• What's behind Pakistan's upswing? http://t.co/MBHdlSJ2 via @espncricinfo – Puts Zimbabwe's performance in context, well done Zim! #
• Ghandi's first 3 dangers to human virtue: 1. Wealth without work; 2. Pleasure without conscience; 3. Knowledge without character #
• Ghandi's 4 more dangers: 4 Business without ethics; 5 Science without humanity; 6 Religion without sacrifice; 7 Politics without principle #
• I feel quite desperate when I see the environmental destruction of our beautiful Zimbabwe – hardly a square meter from Byo to Hre not burnt #
• I am concerned about the negative reports from #NZ criticising the Black Caps tour – the views are ill informed and 3 years out of date #
• No one suggests that things are perfect in Zimbabwe – far from it – but sports tours help heal a nation such as ours which is in transition #
• Currently reading and watching Boeing 767 jet makes belly landing http://t.co/zW91UTOJ Polish hero of a pilot #
• #Zimbabwe have taken NZ and Pakistan to 5th day and almost all 20 #NZ wickets – that is what Test #cricket is all about – now go beat them #
• #Zimbabwe deserves its #Cricket Test status back; going to 5th day and taking almost all 20 wickets of an opponent is what its all about #
• Muzhingi takes on New York http://t.co/OPqHiCRo Good luck Stephen #
• I am so incredibly proud of Brendan Taylor and his #Zimbabwe cricket team – batting magnificently against #NZ – Zim are back in test cricket #
• Test #cricket at its finest; day 5 final session v NZ #Zimbabwe need 81 runs off 20 overs with 6 wickets in hand – will they go for it? #
• It seems to me that it is now the Black Caps who are desperate for a draw – many balls being bowled wide. GO ZIMBABWE!! #
• Cricinfo: "strange – Vettori going over the wicket bowling a negative line; looks like NZ know only chance is if Zim decide to go for it" #
• Vettori's negative bowling – ball pitched according to cricinfo "a foot outside leg", Taibu so eager for runs that he swept wildly – works #
• Who ever said test match #cricket is boring!! This is not good for my heart!! Keep going Zim, keep your heads lads – the world is watching #
• Well done NZ for withdrawing appeal – cricket at its finest – what a test match this is turning out to be! #Cricket is the winner! #
• Here I am sitting in Joburg airport waiting to fly to Denmark – I sure would prefer to be at Queens in Bulawayo watching a great test match! #
• Chakabva out going for a wide ball – this is of course inexperience – but as I keep saying whatever happens Zim are back and will learn #
• Good old Miltonian Njabulo Ncube at the crease swinging his bat furiously to try to take #Zimbabwe cricket home #
• The time may be to shut up shop now that Ncube's courageous innings is over but what a test match – this has everything! #
• Waller needs to keep the strike as best he can – Zim now in trouble but must keep fighting #
• Sadly barring a miracle that is it for Zimbabwe – but all credit to them – they went for it when they could have shut up shop #
• Irritating that – according to cricinfo – Waller out to a suspect decision – could have been missing leg – no benefit of doubt given to bat #
• 6 overs left – what a cracker of a #cricket test match. #Zimbabwe have done us proud #
• Well done Zimbabwe . You lost this match but won our hearts. Hearty congratulations to Brendan Taylor and his feisty men #
• So who now will dare say that Zimbabwe should not have #cricket test status? #
• Cricinfo comment: " why only 1 test? why having FTP for ten years is questionable. After this performance Zimbabwe deserves longer series" #
• With no disrespect to any of the current players I relish the thought of Zim with Creamer and Vitori in the squad – also they are all young #
• Cricinfo comment: "Zimbabwe have garnered support from fans from all over the world with their romantic return to Test cricket" #
• On reflection #Zimbabwe cricket will recognise that we lost on our first innings – we were the better team than #NZ for the last 2 days #
• Cricket can help Zimbabwe – Cricket – NZ Herald News http://t.co/8uzLzbxL via @nzherald interview with@davidcoltart #
• #Zimbabwe lose #cricket game but win respect http://t.co/fQgvQrzE #

NewZimbabwe.com

4 November 2011

With the East Africans currently having a stranglehold over the marathon majors, Southern African and three-time Comrades Marathon champion Stephen Muzhingi will attempt to break the sequence in the New York Marathon on Sunday.

The Zimbabwean will be making his marathon debut away from the continent after securing an entry into the race through a special invite following his exploits in the world’s best-known ultra-marathon, the Comrades.

Muzhingi, 33, won the event for a third time on the trot Muzhingi becoming the first man in 23 years to win the world’s oldest and toughest endurance race three successive times.

Following his win in May, Sports Minister, David Coltart tweeted: “Very few people seem to appreciate what a truly remarkable win Stephen Muzhingi has had today. He is a humble man from a poor background who has achieved this magnificent hat-trick without much of the backing that athletes receive elsewhere in the world.”

While the New York Marathon distance, at about 42 kilometres, is less than half the ultra-marathon distance that Muzhingi has thoroughly dominated in the past, it is harder to qualify for as it requires a runner to have a sub 2:10 marathon time, a speed Muzhingi lacked in order to qualify for the coveted elite athlete invitation.

“I have now dropped to a sub-2:20 marathon time but I’ve never really raced a marathon properly, so this will be a true test for me,” he said. “My aim is to run a 2:10 or faster, which I know I can do.”

On Sunday he will test his endurance against some of the world’s top distance runners, watched by an estimated two million cheering spectators and more than 300 million television viewers.

This year’s event is backed by $650 000 in prize money with the winner expected to take home about $130000.

Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam won in 2010.

Radio VOP

4 November 2011

Harare – Western donor countries contributed $84 million worth of secondary school textbooks in a scheme dubbed Education Transition Fund (ETF).

The textbooks were channeled through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) while cash strapped Zimbabwe government added $1 million in the fund to buy secondary school textbooks.

The Education Transition Fund (ETF) was launched Thursday.

The ETF which is co-ordinated by Unicef saw donor nations such as the Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, the European Union and Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa contributing to the bulk of the ETF to buy 7 million secondary schools textbooks to be distributed to over 2000 schools across Zimbabwe.

Vice President John Nkomo who officially launched the ETF at Bak storage in Harare thanked the donor community for pulling together resources in order to help the ‘Zimbabwean child.’

“Since independence, the government of Zimbabwe has prioritised education as an indispensable obligation to be fulfilled for all Zimbabweans,” Nkomo said.

“Through the Education Transition Fund we will continue to uphold this principle for the benefit of our future generations.”

Unicef country representative, Peter Salama said this is the second phase of the ETF after the first launch in 2009 in which donor nations bought books worth over $50 million for primary schools.

“The second phase will focus on equity and access to quality education for all children, in particular, responding to the gender disparity of students in secondary schools and giving children not in schools and opportunity for a second chance for education,” Salama said.

The ETF will buy books for the following subjects: Mathematics, English, Science, Shona or Ndebele, History and Geography with all secondary students getting a copy of each of the seven subjects.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai who attended the launch said “the Education Transition Fund will go a long way in bringing back universal and equitable access to education for all Zimbabwean children. As we work to provide access to quality basic education and social services to all Zimbabweans, the revitalisation of the education sector should remain on top of the development agenda.”

Minister of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture, Senator David Coltart said Zimbabwe education is still under funded urging government to prioritise education after he said the government contributed only $1 million of the total $85 million of the ETF.

He said education, despite having been promised $66 million in the 2011 budget the ministry has received little funds to date.

The Herald

By Felex Share

4 November 2011

Government and donors yesterday unveiled seven million textbooks and learning materials for secondary schools worth  US$18 million under the Education Transition Fund. The Government and its partners also announced the launch of a US$85 million facility to address water and sanitation concerns, reduce the level of school drop-outs and improve school systems and governance in the next four years.

This brings to 22 million the total number of textbooks distributed under ETF to primary and secondary schools countrywide. The textbooks will enable Government to achieve its target of one textbook per pupil in six main subjects; Mathematics, English, Science, Geography, History and indigenous languages. Over 800 000 pupils in 2 345 schools will benefit under the facility. The books and the learning materials are expected to be in all secondary schools countrywide by January next year.

ETF is a Government-initiated programme being co-ordinated by Unicef and the donor community launched two years ago with the aim of mobilising resources for the education sector.
Addressing delegates, Vice President John Nkomo underscored the need for Government to protect disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils. VP Nkomo challenged Government and the corporate world to address challenges being faced by children in remote parts of the country.

“While the achievement is welcome, I urge you to cast your eyes wider and address the peripheries and ensure that pupils in those areas have a better future. “Government has been committed to bringing quality education to every child regardless of status in life. The quality of our students depends on the quality of education we deliver.”

VP Nkomo said Government should empower future generations and give them a legacy that would see them upholding their societal and cultural values. “We are also hopeful that the youths will acquire the requisite skills to preserve our national heritage and compete at the same level with their counterparts in the global village.

“This way, they should be able to, on our behalf, stake a claim to the equitable and sustainable distribution of our national resources for the benefit of present and future generations,” he said.

VP Nkomo added: “Zimbabwe’s economic potential resides in its cultural, human, environment and ecological diversity.

“This can only be succeeded through appropriate human capital developmental strategies embedded in an astute education system and stringent policies that protect our national resources from neo-colonialist exploitation.”

The textbook to pupil ratio stands at 1:10 in most secondary schools, while an estimated 15 percent of schools in rural areas have no textbooks at all.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said the textbooks would help the country in fighting poverty.

“This deserves celebrations because it will increase the pass rates, which had declined in the past years. Government will continue addressing social services especially education and health,” he said.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart, described ETF as a “huge investment” in the education sector. Minister Coltart urged the Finance Ministry to allocate more funds to the education sector in the 2012 National Budget.

“In the last budget we were allocated US$66 million in theory but what has been transferred to us is far less than that amount. Even the initial amount translates to less than US$2 per child,” he said. “People should shift from this lip service and commit themselves to education because it is the backbone for the development of the country.”

Unicef country representative, Dr Peter Salama, said Zimbabwe placed “enormous” value to education and his organisation would continue assisting it. The event was attended by members of the donor community, Cabinet Ministers, senior Government officials and provincial education officials.

The Financial Gazette

By Clemence Manyukwe

3 November 2011

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai assembled a cabinet team that included banker Nigel Chanakira as finance minister in anticipation of an electoral victory in the run-up to the disputed presidential poll of2002.

According to revelations contained in a United States diplomatic cable dated February 5, 2002, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader also put together a secret four-member team led by businessman, Ian Makone, now a permanent secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, to draw up an action plan for the first 100 days in office.

Prominent academic, Brian Raftopoulos; Renee Lowenson, then a consultant  for the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and Charles Hove, a former senior official in the Ministry of Finance, wer eth other members of the team that was tasked with identifying individuals to serve in important positions.

The cable; quoting a meeting between Tsvangirai’s advisor, Ghandi Mudzingwa and a US embassy official, alleged that the MDC-T leader also planned to name the late ZANU-PF stalwart, Eddison Zvogbo as the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Around the time the conversation was held, the MDC-T dropped an electoral challenge following Zvogbo’s victory in Masvingo South, but pressed ahead with hearings in 27 other ZANU-PF constituencies, for unexplained reasons.

Welshman Ncube, who was the secretary general of the party before it split in October 2006 over the question of whether or not to participate in Senatorial polls, was seconded to the Home Affairs portfolio.

“Asked whether MDC president Tsvangirai has identified individuals to serve in his cabinet, Mudzingwa said several decisions had been made. Nigel Chanakira, chairperson of Kingdom Financial Holdings – Zimbabwe’s most successful indigenous Merchant Bank – had agreed to accept the finance portfolio. MDC MP and human rights lawyer, David Coltart would be appointed justice minister, with one important proviso,” reads part of the cable.

“Coltart has done a lot of preparatory work for the establishment of a Truth and Justice Commission and was determined to seek retribution against those responsible for Zimbabwe’s current plight. Tsvangirai was concerned that having a white Zimbabwean leading this effort would send all the wrong signals, so he has decided to place the Truth and Justice Commission under Parliament’s authority.”

In another separate cable dated August 29, 2005 Coltart, Chanakira and exiled businessman, Strive Masiyiwa were said to be planning to travel to Washington for discussions with then US president, George W Bush on issues affecting Zimbabwe.

It is not clear whether the meeting later materialised.

“Coltart said he and two colleagues were seeking a Washington meeting with President Bush in October to discuss Zimbabwe. The two colleagues were Econet principal owner and former Daily News  publisher, Strive Masiyiwa and Kingdom Bank owner, Nigel Chanakira. The three shared a common religious faith and were seeking the meeting through their senior religious contacts in the US rather than through official channels,” reads the second cable.

“The group might also seek meetings on Capitol Hill, especially if they failed to secure a meeting with the President. Coltart said the trip was intended to be low-key with no media profile and that he would not be meeting the President in his guise as an MDC politician but rather as a fellow believer.”

Newsday

By Daniel Nhakaniso

3 November 2011

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart has dismissed damning reports which surfaced in the New Zealand (NZ) media yesterday criticising the Black Caps’ current cricket tour of Zimbabwe.

New Zealand are currently battling it out with Zimbabwe in a one-off Test match in a tour which was preceded by two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals.

However, while it was expected the focus would be on what is happening on the field of play, two New Zealand publications, Stuff.co.nz, a web-based newspaper and the Dominion Post, thought otherwise.

The two publications yesterday concurrently published scathing opinion pieces written by Tony Smith and Mark Reason respectively, in a clear sign not everyone agrees Zimbabwe should be allowed back into international cricket. The New Zealand cricket team’s decision to tour Zimbabwe for the first time since 2005 came under heavy criticism with the media in that country describing the Black Caps’ current campaign as a “cause of national shame”.

Coltart, who visited Australia and New Zealand some time ago and pleaded with their cricket authorities to renew ties with Zimbabwe, immediately responded to the Stuff.co.nz editor dismissing the negative reports.

“I am very concerned about the negative reports appearing in the New Zealand web-based newspaper Stuff.co.nz criticising the Black Caps’ tour of Zimbabwe.

“… I have just read your opinion ‘Black Caps campaign a cause of national shame’ by Tony Smith. I respectfully could not disagree more with what he has written. The Black Caps are in Zimbabwe at the specific invitation of myself and supported by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and others who struggled for decades to achieve democracy in Zimbabwe. Their visit is assisting a peaceful transition to democracy in Zimbabwe, not aiding tyrants.  Whilst Zimbabwe still has major problems it has chosen a non-violent method of resolving them.

“It is similar to the tentative readmission of South African sports teams post-1990 when the country was in a fragile state of transition – which is precisely where Zimbabwe is today.

“Sadly, the article was written out of ignorance of the local situation as is about three years out of date. The Black Caps’ tour is in fact a great credit to your wonderful country and its people. It is helping the painful process of reconciliation in our country,” read Coltart’s statement. Smith’s opinion piece for Stuff.co.nz ran under the headline “Black Caps campaign a cause for national shame” where he slammed New Zealand Cricket for agreeing to tour Zimbabwe.

The columnist criticised some of the Black Caps’ top players for not taking “a moral stand as ex-All Blacks Graham Mourie, Bruce Robertson, Bob Burgess and Ken Gay did in refusing to play rugby against the Springboks in the apartheid era”.

He went on to suggest New Zealand Cricket could have used the $2,6 million profit they raised last year to fund a possible $2 million fine from the International Cricket Council had they pulled out of the current tour.

Curiously, the same cricket was silent when last October New Zealand sent their A squad to Zimbabwe where several of their former players like Lou Vincent featured in the Stanbic Twenty20 series.

New Zealand team manager Mike Sandle was reported as saying: “We are happy to be in Zimbabwe.

“The people are very good at hospitality. This is a peaceful country with no security risk as in other places that we have had to go and play.”

Former New Zealand all rounder Chris Harris is coaching Zimbabwe’s Under-19s.

The Herald

By Felex Share

3 November 2011

Government will today launch a US$10 million secondary schools textbook facility under the Education Transition Fund.  ETF is a Government-initiated programme being co-ordinated by Unicef and the donor community and is aimed at mobilising resources for the education sector. Over eight million textbooks, to benefit secondary schools countrywide, have been printed under the scheme.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart on Wednesday said the bulk of the textbooks were now in the country. Vice President John Nkomo and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will launch the facility. Minister Coltart said the move would help Government achieve its target of one textbook per pupil in six main subjects; Mathematics, English, Science, Geography, History and indigenous languages.

He said: “The launch is on tomorrow (today). We wanted President Mugabe to officiate but due to his tight schedule he will not be there. The majority of the books have arrived in the country and are ready for distribution.

“The distribution will only commence after officials select the schools to benefit but it is certain that when the next term begins, pupils will have books in the classrooms,” he said. Rural schools, Minister Coltart said, would get a huge chunk of the textbooks.

“Most of them (rural schools) have no resources and our intention is to prioritise them such that their pass rates improve,” he said. About 6,5 million of the textbooks were printed outside Zimbabwe while local companies printed the remainder. Over 13 million primary school textbooks have already been distributed to schools countrywide under the ETF, a move that saw more than 5 757 primary schools benefiting.

The textbook to pupil ratio stands at 1:10 at most secondary schools while an estimated 15 percent of schools in rural areas have no textbooks at all. The Government’s target ratio is 1:1 by first term next year.

Minister Coltart said the books would go a long way in improving the country’s education standards. “We want to continue building on from the achievements we have made in the sector,” he said.

He commended rural teachers for their commitment to educate pupils under deplorable conditions. Most rural teachers do not get incentives from parents like their urban counterparts. Minister Coltart said after distributing the books Government would focus on reviewing and reforming the country’s curriculum with US$52 million secured for the purpose. The curriculum was last reviewed in the 1980s.

Speech delivered by Honourable Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture on the occasion of the secondary textbook distribution and Education Transition Fund II

BAK Storage Distribution Centre, Harare

3 November 2011

As Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, I feel highly honoured by the presence at this occasion of high profile people like Vice President John Nkomo, Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai and other Cabinet colleagues as well as members for the Diplomatic Corps.

1. Education Transition Fund history and achievements

The Education Transition Fund (ETF) was first launched by me in September 2009, as an initiative to provide every primary school child in the country with a full set of core textbooks. The cost saving measures allowed this initiative to then be expanded in November 2010 to include textbooks for six core subjects in all secondary schools, including satellite schools.

We are all familiar with the success of the ETF: the ratio of textbooks to pupils has changed from 1:15 to 1:1. Fifteen million primary school textbooks have been procured so that every child in Zimbabwe will have a full set of textbooks for the selected core subjects. This statistic is extraordinary and indeed unique to the region. In a recent meeting of SADC Education Ministers we learnt that the SADC average pupil to textbook ratio is 4:1.

Other lesser known but nevertheless critical successes of the ETF include:

• The Technical Assistance Fund;
• The process of updating the national Education Management of Information System (EMIS) based on school enrolment figures;
• Creating and publishing a database citing all primary schools, including satellite schools;
• Training and capacity development for the School Development Committees of 5670 primary schools;
• ETF sensitisation and social mobilisation in every province in the country;
• The printing and distribution of minority languages textbooks including Braille textbooks for partially blind and blind pupils;
• Support for the revision and redrafting of the Education Regulations, so as to comply with the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC);
• Support for a Curriculum Review and the refurbishment of the Curriculum Development Unit;
• The development of a 5 year Strategic Plan which will be submitted to cabinet this month;
• A comprehensive GPS mapping exercise to learning facilities in the country, and
• German aid for the Academies/ Centres of Excellence programme has been channelled through the ETF.

2. ETF I and ETF II partnership and background

The procurement of primary and secondary texts represents and investment in the revitalisation of the education sector in Zimbabwe. But there is more work to do. We now need to invest in learning to such a degree that children continue enrolling and staying in school, teachers and school heads are motivated to inspire the children that come to school, and schools become places of safe, motivational learning to grow leaders of the future.

The ETF II, the “second phase” of the transition fund, will continue to strengthen the sector by providing much needed financing at the school level through a national school improvement grants programme. The poorest and neediest of schools will be selected to participate in a grants initiative that will aim to eliminate the costs of schooling from parents and children and ensure quality of education for those most vulnerable. This financing mechanism will be completed by other investments in:

• Early childhood development,
• Teacher training,
• Policy development,
• Management  information,
• Water and sanitation,
• Disaster risk reduction and
• Efforts to keep children safe and protected while they learn.

3. The future

The Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture recognises the important role played by the international donor community in their support to ETF I. More than US$53 million dollars have so far been mobilised and used in the procurement, supply and distribution of teaching and learning materials. We need to pay tribute to Unicef and the donors; we take the honour but they have done the work. In particular I’d like to thank Dr Peter Salama, Education Officer Louise Mvono, now Jeanine Spink, the Operations Team Leader, Alaa Alami and the Chief of Supply, Aubaid Raman, who is leaving for Pakistan.

ETF II was conceived so that these achievements can form a platform for future investment in the sector; a sector that has struggled with chronic underfunding for years.

Pooling our resources in a second phase of the ETF, in the ETF II, the Government of Zimbabwe, Unicef and the donor community can come together to build on the success of ETF I and channel critical funding to those who need it most: the children and families of Zimbabwe who value education above all else. Education is at the forefront of Zimbabwe’s national recovery efforts and our commitments here today underline this priority.

Unlike what happened in the Primary textbook programme, the Zimbabwe Government have paid US$1 million towards the textbooks for secondary schools. It is important that this continue. Indeed, we need to increase our commitment. The US$66 million allotted in 2011 to Education in the national budget is equivalent to US$2 per child per month, but the reality is that we have received a mere fraction of that.  That is unacceptable. The entire future of Zimbabwe is underpinned by the reality of our commitment to Education.

It is now my honour to introduce the Right Honourable Morgan Tsvangirai. It was he that launched the textbook programme last year, and so it is fitting that he be here today. I have known him since 1992 and have seen his consistent and courageous compassion for the interests of Zimbabwe’s children. He has a deep-seated desire to ensure that the coming generation have the best possible education.

It is also my honour to introduce Vice President John Nkomo. He is also committed to schools, and in 2005 was involved in the construction of a school in Tsholotsho. Yesterday he participated in the receipt of a donation of computers for that school from the Chinese Government.

I have known Vice President Nkomo for even longer than I have the Prime Minister, since 1985. At the time I was representing Stephen Nkomo – Joshua Nkomo’s brother – who was in detention. We have enjoyed a warm friendship ever since. Like Prime Minister Tsvangirai he is consistent and courageous. He played a key role in the liberation of Zimbabwe from white minority rule and is now playing a key role in the Healing Organ. He has also shown immense courage in his personal life.

Thank you.

NewZimbabwe.com

3 November 2011

The Zimbabwe government, the United Nations and other Western donors have launched an US$85 million education fund aimed at improving education in the country’s secondary schools.

The donation will pay for seven million textbooks, and follows a similar project last year in which UNICEF and other agencies donated 13 million textbooks worth US$50 million to the country’s primary schools.

The programme also will target 200,000 absentee children from the most impoverished and vulnerable communities.

Zimbabwe’s educational system was once a model in the region, but a decade of economic decline and lengthy strikes by teachers deprived millions of children of schooling and decimated teaching aids.

Despite the setbacks, aid agencies say Zimbabwe still has a 92 percent literacy rate – one of the bright spots of Mugabe’s 31-year-old rule.

UNICEF representative Peter Salama said Thursday that the US$85 million fund aims to provide a textbook for every child in the country’s 2,300 secondary schools.

“This second phase will focus on equity and access to quality education for all children,” Salama, Unicef country representative, said at the launch in Harare.

Education Minister David Coltart, Vice President John Nkomo and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai both attended the launch.

UNICEF said the Zimbabwean government, donor countries and the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa all contributed to the fund.