The Sunday Mail

By Langton Nyakwenda

10 February 2013

Mounds of sweet potatoes, green maize crops almost ripe and tall grass greet you as you enter St Mary’s Boxing Centre situated at Huruyadzo Shopping Centre. In the midst of this variety of vegetation is a boxing ring where one of Zimbabwe’s most renowned pugilists, Arigoma Chiponda, cut his teeth.

What was once a famous boxing ring in Chitungwiza is now badly dilapidated and mirrors the extent of the decay that has been eating away at the sport for the past decade.

The “Wafa Wafa” challenge fights which were also common in boxing-loving urban centres like Mabvuku, Tafara, Epworth and Mbare were also a permanent sight in St Mary’s.

Back then, hundreds of spectators would throng the venue to witness the young, middle-aged and experienced boxers trade leather amid jeers, cheers and ululations.

Now, the boxing ring is a pale shadow of its former self and the enthusiasm seems to have died down.

Chiponda, whose boxing career took him to various parts of the world, gets so emotional when he touches on the subject.

At the age of 54, the one-time Zimbabwe light heavyweight champion is still going strong but what he can only do now is develop the abundant talent in the area.

“It pains me a lot that the sport that brought both fame and food on my table has gone down the drain. “We heard of the new boxing board that was appointed by Minister David Coltart last month and we are pinning our hopes on them. Looking at the members of the board, I get the feeling that maybe the good times will roll back. I am sure they will support our initiatives here in St Mary’s” said Chiponda, nostalgia evident in his posture .Through his Powerhouse Boxers Club, Chiponda has been an oasis of hope for the budding boxers in Chitungwiza. St Mary’s Gym is one of the most vibrant in the country’s townships. We are trying with the little resources we have. The youngsters have to share gloves, take turns on the punching bag and when we want to stage fights we use that ring you saw outside.  We remove the grass and tie up the ropes and the fights begin. That’s how bad it has become because we do not have any sponsorship, but we are soldiering on.  I have this feeling that we are letting down these youngsters, they love the sport but they are slowly losing interest because of the state of the sport at national level,” said Chiponda.

He added: “I believe we can turn back the hands of time and rekindle those good days. We did it in the past here at St Mary’s and produced national boxers like Simon and Pamsen Sangulani, Peter Musundi and Barnabas Guvamombe.”

Chiponda cuts a dejected look when he talks of the welfare of boxers in the country.

“It pains me a lot when I hear of these sprouting managers who are milking the boxers. They arrange international fights not to promote the youngsters just because they want to exploit them. How do you explain a scenario where a manager, agent, promoter, coach and the board all demand huge percentages from the boxer’s purse? That is what has been happening and is totally unacceptable as the boxer is left with nothing yet he is the one who suffers most in the ring.I hope this new board looks into the issue and revives meaningful tournaments that we used to stage back then,” he said.

The new Zimbabwe Boxing Control Board chairperson, Paul Nenjerama, is expected to meet Coltart later this week before presiding over the much- awaited inaugural board meeting.

“We have all received our letters of appointment and it’s now down to serious business. I am meeting the minister on Tuesday after his Cabinet meeting and from there I will convene our first board meeting,” said Nenjerama.

Chiponda’s boxing career started in Mabvuku in 1976 before he moved to St Mary’s the following year.

Owing to his irrepressible talent, he was soon brought under the wings of the Air Force of Zimbabwe and he fought in their colours for several years.

The Sunday Mail

By Lincoln Towindo and Shamiso Yikoniko

10 February 2013

Results from the country’s 2012 public examinations have generated debate, with many people bemoaning the poor performance exhibited by last year’s Ordinary Level students. While the country has been recording a steady improvement in pass rates at both Grade Seven and Advanced Level, there has been concern over the depressed pass rates at Ordinary Level.

Out of the 172 689 candidates who registered for five subjects or more in public examinations last year, only 31 767 candidates managed passes in at least five subjects.

The total number of candidates who registered for the exams increased by 11,3 percent to 268 854, up from 241 512 in 2011.
Results from last year’s examinations show that the O-level pass rate stood at 18,4 percent, which is a 1,1 percent drop from the 2011 statistics.

However, does the “poor performance” come as a shocker?

Statistics show that the average O-level pass rate since 1998 stands at a minuscule 14,5 percent.

The figures show that since the introduction of local examinations the highest pass rate was attained in 2006 when 20,16 percent of the students that had registered passed five or more subjects.

The lowest rate was recorded in 2003 after only 12,8 percent of students who sat for five or more subject passed. However, despite the background that the country has only breached the 20 percent mark once over the past 15 years, a storm has erupted from many sections of society who felt that this year the pass rate was “unacceptably low”.

Educationist and distance learning pioneer Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said good results were a sum of many aspects. “The attainment of any level’s results is a process not an event. For a country to get excellent results, it needs to take into account teacher motivation, student preparedness and a good learning environment,” said Dr Ndlovu.

“The major problem that we have is that the Government does not have a firm policy on educational evaluation. At the moment we are speculating on what could have been done, but what the country needs is an evaluation system that will help us find solutions to improve the education system.”

Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart has blamed the dismal pass rates on lack of funding, teaching staff and the “extreme crisis” in education experienced between 2005 and 2009.

Professor Jonathan Moyo, a legislator, former lecturer and Cabinet minister, said Minister Coltart was being insincere. “While it is of course true and thus undeniable that the education sector took a battering between 2005 and 2009 when the effects of Western illegal economic sanctions combined with the hyperinflationary consequences of excessive quantitative easing otherwise known as “money printing”, Coltart’s reference to this truth explains why the high 2012 failure rate in “O” Level examinations is naively opportunistic,” wrote Prof Moyo.

Comparatively, in 2009, a total 272 397 candidates sat for the Grade 7 examinations recording a 20,11 percent pass rate and the rate has since risen to 31,5 percent from the 292 375 pupils who sat for the examinations last year. The pass rate for Advanced Level increased from 75,99 percent in 2010 to 85,25 percent in 2011 before subsequently dropping to 82,9 percent last year.

Zimbabwe is currently battling to beef up its teaching staff following an exodus of the professionals to better-paying countries. The country has a teaching staff compliment of about 106 000 out of the required 136 000.

Most schools have had to rely on relief teachers in the absence of qualified personnel. This has seen some A-level graduates taking up teaching posts for O-level classes.

Rural schools which contribute a huge chunk of the 8 000 Government schools countrywide barely have qualified teachers. Most qualified teachers shun practising at rural schools because of the absence of motivating allowances. The rural teachers have also failed to benefit from “incentives” being enjoyed by their counterparts in urban schools as in most cases rural parents cannot afford the extra payments. Experts say it is, therefore, no surprise that rural schools are the major contributors to the failure rate. However, United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) Zimbabwe chief of communication Mr Victor Chinyama said through the Education Transition Fund (ETF) it was hoped O-Level results would improve.

“Unicef is fully committed to supporting the Government of Zimbabwe in its continued efforts to revive the education sector,” he said
“Through the ETF, we have distributed 22 million textbooks to both primary and secondary schools in Zimbabwe so far, and we hope to see an improvement in O-Level results in the coming years.”

Unlike in the past when supplementary learning avenues such as night schools were widespread, there are now no formal institutions to cater for those supplementing failed subjects.

This has left “private” candidates to fend for themselves without the guidance of qualified educators. Educationists also blame the proliferation of backyard private colleges offering sub-standard tutoring for the dismal pass rates. Most of the colleges which are situated at private homes do not have qualified teachers or relevant learning material.

Mr Lovemore Chipangura, a Harare-based educationist, believes the abolishment of the Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC) in 2001 has contributed to poor pass rates.

“The abolishing of ZJC examination by Government resulted in students being tested only once during their four years at secondary school. What we are witnessing today is a direct result of that ill-conceived idea and until such a time that our pupils are tested regularly we will continue struggling. The current system results in students sitting for O-level unprepared, thereby contributing to the poor pass rate.”

ZJC was meant to be a mid-way test created to gauge the pupils’ progress during the first two years in secondary school.
There have also been calls for emphasis to be placed on vocational subjects, but Prof Moyo said this argument is being peddled by racists who claim that blacks are intellectually inferior.

Minister Coltart said Government will this year begin implementing findings of the Nziramasanga Commission on Education. The Nziramasanga Commission of 1999 was instituted as a starting point in overhauling the country’s education system which was last reviewed in 1986.

The commission recommended that academic education on its own was not entirely beneficial and the school curriculum should suit essential skills and employment requirements.

“The Nziramasanga commission said that our education system was too academic oriented and there was a need to move towards making it more vocationally relevant,” he said. Starting this year we will be implementing some of these recommendations. We are also always open to the idea of re-introducing the ZJC public examinations as part of the continuous assessment of childrens’ progress in school. However, the important thing to do is to focus on teachers, that is, to ensure that we have teachers in class and enough education material for the students. That way results will certainly improve.”

Countered Prof Moyo: “To put it mildly, Coltart, like the architects of Rhodesian racist education before him, is basically saying that blacks have no academic orientation and cannot be taught through mind-based pedagogy that is cerebral or academic but are rather better taught through observational or so-called practical pedagogy that is based on the ‘monkey-see-monkey-do’ colonial and UDI modules.”

Added Prof Moyo: “The fact that Coltart opportunistically cites the findings of the 1999 Nziramasanga Commission in support of his Rhodesian position whose objectives are the opposite of the goals of that Commission is enough to prove his sinister and unacceptable agenda.”

Minister Coltart said Government will not consider lowering the O-level pass mark. “No, we will not consider lowering the pass mark level because that way we will not have a correct appreciation of the real situation. That would be a case of fooling ourselves and defeating the purpose of education. If you lower the pass mark level you will deceive the nation and yourself that children are actually learning something at school.”

The Standard

10 February 2013

Revelations that the much publicised poor Ordinary Level pass rate is actually the best in 12 years will do little to allay fears that Zimbabwe’s education system is free-falling.

Education minister David Coltart on Friday released statistics that showed students actually performed better last year than in the previous years, as he sought to quell criticism that he is presiding over an education system that is weakening.

The figures, provided by Zimsec, may be accurate but sadly, they won’t bring any cheer except to illustrate the crisis that is inherent in Zimbabwe’s schools.

An 18,4% pass rate is not something parents, educators and students can be proud of. Rather, it is a wake-up call that an unacceptable number of students who are sitting for the O-Level examinations are failing and therefore, something urgently needs to be done to stop that trend.

That is the important task the government, which has been underfunding the sector, should be seized with this year.
A simple examination of the learning institutions shows a lot of issues need attention. The condition of service for teachers remains a sore issue.

It’s common cause that disgruntled teachers cannot give their best to students when they are always planning strikes.

Schools lack adequate textbooks and qualified personnel after thousands of teachers left the country between 2005 and 2008.
In the farms there is chaos. Thousands of new schools that were created without planning following the land reform exercise lack the basics needed to make learning possible.

Temporary teachers who mainly teach pupils there lack basic resources such as chalk.

In towns and cities, there has been a proliferation of colleges offering secondary level studies. Little learning takes place at some of these institutions whose pupils are found roaming in the streets and cyber loafing most of the time.

These colleges need to be monitored in order to ensure that they uphold standards needed for proper learning to take place.

Instead of politicking and finger-pointing, responsible authorities should explore ways to ensure the education system is revamped as a matter of urgency.

The Standard

By Jennifer Dube

10 February 2013

CONCERNED educationists and parents have called for the improvement of teaching and learning conditions in the country’s schools to ensure better results in public examinations.

The outcry follows last year’s poor O’level results which showed that the pass rate had dropped from 19,5% in 2011 to 18,4%.
They blamed the poor pass rate on teachers’ lack of motivation due to low salaries and the absence of learning materials in most schools.

Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said the results were evidence that “poorly remunerated teachers yielded poor results”.

“Teachers’ housing and classrooms are in poor state, there is no electricity in most schools and some teachers are operating under uncertain conditions,” Majongwe said.

He said most teachers who previously left teaching and returned under the government’s amnesty programme were constantly told to renew their contracts.

Apart from that, he said, the students’ education calendar was chaotic from the time they started Grade One in 2002 as there were violent election scenes in most parts of the country in 2002, 2005 and 2008, with Zanu PF militia chasing away teachers from schools.
A number of teachers relocated to neighbouring countries such as Botswana and South Africa.

A lecturer at a local university, Oswell Hapanyengwi said resources at learning centres needed improvement. “Some students are currently sharing textbooks yet the ideal situation is that each child should have access to a book every time they need it,” Hapanyengwi said.

“We also need to motivate the teachers because the output of a disgruntled person is affected as shown by these results.”

Majongwe said society also contributed to the poor results as it usually celebrates when a child speaks English fluently instead of Shona, hence the poor Shona results.

He blamed the poor Maths results on the brain drain.

The PTUZ boss said some children prioritised viewing television, surfing the internet and mobile phones over their studies.

“We need to set minimum values, including banning children from bringing phones to school,” Majongwe said. “How would they pass when we have Form Twos advocating for condoms to be availed at schools?”
Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) chief executive Sifiso Ndlovu said the alarm caused by the results was unfounded as the pass rate was within the usual range.

“People are saying children failed a lot but when have they ever passed more because since independence, the pass rate has always hovered around 20%,” Ndlovu said.

“This year we have a 1,5% decrease and this cannot be said to be a marked drop.”

Ndlovu said authorities needed to properly resource schools in rural areas and high-density suburbs as they recorded the poorest results every year.

Some critics said staffing levels in new rural schools needed improvement as most children at these learning centres were being taught by unqualified teachers.

They added that private colleges needed scrutiny as most were compromising standards in their pursuit of profit from school fees.
Education minister David Coltart last week said the results were the best in 12 years, citing a Zimsec table which showed that the pass rate stood at 13,88% in the year 2000, rising a little to 13,99% in 2001 and dropping to 13,75 % in 2002.

The pass rate stood at 13% in 2003, 10,2% in 2004, 12,2% in 2005, 14,2% in 2006, 9,85 in 2007, 14,44% in 2008, 19,33% in 2009, 16,5% in 2010 and 19,50 in 2011.

Sunday News

By Vusumuzi Dube

10 February 2013

WHEN Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels first conceptualised capitalism, one of the key components that they touched on was that of mass production, their mindset was society was controlled by the bourgeois who employed the masses to produce goods and services en-masse.

The focus was on production and any arm of that society that was seen not to be producing was immediately cut off, as it was not productive at all.

Even in modern-day industry, according to the hierarchy, if a manager, foreman or even supervisor is seen not to be doing what he is employed to do — producing goods or services — they are immediately dismissed and the owners of that company hire a new individual who will be in a position to offer what he or she is employed to do.

In the footballing world, when a soccer coach does not produce good results, the team losing or not winning any accolades, the coach is immediately relieved of his or her duties. Even during a war period when a certain army loses, it is not the entire army that is blamed but the commander of that army.

This is a norm that is accepted by every society, the principle being — if you do not produce results there is no need to keep you as this is not good in production terms. Even the holy book the Bible spells it out clearly that those who do not work and produce should not eat.

All the above examples have one standpoint — that if one does not produce why keep them?

This past week has been quite a dark one for the nation with the media awash with the paltry Zimsec Ordinary Level results.

According to the statistics, the O-Level pass rate for 2012 was pegged at 18,4 percent, which the examination body said was “marginally lower” than that for 2011 which was at 19,5 percent.

While this might appear as not that severe from the onset, its magnitude can be easily realised if it is considered that the nation recorded a fail rate of a huge 81,6 percent.

In terms of figures out of 172 698 only 31 676 students managed to pass five subjects or better.

Gender wise, females recorded a 16,4 percent pass rate while 20,4 percent male students managed to attain five subjects or better.

Subject wise, the top three subjects were Ndebele, Business Studies and Biology respectively that recorded 54,4 percent, 53,7 percent and 52,96 percent respectively. The bottom three subjects on the other hand were English Language — 20,19 percent, Shona — 18 percent and Mathematics (non-calculator version) — 13,91 percent.

This O-level pass rate issue came just two weeks after Zimsec announced that the Advanced Level pass rate for 2012 had also “marginally dropped” to 82,09 percent from 85,2 percent the previous year.

According to the figures, females performed better than their male counterparts, as they recorded a pass rate of 83,78 percent compared to the male figure of 80,83 percent.

The highest passed subject was Food Science with 96,95 percent, followed by Ndebele 94,7 percent while the bottom two subjects were Geography with 54,27 percent and Accounting with 38,27 percent.

With the examples stated above the main bone of contention is thus who really is to blame for these pathetic results because at the end of the day there is a service provider who is paid to teach these students and examinations are not only a test for the students’ capability but also serve as a litmus test on the performance of the teacher.

The basic principle being, if a teacher is wholesomely and jealously delivering what they are trained and paid to do these students should be performing above average.

It has become the norm that right through the year teachers are always complaining of paltry salaries and now most of them are “making a killing” through incentives and private lessons.

With these results, it is as good as saying these teachers have been performing a different kind of criminality where they are being paid for a service they are not even producing. In other words parents and the Government part with large sums of money just for the teachers to fail their children.

This pass rate becomes a dangerous reflection for a country which boasts of having the highest literacy rate on the African continent.

It becomes very disappointing to note that instead of worrying about the paltry results the Education Ministry is going about defending the results in other words finding excuses for the failure of teachers to deliver good results.

As one of Africa’s greatest leaders, former South African President Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, it is time for all the relevant authorities to seriously look into this issue before our education standards nosedive.

Education is by and large the bedrock of social and economic development, it is one fundamental tributary to a nation’s development, throughout history, philosophers like Aristotle and Plato recognised the importance of education both in terms of development and every day leaving.

An examination period is a very critical stage for any nation as it serves as a litmus test to whether the education standards are improving or falling.

Sunday News interviewed various stakeholders to get to the core of this pass rate, what it means to the country’s education sector and what the way forward is.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart acknowledged that the country’s education sector was in a crisis but attributed this to a number of factors  which include the crisis that was experienced in the sector between 2004 and 2009 where they lost over 20 000 teachers.

He, however, revealed that while Zimsec had initially tried to reduce the minimum pass mark he had immediately blocked this as it was not going to be a true reflection of the education standards.

“What you see is a true reflection of the state of the education sector. I personally refused any attempts to lower the standards, now that we have these pass rates it becomes easy for us to plan for the future.

“However, what we should not ignore is that in 2008 there was hardly any teaching that took place in schools, teachers were hardly in the classroom, students did not have any textbooks and unfortunately this batch of students are the ones now coming through the system,” said Minister Coltart.

He said the onus was now on the Government to invest more in the education sector and prioritise funding and investing adequately in the sector.

“We now have to clearly map the way forward, yes we have managed to bring back 15 000 teachers into the system but we now have to seriously look into our retraining exercise and also strive to reduce the number of unqualified teachers within our schools,” said the minister.

Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Mr Takavafira Zhou said while the pass rate was a cause of concern, morale was low among teachers and the civil service as a whole thus there was a need for Government to give them better salaries.

“Government holds the key to improving the pass rate, for teachers to offer their whole they should be given the necessary salaries, honestly results can only improve when teachers are top priority of the Government,” he said.

Zimta chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said while the marginal decline was just a standard diversion from the norm, the main problem within the education sector was the inadequate funding to the sector, staff de-motivation and lack of the relevant teaching infrastructure.

“We really have a serious issue with regards to the funding of the sector, teachers are de-motivated and always complaining about their low salaries. We also have a notable increase in temporary teachers in our schools this thereby exposing students to teaching by unqualified personnel.

“There is thus a need for all relevant authorities to urgently address this matter because when you look at it we are busy funding for the sake of maintaining education rather than improving it,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Questioned on the issue of parents having to part with huge sums of money through teacher incentives while the pass rate was still low, Mr Ndlovu said it was unfair for the parents to tally incentives to an increase in the overall pass rate.

“From the onset we have said incentives were a mere means of supplementing the teachers’ salaries, you have to ask yourself whether these incentives are there to motivate or as a thank you token, my view is that they are there to motivate.

“It is scientifically not being sincere if we say these incentives are meant to improve the pass rate, I guess the only solution is for us to go back to the old system where it is the benevolence of the parents to thank the teachers with Government giving them adequate salaries,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Speaking on behalf of the parents, Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairperson, Mr Winos Dube, however, said it was unfair on the part of teachers to receive incentives from parents with an open palm but on the other hand not provide the required services this, reflected by the “pathetic” pass rate.

“There is something amiss in this whole issue, initially teachers complained of the low salaries and as parents we decided to go an extra mile to supplement their salaries by the paying of incentives with the hope that they would give their support to the students but we now get these disappointing reports.

“While the teacher can argue that they are not happy with their employer, parents have parted with huge sums of money to avert this frustration, but this motivation is clearly not yielding any results,” said Mr Dube.

He said this pass rate should send alarm bells to all interested stakeholders and push them to the round table where they could try to find the underlying cause of the issue.

“This issue clearly has to be addressed from the base. it is clear that something is not right therefore we have to address it as a matter of urgency. We really cannot keep on boasting that we have the best education standards when we have such a pass rate,” said Mr Dube.

Zanu-PF secretary for education in the politburo Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said the major problem was that there was no monitoring and evaluation system in place for students and teachers during their development right through the learning process.

“There are many variables that could have contributed to this low pass rate, what should be considered is that this is a process and there is need to continue monitoring it so that wherever there is a loophole we duly strengthen it.

“The Education Ministry must ensure that these teachers perform above average, even these textbooks that were donated by Unicef are of no significance if the teachers cannot utilise them to teach the students,” said Dr Ndlovu.

He said there was also a need for teachers to be continually trained so that they are equipped with the requisite skills to teach the students rather than the current situation where they relied on their college certificates.

“Yes the results are poor but there is now a need for us to address this problem within our teachers. They need retraining and constant monitoring, we also have an unfortunate case where in rural areas there is an influx of unqualified teachers. How do you expect the results to be normal when the situation on the ground is not normal?” said Dr Ndlovu.

Independent analyst and National University of Science and Technology lecturer, Dr Lawton Hikwa, said it was essential for all relevant stakeholders to work together if they were sincere towards the effective revival of the nation’s education sector.

“This is not about government or the teachers, everyone must have a role to play in this regards — teachers, government, the parents and even the students themselves.

“The onus is one everyone to see to it that the sector is effectively revived and that the sector once again becomes the most recognised in the whole of Africa. The teaching fraternity also deserves to be given the necessary incentives for them to be in a position to perform effectively,” said Dr Hikwa.

Therefore, as the nation ponders on what the negative slide of the results entails it now becomes everyone’s challenge to work together in ensuring that the education sector is not on a downward trend but there is a shift towards full-scale development.

What the nation now needs to do is to find out the root cause of the problem because the truth is whenever there is a problem the key is to solve the problem as a matter of urgency.

So as renowned poet William Yeats once put it: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” there is a need for all stakeholders, chief being the teachers and government, to take the country’s education sector more seriously so these rather disappointing pass rates are significantly improved.

ESPN Cricinfo

By Liam Brickhill

9 February 2013

Ten years ago, Henry Olonga and Andy Flower took the field in Zimbabwe’s World Cup match against Namibia wearing makeshift black armbands, launching their famous protest against the “death of democracy”. This weekend, in fact, will mark the tenth anniversary of their gesture. In that time, Zimbabwean cricket has been torn apart by the rebel saga and sunk to a pitiful nadir, before rising phoenix-like in 2011. Yet recent events prompt the question: how much has really changed? Some of the deep-seated issues at play in Zimbabwe and its cricket – race, politics, power – remain as potent as ever.

And in Zimbabwe, it never rains but it pours. In the last month, the drought gripping the south of the country was broken by torrential rain. Water that was meant to quench has instead killed more than 50 downstream in Mozambique. As for the country, so for the cricket. A Sports and Recreation Commission directive that national selectors will need to have played international cricket for Zimbabwe, ostensibly penned with the intention of helping the sport, has instead unleashed a torrent and battle lines have been drawn.

Further, Brendan Taylor and Kyle Jarvis have spoken out about the absence of Heath Streak, fitness trainer Lorraine Chivandire, and – in particular – Grant Flower from the coaching party for the West Indies tour. Their actions may not be directly linked to the SRC directive row, on which the players have kept their views to themselves, but they spring from the same general malaise. Their words contradicted Zimbabwe Cricket’s statement that the players had been consulted about the travelling coaching staff, and censure is sure to follow. There is trouble brewing. Like the hovering storm clouds over the countryside, however, the problem isn’t black or white; it’s grey.

The situation was similarly murky in Andy Flower and Olonga’s day. Both are long gone, neither having set foot in the country since that World Cup, but their black armband duo was, in fact, a trio – a fact that often escapes attention – and a key figure in their protest remains in Zimbabwe.

David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s minister of education, sport, recreation and culture, was a human-rights lawyer ten years ago and helped Flower and Olonga pen their statement. It was his idea that they wear black armbands as a powerful symbol to back their words.

Coltart still lives in Bulawayo. He appears well-meaning. In between posting pictures of himself having dinner with the likes of Bob Geldof and quoting from scripture, he shares a broad range of media about sports he clearly loves. He’s a member of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and is by far the most accessible minister in the unity government, engaging with a spectrum of Zimbabweans online. That the SRC directive, of which he was a leading proponent, was issued with the best interests of sport in Zimbabwe in mind is probably true. What is also probably true, unfortunately, is that Coltart fatally misread the complex realities of racial politics and power in Zimbabwean cricket.

The directive was ill-judged and ill-timed. It was too easy to paint the whole thing as a personal attack on the convenor of selectors, Givemore Makoni, an attempt to scupper Stephen Mangongo’s coaching plans, or worse, as plain racist.

Zimbabwe Cricket has rejected the SRC directive outright, and a mudslinging campaign remarkable for its unfettered puerility has ensued, with the beleaguered minister in the eye of the storm. “Can you ever imagine Zimbabwe Cricket adopting this attitude if it was a Zanu-PF minister involved?” Coltart has been led to ask. And therein lies the rub.

Makoni has done invaluable work for cricket in Zimbabwe over the years. He helped start start Takashinga Cricket Club, for one thing, prompting an entirely necessary revolution of an elitist sport. Perhaps he and others in the cricket set-up aren’t invested in political power. Perhaps the visibility of sport – and particularly Zimbabwean cricket – in the media means political machinations within the game are inevitable, no matter who is in charge. Nevertheless, a political machinery has been called into line behind them, and somewhere along the line this saga left the details of the implementation of a directive behind and entered the murky, dangerous waters of power and politics.

Alan Butcher, who will leave his post as Zimbabwe’s coach after the tour of the West Indies, has been one of the few diplomatic voices in the escalating row. “Obviously it is the most topical issue in local cricket right now but I sincerely hope that it won’t affect our preparations. We will definitely talk to the players, but I’m not sure it will affect them because their job is just to play the game,” Butcher said when the SRC spat first arose.

Later, and just a matter of weeks before Zimbabwe were set to depart for the West Indies, the situation had obviously deteriorated, and Butcher lamented the unfolding crisis on his Facebook page. “To all my cricket friends out there… teammates colleagues former opponents all over the world I’m sick at heart with whats going on in Zimbabwe cricket right now and hope you all know that i would never be party to selection according the colour of someones skin….. how could i look my kids in the eye if they thought i was capable of that!”

The current quarrel has served to heap several complex issues onto the plate of an administration that is already reeling after a year of severe financial strife and virtually no international competition on which to focus meagre resources. In August, Zimbabwe Cricket was evicted from its offices at Harare Sports Club for non-payment of rent. In January this year it had various properties attached by the deputy sheriff after losing a civil case to a former marketing manager.

And all this in an election year. Allegations, speculation and rumour are rife. It is clear that political differences and mistrust remain within Zimbabwean cricket, and while the elephants battle, ants are crushed underfoot. The players are expected, somehow, to buckle down and make the most of their first international tour in over a year despite the turmoil.

“Are we ever gonna play this game in this country without any drama, some things never change…smh [shaking my head],” said Chamu Chibhabha, a young allrounder re-called to the one-day side for the Caribbean trip, on his Twitter feed. As much as things change, they stay the same.

News Day 

By Veneranda Langa

9 February 2013

EDUCATION minister David Coltart says unscrupulous politicians are seeking to use the much publicised high percentage failure rate in last year’s “O” Level public examinations as a political weapon, even though statistics show that the pass rate is one of the highest in the last 12 years.

Coltart said this on his social network Facebook  page yesterday in apparent response to an article published in one of the State-controlled newspapers by Zanu PF politburo member and Tsholotsho North MP Jonathan Moyo.

Moyo, in the article, alleged Coltart was “on his way to join some international NGO to distort Zimbabwe’s education infrastructure and to corrupt Zimsec through criminal instructions”.

The former Information minister claimed that Coltart had “turned the Nziramasanga Commission into a dirty phrase and replaced it by the so-called ‘Education Transition Trust’”.

“The fact that Coltart opportunistically cites the findings of the 1999 Nziramasanga Commission in support of his Rhodesian position whose objectives are the opposite of the goals of that Commission is enough to prove his sinister and unacceptable agenda,” wrote Moyo.

“The so-called Education Transition Trust’s vision of education in Zimbabwe dovetails neatly with the Rhodesian vision whose thrust was that blacks should be taught vocational skills and trained to be artisans and do things like carpentry allegedly because they are not academically oriented.”

But Coltart said Zimsec had supplied him with a table showing the trends in the “O” Level pass rates for the past 12 years and indications were that this year’s results were actually better than those attained under his predecessor.

Zanu PF member Aeneas Chigwedere was Education minister from August 2001 to August 2008 before Coltart took over.

“The reality is that as low as the pass rate is, it remains one of the highest ever in the last 12 years. Ironically, the pass rate in 2000 was 13,88% and in 2007 it dropped to 9,85%, while the highest pass rate under my Zanu PF predecessor minister was 14,44%,” Coltart wrote.

He said it was a pity that his ministry was being castigated for reasons that were influenced by political interests.

“The tragedy is that children, the innocent parties in all of this, are being used as political weapons, which is unacceptable.  These figures show that there has been crisis in education for some time which will not be resolved through partisan posturing and mendacious vitriol.”

According to the Zimsec table, the lowest “O” Level pass rate of 9,85% was recorded in 2007 followed by 10,2% in 2004; 12,2% in 2005; 12,2% in 2005; 13,0% in 2003; 13,18% in 2000; 13,75% in 2002; 13,99% in 2001; 14,2% in 2006; 14,44% in 2008; 16,5% in 2010; 19,50% in 2011 and 18,4% in 2012.

New Day

9 February 2013

ETHAN Dube, a former Zimbabwe first-class player, and chairman of Matabeleland Cricket Association was yesterday named as the final member of new Sports and Recreation Commission board announced earlier this week.

Dube, whose appointment was confirmed by the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart yesterday becomes the ninth member of the new board appointed to run the supreme sport regulatory body for the next three years.

Dube joins the Joseph James lead board which also includes Edward Siwela, Jessimine Nyakatawa, Obediah T Moyo, FaraiKanyangarara, David Ellman-Brown, Aisha Tsimba and Miriam Mushayi.

In a statement confirming Dube’s appointment yesterday Coltart said: “I am pleased to announce the appointment of the ninth and final member of the Sports and Recreation Commission Board, Mr Ethan Dube, following approval having been received today from His Excellency the President RG Mugabe.

“His term of office will run from the 8th February 2013 to the 5th February 2016. Dube has represented Zimbabwe at both Hockey and Cricket and was a National Zimbabwe Cricket selector in 2004 and 2005,” Coltart said.

Dube was the Matabeleland Cricket Association chairman in 2005 after taking over from Ahmet Esat but quit the post the following year in 2006 citing “confusion” in the administration of the game.

Zimbabwe Independent

8 February 2013

ONE of the areas where President Robert Mugabe registered significant success, acknowledged even by his trenchant critics during his otherwise disastrous rule which ruined the country and impoverished the people, is education.

When Mugabe came to power in 1980 he inherited solid education infrastructure and a strong base, one of the best in Africa, and expanded on it to provide access for millions of the formerly marginalised and underprivileged majority.

Education in public institutions was made free allowing millions of previously disadvantaged children to go to school, and in the process huge inequities from the colonial era were diminished.

Education was also declared a basic human right in the new non-racial system which followed majority rule. Alongside other critical social services, education was subsidised and this helped Zimbabwe to achieve phenomenal results in a bid to eliminate illiteracy, ignorance and poverty.

As a result Zimbabwe achieved the highest literacy rate in Africa ahead of countries like Tunisia, giving its people a good start in life and laying a strong foundation for national development.

Evidently education is essential for everyone. It helps people earn a living, respect and recognition. It is thus an indispensable part of life. It is thus difficult to imagine life without enlightenment, a key element of civilisation of human society.

However, that remaining element and symbol of Mugabe’s achievement before his tsunami-style devastation of the nation in the decade preceding 2009 is now dramatically unravelling, risking wiping out whatever remains of his positive legacy. Whatever he achieved at the height of his rule pales in comparison to the alarming destruction his corrupt and incompetent regime inflicted on the country.

If ever there was more evidence needed to prove the disintegration of the education sector it was provided by Ordinary Level results released this week. Results released on Monday showed 81,6% of the 172 698 students who sat for the examinations last year failed to pass at least five subjects with grade C or better. Only 31 767 of that number made it, translating to a pathetic 18,4% pass rate, the trend since 2009.

While there are many reasons to explain this appalling trend, Education minister David Coltart on Tuesday captured the gist of it when he said the poor results were a reflection of the “extreme crisis in education experienced between approximately 2005 and 2009”.

The reality is that schoolchildren who failed exams are victims of a situation beyond their control. Granted, their personal input counts but students at all levels of the education system are still battling to recover from the consequences of the economic meltdown and political instability before 2009.

At the height of the crisis, schools were forced to close down as there were no teachers, no books and therefore no lessons, leaving thousands of children stranded.

Only those with money managed to hire private teachers or tutors, while the majority languished without educators. Most teachers left the profession and even country due to the economic crisis. Even though schools re-opened in 2009 the devastating impact and ramifications of the virtual collapse of the sector are still being felt up to today, leaving Mugabe’s legacy further in tatters.

ESPN Cricinfo

By Firdose Moonda

7 February 2013

Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain and current England team director, has spoken openly about his black armband protest at the 2003 World Cup to mark 10 years since he and Henry Olonga stood against “the death of democracy” in Zimbabwe.

Flower reflected on the events of February 10, 2003, in Harare, when Zimbabwe played Namibia, in a BBC Radio 5 Live programme and spoke in detail for the first time about what prompted him to don the armband. He said that “given the same circumstances,” he would “without a doubt,” do it again.

During one of Zimbabwe’s worst periods of oppression in the early 2000s, a friend of Flower’s, Nigel Huff, took him to see the devastation on his farm caused by land reform. He also told Flower the national cricket team had a “moral obligation not to go about business as usual during the World Cup but to tell the world what was going on in Zimbabwe.”

Flower approached Olonga for two reasons. He thought Olonga would have “the courage of his convictions to take a stand,” and wanted to have two people of different races making the same protest. “I also thought the fact that it would be one white Zimbabwean and one black one operating together gave the message the most eloquent balance,” Flower said.

Together with David Coltart, then a human rights lawyer and now the country’s minister of sports, education, arts and culture, the idea of armbands was conceived. Nobody in the team or elsewhere knew what Flower and Olonga were going to do until the morning of their opening match against Namibia.

Before play, a statement was handed to the media containing details of the symbolism in their gesture. It contained an explanation: “Although we are just professional cricketers, we do have a conscience and feelings. We believe that if we remain silent that will be taken as a sign that either we do not care or we condone what is happening in Zimbabwe. We believe that it is important to stand up for what is right.

“In doing so we are making a silent plea to those responsible to stop the abuse of human rights in Zimbabwe.”

A copy of the statement is framed and hangs in Flower’s study where he occasionally re-reads it. “I love the way it was written – the meaning in some of those sentences is very sad because it is a reminder of what was happening in that country at that time and some of the people who went through agony and lost their lives,” he said.

During his interview with Alison Mitchell, she asked him to read it aloud and he did. She recalled that he “struggled to keep his voice from cracking,” and “the emotion was evident in his eyes.”

Although Flower said he knew his international career would end and he would have to leave Zimbabwe, Olonga thought his life would go on in his homeland. “I had in my own naivety thought I could carry on in Zimbabwe – maybe my career would come to an end but I could still live there. But that all changed when I got death threats two or three weeks after the World Cup. I realised the game was up,” Olonga said.

Olonga now lives in England where he works as a singer and public speaker. He would like to return to Zimbabwe with his wife and two daughters but would “need some guarantees that people who wanted to harm me a few years ago do not still want to harm me,” he said.

Flower would also like to return and hopes to go back to a better place. “We can’t all change the world, but if we all do little things along the way and make the most powerful decisions we can then I think we can bring about change,” he said.

Andy’s brother, Grant, is the current Zimbabwe’s batting coach so the family connection with the national team remains. However, Grant he will not travel to West Indies on the forthcoming tour because of what ZC termed a “technical change” to their structure.