The Wall Street Journal

By Marian L. Tupy and Craig J. Richardson

5 June 2012

At a summit in Luanda last weekend, the Southern African Development Community rejected Robert Mugabe’s plan to call snap elections and jettison Zimbabwe’s 2008 power-sharing agreement. The Zimbabwean president announced his plan last month, fearing that he might be too infirm to stand for reelection in 2013 and recognizing that an election under the current constitution would favor his ZANU-PF party.

Thankfully, President Mugabe’s manoeuvring ran up against a wall last week in Angola, where the southern African neighbors who act as guarantors of the 2008 power-sharing agreement told the aging strongman that polls must wait until Zimbabwe adopts a new constitution.

Delivering a new constitution, which is almost two years behind schedule, could at last pave the way for a peaceful transfer of power from ZANU-PF to the Movement for Democratic Change, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. But more importantly it would keep Zimbabwe on the modest path of economic progress that the country has tread since 2008, when the power-sharing agreement ended most of the political violence that had plagued the country for nearly a decade.

The last four years have seen revival and renewal on a variety of fronts. The Zimbabwean dollar, made worthless by one of the worst hyperinflations in history, was replaced by the American dollar after foreign currencies were legalized in 2009. The economy expanded by 9% in 2010 and 2011 after contracting by 18% percent in 2008. That growth was driven primarily by the mining industry, but tourism and agriculture are beginning to show signs of life. Shops and pharmacies are full, and Zimbabwe’s human-development indicators, including longevity and child mortality, have improved.

Renewed economic activity swelled tax revenues, which rose to $2.6 billion in 2011 from $133 million in 2009. But government expenditures grew even more quickly, to $3.2 billion from $257 million over the same period. Rapidly increasing public-sector payrolls and pensions are the key drivers of the deficit, and consume an estimated 59% of all government revenues. If the civil service is bloated, the government is equally so—Zimbabwe has 66 ministers and deputy ministers in Harare, most unnecessary and of dubious quality.

And despite hard-won economic gains, the government’s performance has been by and large lamentable. Zimbabwe is still one of the worst places in the world to do business. Its indigenization law, which aims to transfer 51% of shares in private businesses to African hands, is still on the books—a disaster for property rights and investor confidence.

Quality leadership hasn’t been absent in all government departments. When David Coltart took over as education minister in early 2009, 98% of all schools in the country were shut and 90,000 teachers were on strike. In 2008, Zimbabwean students benefited from only 28 full teaching days. There was no money for education in the government’s budget, and the textbook-to-pupil ratio was 1-to-15.

Mr. Coltart responded by setting up an education transition fund that allowed the West to bypass Zimbabwe’s government and finance education directly. He allowed parents to offer performance incentives to teachers, whose monthly salaries were only $100 back then. He broke the domestic textbook-publishing cartel, which has brought the cost of books down to 70 cents from $5. The textbook-to-pupil ratio is now 1-to-1—one of the best in Africa. These and other policies have brought educators back to work, and teacher attendance is now roughly 95% across the country.

There are plenty of risks to Zimbabwe’s progress, but the political situation is still foremost among them. The country has an outdated constitution and no credible mechanism for future transfers of power. Unless the government can show a clear and irreversible break with the past, it cannot hope to convince the Zimbabwean diaspora—the country’s would-be doctors, bankers and engineers—to return home and reverse the brain drain that has set in since Mugabe took office in 1980.

President Mugabe is now 88 years old, but his attitudes toward power have changed little in his 32 years in power. If he obeys last week’s decision of the Southern African Development Community, he will almost certainly be voted out of power next year. If he ignores it, Zimbabwe risks a descent into violence. Once again, the future of an African state depends on the whims of an aging dictator.

• Attended Tim Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian Church on 83rd Street, New York yesterday. Sermon on Matt 6:1-15. Greatly blessed. Now to work! #
• Congratulations to Nick Price for being selected to Captain the 2013 Presidents Cup team. Great honour for him and Zimbabwe #
• Fascinating morning spent at Harlem Children's Zone seeing how US Charter schools uplift poor areas and educate disadvantaged kids in NYC. #
• Very productive meeting with Unicef – thanked them for their superb assistance to Ministry of Education during my last 3 years in office. #
• The ongoing treatment of Petroc Trelawny makes me wonder whether some aren't deliberately trying to subvert Zimbabwe. It is outrageous. #
• Excellent meeting with http://t.co/jMidm9ZM learning about how they identify talent – useful lessons for Zim's Academy Programme #
• Followed by a fascinating meeting with http://t.co/wZQUY5wJ about recruiting leaders to commit 2 years to teach in high need areas-diaspora? #
• All the very best to Stephen Muzhingi as he prepares for the defence of his Comrades Marathon title this Sunday. Zimbabwe is rooting for you #
• Big day for Zim sport – best wishes to #StephenMuzhingi in the Comrades and the #Warriors in their #WorldCup qualifier in Harare. Go Zim! #
• Sadly Stephen Muzhingi did not manage to win his 4th Comrades in a row. He competed well so we remain very proud of him. Next year Stephen! #
• Congratulations to Gweru boy David Pocock for being appointed captain of the Australian Wallabies Rugby team http://t.co/CouZuiXR #
• Also congratulations to Prince Edward and Peterhouse old boy Tendai Mtawarira ("The Beast") – selected to play for the Springboks again. #

The Telegraph

By Peta Thornycroft and Aislinn Laing

30 May 2012

Petroc Trelawny, the BBC music presenter arrested in Zimbabwe for failing to obtain a work permit to compère at a music festival, is facing prison after immigration authorities filed a new charge against him of lying on his visa application.

The latest development came just hours after a High Court judge ruled that Mr Trelawny’s passport be returned to him and he be allowed to leave the country.

He has been held in police custody since he was arrested last Thursday while on stage with 500 local schoolchildren at the Bulawayo Music Festival, on suspicion of working without a permit.

On Monday, Zimbabwe’s Attorney General ruled that Mr Trelawny should not be prosecuted for failing to obtain a Temporary Employment Permit since it was the duty of the academy which invited him.

But immigration authorities challenged the Attorney General’s decision, and on Wednesday ordered that he appear before the courts on a new charge of violating the conditions of his entry into the country on a tourist visa.

Mr Trelawny, 41, who spent the weekend in hospital under police guard after slipping and dislocating his shoulder in his police cell, said he was determined to be cleared of the charges against him.

“I am delighted to no longer be under police guard, although they were very nice to me. So many have been so good to me,” he said.

“I expect to be in court tomorrow and I so want to come back to Bulawayo again. I want to leave Bulawayo under my own volition.”

Munyaradzi Ngarayapenga, his lawyer, said he had been released from hospital into the custody of a friend.

“He has been released but immigration is going to prosecute him to stand trial tomorrow. He doesn’t have his passport. He is now here on a temporary permit,” he said.

“He is being charged with violating the conditions of his entry, in other words he is accused of making a false declaration when he came into the country.”

If found guilty, Mr Trelawny could be fined up to £3,200 or a prison sentence of 10 years. If they want to deport him, they must secure a conviction.

The latest development has laid bare fierce political wranglings between the government’s state security arm – which backs President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF – and ministers from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, who run the Arts and Home Affairs ministries, responsible for managing visitors’ permits.

David Coltart, the MDC Arts, Culture and Education Minister, condemned the treatment of Mr Trelawny “in the strongest possible terms”.

“This is outrageous conduct by the Department of Immigration and is seriously damaging to Zimbabwe’s international reputation,” he said.

“It undermines the efforts of many of us who are trying to persuade the Europeans and North Americans to engage with us.”

Theresa Makone, the MDC Home Affairs Minister, said the immigration authorities had “no right” to insist on Mr Trelawny’s continued detention.

“As far as I am concerned, he has committed no offence. It’s not his business to get a TEP but in any case, it’s not a matter of life and death whether he had one or not because he was not working for profit, he was working as a volunteer to assist under-privileged children.”

A Harare lawyer with expertise in immigration issues said Home Affairs would have little sway over those driving Mr Trelawny’s prosecution.

“The immigration department has enormous powers,” he said. “They can conduct their own investigations. There are people who have been in remand prison in Harare for years on immigration offences. This case is quite extraordinary given that the attorney-general declined to prosecute.”

The Zimbabwean

By Zwanai Sithole

30 May 2012

Teachers and school authorities at the United Baptist Church Biriwiri High School in Chimanimani have clashed with Zanu (PF) over the political use of the school’s premises by the party.

Senior army and police officers last week held a party meeting in the school hall, attended by party representatives of all 23 wards in the district. Teachers and school authorities who spoke to The Zimbabwean said they were forced by the local party leadership to allow the meeting to be held.

“These Zanu (PF) meetings are really inconveniencing students and staff. Last week we were shocked to see truck-loads of supporters in party regalia arriving at the school for a meeting,” said a teacher who declined to be named for fear of victimisation. The teacher said Zanu (PF) has also demanded to use the school’s boarding facilities next week on Saturday for the celebrations to mark the appointment of Monica Mutsvangwa as a Deputy Minister. Mutsvangwa who is the senator for the area was recently appointed the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, taking over from Tracy Mutinhiri who was fired for allegedly working with the MDC. She has since joined the MDC.

The Minister of Education, David Coltart, who is on record as saying school premises should not be used for political meetings, said the ban does not apply to private schools. “Because this appears to be a private school, I cannot prohibit it from allowing political meetings of this nature. My jurisdiction only extends to government schools,” he said.

The National Interest

By Doug Bandow

29 May 2012

The U.S. dollar may risk losing its status as the world’s reserve currency, but American dollars are a hot item in Zimbabwe. Three years ago that nation’s economy was in crisis. Hyperinflation made economic life almost impossible. The government issued a 100 trillion (Zimbabwe) dollar note—the highest denomination of money ever printed anywhere. But in 2009, the newly installed “unity” government adopted the U.S. dollar as its own. Inflation is now just 4 percent.

It’s one of the hopeful signs that David Coltart, a Zimbabwean senator who also serves as minister of education, points to. Coltart is visiting America encouraging greater awareness of and improved engagement with his country.

Coltart is a long-time opposition activist who joined the government created with Morgan Richard Tsvangirai as prime minister. The Movement for Democratic Change won the legislative election four years ago, but then President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front essentially staged a “military-backed coup,” forcing Tsvangirai to concede the upcoming presidential election, which he could have won in a free vote, explains Coltart. However, pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) forced Mugabe to accept a coalition government that granted the MDC a majority of the cabinet posts, though none controlling security forces.

The unity agreement obviously is imperfect, but, argues Coltart, there was “no alternative to it.” Economic sanctions “would have destroyed the country.” He points to education—eight thousand schools had closed. Thousands of people could have died in a devastating cholera epidemic. But “there has been a lot of good since 2008,” he notes.

The schools have reopened; public health has improved. With the U.S. dollar as the national currency, the government faces financial accountability: it “no longer can print money,” he notes. Supermarket shelves were empty three years ago; today the stores are stocked with goods. The human-rights situation also is much better. “More than 400 people were murdered or disappeared in 2008,” says Coltart, but virtually none this year. (An MDC activist reportedly was murdered on Saturday.)

Zimbabwe still faces major economic and political challenges. Elections must be held next year, and Mugabe is talking about holding an early vote. “There is deep concern” in ZANU-PF about Mugabe, who “though a fit 88 is still 88,” Coltart explains. Hard-line elements also fear ongoing political reform because “if there is a new constitution and decentralization of power with new election rules it will be a lot tougher for them to win an election.” Moreover, ZANU-PF activists may fear that the longer the economy improves “the greater the contrast with the chaos before and even their own supporters will be less inclined to go back.”

Coltart urges increased U.S. and European engagement. He complains that “current policy seems to be to wait until Robert Mugabe goes.” However, he believes the West could play a more positive role by lifting sanctions, largely targeted against ZANU-PF figures and restricting Zimbabwe’s access to World Bank and IMF credit. He views the issue as mostly symbolic, but “lifting sanctions wouldn’t cost America anything and would send a very clear signal of a preparedness to engage.”

He acknowledges that many in the exile community feel differently, but “surely those of us in the trenches should be listened to.” He has “great sympathy” for the exile viewpoint but notes that “it is easy to advocate hard-line policies if you don’t have to deal with the consequences.”

By following Africa’s lead in this regard, Washington also could reaffirm the positive role played by Zimbabwe’s neighbors. “SADC and the African Union said there was no choice but for” Mugabe to enter into the unity agreement and currently are pressing him to finish constitutional and electoral reform before holding elections, says Coltart. In his view “South Africa in particular and Zimbabwe’s immediate neighbors are not going to budge” on this issue. In turn, they have “said to the U.S. and Europe, trust us.” They know that “if it falls apart, it will undermine their credibility.”

The coming months will prove critical for Zimbabwe’s future. Should crisis again envelop the country, the impact would be felt throughout the region. In contrast, successful political reform would strengthen the MDC and ZANU-PF moderates, creating the possibility of a peaceful transition of power in the future. In Zimbabwe, like Burma, Washington should shift its policy from isolation to engagement.

• In Washington preparing for hectic week of meetings in State Department, Senate, House, USAID, World Bank and with press – for Zim education #
• Positive meetings on Monday with Global Partnership for Education, Newsweek and State Department. Message – GPA is flawed but still only way #
• Foreign Policy article http://t.co/okCkcra6 interview with Senator David Coltart #
• In Zimbabwe, A Longtime Foe Sees a Different Side Of Robert Mugabe http://t.co/ro6fDeY7 via @thedailybeast #
• Sorry I know as Minister of Sport I am meant to be unbiased but I can't resist saying "Bosso you beauties!" Top of the Zim log and improving #
• Via @nprnews: How Crumbling U.S. Dollars Bailed Out Zimbabwe http://t.co/iQG1UF6X #
• Sharing Power in Zimbabwe | Daily Podcast http://t.co/GkbufukL via @CatoInstitute #
• Happy Africa today everyone! #
• Zimbabwean law must be respected by all but it must also be implemented in a manner which is just and commensurate with the offence. #
• I am deeply concerned by the arrest and detention of Zimbabwe Academy of Music supporter Petroc Trelawny. Law must be implemented justly. #
• I question why it is necessary to detain someone over a weekend for an offence which, if proved, will never obtain a custodial sentence #
• It is ironic that at the very moment I am in the US seeking to have sanctions lifted hardliners work within Zim to ensure they are retained #
• The news of Trelawny's arrest is splattered across Fox news in the US undermining our efforts to have sanctions lifted. Is this deliberate? #
• I have argued this week that there are hardliners who do not want sanctions lifted because it serves their purposes – it is useful cover #
• Those behind this arrest clearly have another agenda-could the dictates of law not have been met some other way without doing Z so much harm #

The Guardian

By David Smith

26 May 2012

Radio 3 presenter hurt in fall at police station after detention by immigration officials at the end of a children’s concert.

A BBC classical music presenter has been arrested in Zimbabwe and, friends claim, suffered a dislocated shoulder while in police detention.

Petroc Trelawny was held for not having a work permit immediately after compering a music concert in the second city of Bulawayo on Thursday.

He slipped and fell while in police custody, causing a recurrence of a shoulder problem, a local organiser said, adding that Trelawny had been moved from his cell to hospital for surgery under anaesthetic on Saturday.

Zimbabwe’s police stations and prisons are notorious for their inhumane conditions and allegations of beatings and torture. A recent parliamentary committee report found prisoners living in squalor with insufficient food, clothing, blankets, towels, soap or other basic necessities.

But Trelawny, who is in his 40s and presents the classical magazine programme Music Matters, Radio 3’s evening topical drive-time show In Tune and Radio 3 Live in Concert, is said to be in “good spirits”.

Bruce McDonald, administrator of the Zimbabwe Academy of Music, which is running a five-day festival in Bulawayo, said: “He was detained at city hall right at the end of a performance involving 500 children. The hall was full to capacity – 800 to 1,000 people. There were no police. It was gentleman from immigration who went up to him and said, ‘We’d like to see you’.”

McDonald continued: “He was detained and he had a bad fall. He put his shoulder out and today they’re putting it back in under general anaesthetic. He told me that himself. He has a history of problems with that shoulder.”

Asked if this raised concerns about police treatment, McDonald dismissed the suggestion, saying: “People come up with those theories. The police have been very helpful and everything is fine.”

He added: “Good old Petroc, he’s bounced back. I saw him earlier today [Saturday] and he was cheerful. He’s due to fly out on Monday and I shouldn’t think it’s serious enough to stop that.”

Among those attending the concert was the British ambassador, Deborah Bronnert, who has since visited Trelawny. She said only: “We know a British man in his 40s has been detained and we are providing consular assistance.”

Trelawny, who lives in central London, was raised and educated in Cornwall. He joined Radio 3 in 1998 having begun his career at BBC Radio Devon as a reporter and presenter. At the age of 19 hosted the station’s major news programming.

A classical music expert, he has also featured extensively on BBC Two and BBC Four and contributed to the Spectator, Irish Times, Catholic Herald and BBC Music Magazine.

He was not attending the Bulawayo music festival in any BBC capacity. A spokeswoman for the corporation said: “We are aware of the situation and hope it will be resolved as quickly as possible.”

Trelawny was tweeting from Zimbabwe last week. His most recent post, on 23 May, said: “As dusk falls over £Zim, 5 schools from Byo & Harare entertain in the Bulawayo Music Festivals opening pop concert.”

For years unaccredited foreign journalists have run the gauntlet of possible arrest by president Robert Mugabe’s government, but Trelawny is believed to be the victim of a recent crackdown on artists performing without work permits.

Bulawayo-based Magodonga Mahlangu, who has been arrested nine times and won international awards for her women’s rights activism, warned: “Bulawayo police station is not a good place. Any police station in Zimbabwe is not a good place. You can be beaten by other inmates. Officers don’t protect inmates and can harass you themselves. All sorts of things can happen to you.”

David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s education, sport, arts and culture minister, and a member of the Movement for Democratic Change, said in an email on Saturday: “I am distressed to hear of his detention and of this apparent injury as I am aware of the good work that Mr Trelawny has done in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to promote the Zimbabwe Academy of Music.

“Whilst Zimbabwean law must be fully respected by all, the circumstances and manner of this arrest will damage our efforts to portray Zimbabwe in a more positive light and I question why an apparent breach of law had to be dealt with in this manner.”

Coltart, currently in the United States, added: “There is no government ordered crack down on artists and if there is it is not sanctioned by my ministry. I have requested through my ministry that every effort be made by the police to handle this manner justly, in particular through the granting of police bail, so that he be released as soon as possible and appear in court in due course.

“On my return I intend ordering an inquiry into this. It is harmful to Zimbabwean interests to have people like Mr Trelawny arrested at what should be uplifting occasions which boost the morale of Zimbabweans and improve the image of Zimbabwe abroad.

“The arrest of Mr Trelawny has no doubt cast a shadow over the entire festival and I want to know how this happened so that this type of damaging action can be avoided in future. I will also want to know from all concerned why the demands of Zimbabwean law and legal due process could not have been respected in a more just and humane manner.”

Cato Institute

24 May 2012

Senator David Coltart was interviewed by the Cato Institute on 23 May 2012. He talks about Zimbabwe’s transition to democracy, Robert Mugabe, foreign policy towards Zimbabwe and education.

http://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/sharing-power-zimbabwe

Foreign Policy

Joshua Keating interviews David Coltart

22 May 2012

Yesterday, I had the chance to speak with David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport, and Culture. A human rights lawyer who campaigned against the regimes of Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe, Coltart was a founding member of the Zimbabwe’s main opposition party – the Movement for a Democratic Change. He was among the MDC politicians, led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, who entered government in an uneasy coalition with Mugabe’s Zanu-PF following the disputed election of 2008.

We discussed why he opposes economic sanctions, why it would be dangerous for Mugabe to exit the scene too quickly, and an unlikely role model for democratic transition:

Robert Mugabe has called for elections to be held this year. Is the MDC preparing for them? 

The call for elections comes from hardliners within Zanu-PF. It doesn’t enjoy support from moderates within Zanu-PF, SADC [the Southern African Development Community], or South Africa. If Robert Mugabe decides to align himself with the hardliners, there’s going to be a very high political cost to pay in terms of his support in the region.

There’s also a financial cost they haven’t confronted. The country’s on a shoestring budget because we’ve adopted the U.S. dollar — we can’t print our own money. So they’re going to have to find money from somewhere. What the region, all of us in the MDC, and even moderates within Zanu-PF are saying, is that the process of constitutional reform must be completed, the reform of electoral processes must be completed. Once that’s happened, then fresh elections must take place.

If they do go ahead with these elections, they will be on the basis of the old laws. We may not even contest those elections. So one will be left with just another crisis. It won’t resolve the political situation.

Robert Mugabe’s health has been the subject of a lot of speculation lately. Does that factor into your political planning?

The bottom line is that he’s 88. He’s old and he’s clearly tiring. But from what I’ve seen, he’s in remarkably good health. So I don’t think it helps to plan around Robert Mugabe. I think one should make the assumption that he’s going to be part of the short-to-medium term political environment.

One of the ironies is that Mugabe is necessary in the short term. If he went suddenly, the divisions between Zanu-PF would come out in the open and cause a lot of turmoil. I think that there are many within Zanu that recognize that he’s the glue that holds the party together.

Some might say, “great, let Zanu fall apart.” But there’s a danger that it would fall apart in such a way that there would be a lot of strife and the military would use unscrupulous means to stay in power.

It seems to me that certainly within the cabinet there’s a fairly strong moderate wing forming under Vice President [Joice] Mujuru. Whilst I don’t agree with many of the policies, on some of the basic issues they clearly are committed to seeing this reform process through and are even prepared to contemplate the loss of power.

It’s been over three years since you entered into this unusual power-sharing government. Do you think it’s possible to say now whether it’s been a success? 

One needs to go back to where we were in 2008. Zimbabwe was lurching towards becoming a failed state. There was hyperinflation, people flooding out the country, thousands losing their lives to cholera, the prospect of virtually a lost generation. In that context, despite all the problems, we’ve achieved a great deal. We’ve stopped the cholera epidemic, we’ve reopened hospitals and clinics, we’re dealing with sewerage issues in cities, we’re getting clean water to people in cities.

Take education. When I took over I had 8,000 schools closed and 90,000 teachers on strike. Education was facing total collapse. We’ve got every single school open we’ve progressively increased the salary of teachers, we’ve got the textbook-to-pupil ratio down to one-to-one.

The same with the economy. We had hyperinflation in 2008. This year’s it’s down to four percent. Bank deposits are growing. Don’t get me wrong. The economy is still in extreme crisis. I liken the country to a jumbo jet that was in free-fall and we’ve leveled it out about 200 meters above the ground. We could stall again but we are gradually gaining altitude.

What are you looking for from the international community?

First, sanctions should go. They’ve outlived their purpose. They were always symbolic in many respects and their primary purpose was to stigmatize those responsible for human rights abuses. That stigma will not be removed with the removal of sanctions. Ironically, sanctions are being used by hardliners as an excuse for ongoing economic woes. Of course, it’s a lie. But for a country that’ starved of information, it’s a lie that people sometimes believe.

The second thing is that the international community needs to support the social ministries within the country and civic organizations — not political parties — that are working to get a new constitution and get better electoral laws. Take education. The United States in the last three years has put in a million U.S. dollars. In relation to other countries, that’s minimal. Germany has put in $18 million. Finland has put in over 10 million euro. The contribution of the Germans and the Finns has had a profound impact. Not just an educational impact but a kind of peace dividend that shows people something can be gained through a fragile but slow process of democratization.

If there’s improved health, and sanitation, and education, Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF are not going to get credit for that.

What are your main priorities right now on education?

Our primary goal this year is to make conditions for learning safe. We’re looking at the provision of water and sorting out sanitary conditions for children. We’ve had two decades of neglect. So the physical buildings are collapsing. We need to get toilets working, provide clean water, and repair roofs and windows. Nothing grand, just stabilization.

We’ve just pushed through a medium-term plan that has been approved by cabinet. A key component is keeping teachers on board. We lost 20,000 teachers in 2007 and 2008. We’ve attracted a lot of them back but we need to do a lot more.

How would you assess America’s role in Zimbabwe’s democratization?

I think it’s important to emphasize consistency in foreign policy. America’s attitude toward apartheid was to support the process [of reform.] People have very short memories. We forget about Magnus Malan and the military leaders in South Africa, but the process succeeded because the international community embraced it. We haven’t seen this process [in Zimbabwe] being embraced by the United States in the same way.

Even currently, there’s an inconsistency. We see the U.S and Great Britain opening up with Myanmar. The military is still in effective control there — more overtly in Burma than in Zimbabwe. At least in Zimbabwe we have the fig leaf of a civilian government. In Burma you don’t even have that. Despite that, there’s encouragement for the process. I don’t see that happening in Zimbabwe. All we ask for is consistency.

Do you think that the kind reform from within we’ve seen in Myanmar over the past two years could be a possible future trajectory for Zimbabwe? 

The great fear about Zimbabwe is that we could revert to what Burma was prior to this period of relative enlightenment – that the military will exercise their power directly. Having said that, I think we’re far further down the road than Burma in terms of a new constitution. Morgan Tsvangirai has had a lot more effective power than Aung San Suu Kyi. We’ve got actual control of whole ministries. So I think if the international community supported that process more proactively, one could argue we have an even greater chance of getting to effective democracy.

• Just arrived in Washington at the start of a tour to raise support for Zim's education sector – meeting World Bank, Unicef, GPE and others #
• Revival for Zimbabwe's education sector [501811230] | http://t.co/vE7xn6db http://t.co/cVBbeuzc via @theafricareport #
• Ended a few days in Georgia speaking to schools, civic and church groups re education in Zimbabwe and now travelling to Alabama tomorrow #
• Looking forward to visiting 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, scene of horrendous bombing on 15 th September 1963 #
• Methinks my son Doug, an ardent #Chelsea supporter, will be rather pleased this evening after they won the #championsleaguefinal – Congrats #