncture but suffice it to say that some of the reasons include deliberate obstruction by some who clearly do not want them to succeed.
Are you optimistic that the community will elect you again?
I think it is dangerous for any politician to be complacent. While I hope that the Bulawayo electorate will return me to office if I stand, I recognise that it is anything but a foregone conclusion. I also recognise that to be re-elected I will have to overcome a variety of obstacles. My only hope is that the electorate will recognise what I have tried to do for Bulawayo, Matabeleland and Zimbabwe since returning to Zimbabwe in 1983. I hope that they will recognise that I am deeply committed to this community and this nation and that I have worked hard to achieve community and national goals.
Biography
Born in Gweru on the October 4, 1957, Coltart attended Hillside Primary School and Christian Brothers College in Bulawayo. He is currently married to Jennifer Reine Coltart and they have four children. He holds a BA (Law) degree from University of Cape Town and an LLB (Postgraduate degree) from the University of Cape Town.