NewZimbabwe.com

19 October 2011

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says he was horrified by 2005 proposals discussed between Zanu PF and MDC MPs to push through constitutional amendments requiring presidential candidates to have university degrees.

The modestly-educated MDC leader fears that the plan was designed to exclude him from running for President.

In a new book, ‘At the Deep End’, Tsvangirai points an accusing finger at Welshman Ncube, who was the party’s secretary general at the time.

He writes: “In June 2005, … as Zanu PF factions jostled for turf and supremacy, they kept reaching out to Ncube, our weak provinces and some of our members of parliament.

“Other events inside Zanu PF, emanating from parliament, concerned me. For instance, when Joice Mujuru became vice-president, the Women’s University conferred a degree on her in some dubious discipline, claiming she had done a course on a part-time basis and qualified. There was a clear reason for this.

“Soon enough, I was informed of attempts to push through a constitutional amendment requiring any future presidential aspirant to haveearned an academic university degree, not merely to be in possession of an honorary one. At the time of Mujuru’s controversial selection, Mugabe had hinted that for her political advancement the sky was now the limit.”

Tsvangirai says the “proposed university degree requirement… was clearly designed to disqualify me from standing in future elections”.

He adds: “To my horror, I was told that the proposal originated from the MDC. I called in [Gibson] Sibanda to enquire about the development and what it meant. He was non-committal, advising me to check with David Coltart, our secretary for legal affairs, but he too was evasive, telling me that details of the Bill were on a compact disk somewhere.”

The degree requirement was later taken out before the Amendment reached parliament, but Tsvangirai says it was one of a chain of events leading up to a split in the party in October 2005.

Coltart has explained how the degree proposal came about.

He said: “A first draft of proposed constitutional amendments was produced by independent lawyers to reflect the views expressed by the people of Zimbabwe during the Constitutional Commission’s work. They were tasked with redrafting the Constitutional Commission constitution so that it reflected what the people wanted, as disclosed to commissioners during their ‘outreach’ programme in 2000.

The people’s views were detailed in the Commission’s report but many of them were ignored in the draft constitution which the Commission ultimately produced. One of the most widespread and strongly-held views was that there should not be an executive President: the executive arm of government should be under the control of a Prime Minister, while the President should have only ceremonial duties — smiling at people, patting children on the head, greeting foreign dignitaries, and so on.

At the same time, and rather inconsistently, the people felt that the President should have a university degree (see volume 1 of the Commission’s report, page 561). So when these lawyers redrafted the Commission’s constitution, they gave the President minimal powers, just enough to ensure the continuation of government from one administration to the next. They also put in the provision requiring the President to have a university degree.

They recognised that it was not entirely logical to impose academic qualifications on a person whose only real function was to be nice to people, but the qualifications were not completely incompatible with the post and putting them in would not make the constitution unworkable — and anyway it was what the people said they wanted. Hence that provision was put in.

Sheila Jarvis, a board member of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, was already working with others on Constitutional proposals in the lead up to Constitutional Amendment 17. Arnold Tsunga, the Director of ZLHR, and Sheila will confirm that they produced a very detailed package based on the original “What the people want” document – produced in the course of the Constitutional Commission’s work but ignored by it.

ZLHR produced this package for Parliamentarians based on that document. The lawyers’ work in redrafting was therefore not their own – it was based on the “What the people want document” and as far as I understand was part of the ZLHR initiative to stir debate on the issue and to seek some common ground between the NCA draft and the Constitutional Commission’s rejected draft.

To that extent, the constitutional proposal document produced was not an MDC document per se but something that broadly agreed with the MDC’s general constitutional principles but, more to the point, was part of a wider initiative by civil society and lawyers interested in the Constitutional debate to provoke debate.

When I received the first draft from the civic society lawyers, it was on a computer disk. I gave electronic copies to Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube for them to have a look at a week before Amendment 17 was due to be debated. We agreed that in principle, it would be a good idea for us to table the amendments to stimulate debate, knowing that there was no chance of Zanu PF ever accepting the amendments. The same has been done since 2000 – we have consistently tabled amendments to legislation.

When I read the computer version of the document I saw it had the clause referred to above, namely the requirement that the President have a university degree. As that conformed to neither the MDC policy nor my own personal views, I took that clause OUT. The paper version of the amendments tabled in Parliament and handed to each MP clearly has that clause taken OUT by me on MY OWN INITIATIVE.

Furthermore, and in any event, the original offending clause, as clearly demonstrated above, referred to a NON EXECUTIVE PRESIDENT, not an executive President. So it would never have affected Morgan Tsvangirai. Ironically had it not been taken out the person it would most likely have affected within the MDC would have been Vice President Gibson Sibanda! But in any event it was taken out by me as it clearly did not represent MDC policy.”

Daily News

By Godfrey Mtimba 

18 October 2011

Masvingo - Finance Minister Tendai Biti has told the financially-troubled Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) that government will not fund the game before the local football governing body put its house in order first.

Biti’s statement is in sharp contrast to Sports Minister David Coltart’s recent pledge to bail out the association in future following Zimbabwe’s failure to qualify for next year’s African Nations Cup qualifiers in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Responding to an appeal from Zifa’s eastern region chairman, Wellington Muchemwa, who appealed for government assistance for the cash-strapped association, Biti responded with an attack on Zifa, accusing it of “ruining” the country’s most popular sport and running it like a “tuck-shop.”

“As for you guys from Zifa, I tell you to put your house in order first if you need assistance from my ministry,” retorted Biti.

“Football associations around the world make a lot of money if they are run properly and professionally, but here you are running it like a “tuck-shop”, thereby contributing to the demise of the good sport.”

Biti said Zifa must reform first for government to start funding its activities.

The image of football in Zimbabwe has been seriously tarnished by such scandals as the Asiagate match-fixing scam in which Zimbabwe national team players and officials were bribed by an Asian betting syndicate to affect the outcome of matches on several trips to the Far East between 2007 and 2009.

However, a new Zifa board chaired by Cuthbert Dube, which came into office last year, has been making concerted efforts to spruce up the local game’s image by launching a full investigation into the fixing allegations, with the blessing of world governing body Fifa.

Muchemwa, however, further pleaded.

“Minister, I have been sent by my boss Mr (Cuthbert) Dube to appeal for your assistance for our institution so that we ease some of the problems currently dogging us,” he said.

“We have a lot of talent in the country but the country’s football is not growing because of lack of sponsorship,” he said.

Still Biti was not convinced.

“That’s a lame excuse. Football everywhere has the potential of getting sponsorship from the corporate world if it is run professionally and properly by honest individuals,” he said.

“What is needed is to put your house in order and then the corporate world and government can chip in.

People will not be interested in investing in football when it is run by people who cannot be trusted, or who lack order,” Biti said, sparking off shouts of “Asiagate” from the floor.

Remarks made at the International Parliamentary Union Conference at Bern, Switzerland 17 October in the capacity of joint President of the PNND

By Senator Coltart

Nuclear weapons are a hold-over from the Cold War political and security environments, and have no rationale in today’s world. The key threats to national security, including the possibility of terrorist attacks, cannot be addressed or prevented by nuclear weapons. To address conflicts between States we need to use international law and international mechanisms like the United Nations – not the threat or use of force. To address the risks from terrorism, we need greater collaboration between nations to ensure adequate policing and prevention of cross-border support for terrorist organisations, not the threat to destroy other nations with nuclear weapons.

We also need to address the conditions which give rise to terrorism; the increasing gap between rich and poor, the suppression of human rights and democratic processes, the lack of progress in achieving basic standards of living guaranteed in human rights treaties and promised in the Millennium Development Goals.

Nuclear weapons, their threat to human life and the environment, and the resources devoted to them, prevent rather than help meet the security needs of States and their citizens. The $100 billion spent annually on nuclear weapons is nearly 75% of the funding required to meet UN Millennium Development Goals. The production and testing of nuclear weapons generates radioactive pollution that is dangerous to human health and the environment for generations. Any actual use would create catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would be uncontrollable in time and space. Parliamentarians have a responsibility to current and future generations to act for nuclear abolition. Parliamentarians working in collaboration regionally and globally have a capacity to make a real difference in achieving a nuclear weapons free world.

Newsday

By Henry Mhara

17 October 2011

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart was on Sunday elected co-president of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) at the Kursaal Convention Centre in Bern, Switzerland.

PNND is a global network of over 700 parliamentarians from more than 75 countries working to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Membership is open to current members of legislatures and parliaments at state, federal, national and regional levels.

In accepting his new role, Coltart said the huge sums of money spent in the fight for nuclear weapon disarmament could be used for the development of society.

“Aside from the huge threat they pose to humanity, approximately $100 billion is spent a year on nuclear weapons, imagine if that was rather spent on education, I believe that the world would in fact become a much safer place if the world’s funding priorities changed,” said Coltart.

While acknowledging the huge task ahead of him in convincing countries like the United States, Russia and China, leaders in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, Coltart said it was still achievable.

“This may seem an impossible dream but we must work towards a nuclear weapon-free world. It is a very tough goal, but there are good people including many from those nations who want to see an end to nuclear weapons,” he added.

In the three-day assembly which ends on Tuesday, the legislators will discuss ways to leverage their roles in the collaborative work to build the framework for a nuclear weapon-free world.

VOA

Gibbs Dube

17 October 2011

PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said teacher representatives have demanded that the government urgently address the situation, as some of rehired teachers have abandoned their classrooms.

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe said Monday that the country’s Public Service Commission owes more than two years of salaries to more than 1,000 teachers who rejoined the public service in 2009 when the new unity government declared an amnesty for those who had left the profession for various reasons.

PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said teacher representatives have demanded that the government urgently address the situation, as some of rehired teachers have abandoned their classrooms and left the country because of non-payment of salaries.

Zhou said politics appeared to be a factor in the issue as many unpaid teachers are members of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

He said the 8,000 teachers who responded to the amnesty were also victimized because the Public Service Commission only gave them 12-month contracts, not permanent posts.

VOA Studio 7 was unable to reach Education Minister David Coltart or Public Service Minister Lucia Mativenga immediately for comment.

Zhou said Public Service Commission staff must be held accountable.

“It is surprising that the government is victimizing these professionals at a time when it is looking for teachers in order to revive the education sector,” he said.

Political analyst George Mkhwanazi said he believes some Public Service Commission staff with ties to ZANU-PF are discriminating against the rehired teachers.

• Attended Coldplay concert in Joahnnesburg's Soccer City – absolutely blown away – brilliant! Wonderful that Chris Martin has Zim connection #
• Feeling very sad about Zimbabwe's loss to Cape Verde – but the problem actually happened last year at home when we drew due to local chaos #
• Congratulations to Zimbabwean David Pocock for securing the Wallabies' semi final place in Rugby World Cup http://t.co/eSElG2g2 #
• 'My Blackberry is not working" But my iPhone sure is ! Thanks Steve Jobs
  http://t.co/pvzjVV7S #
• Zimbabwean Wallaby David Pocock deals with 'cheat' tag http://t.co/RUziQef6 #
• Off to Europe to attend PNND, UNESCO, SACMEQ and Peace and Sport Conferences #
• Just elected Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in Bern Switzerland – a tough goal but right #
• A vision of a nuclear weapon free world may seem impossible but we must continue to dream of that – they remain biggest threat to humanity #

Newsday

By Rejoice Ngwenya

16 October 2011

Zimbabwe’s perennial presidential aspirant Morgan Tsvangirai is logged on a default “entitlement” mode that he can in 2013, ceteris paribus, garner the elusive Parliamentary majority.

Psychologists have evidence that humans — in the face of adversity — tend to exaggerate their self worth. Tsvangirai’s machismo bravado may have historical justification, but some contend that in choosing to ignore the unpredictable, he is burying his head in the sand of preferred subjective outcomes.

My hunch is that the 2013 plebiscite will be contested on basic “sadza and tea” electoral issues rather than psychotic brand loyalty, even if fellow analysts present a formidable array of arguments how Zimbabweans are not ripe for issue-based politics.

They argue that the mere fact that villagers have unquestioning loyalty to President Robert Mugabe despite his ill-fated impoverishing policies, psychotic affinity is bound to carry the day.

I insist that barring drastic ideological transformation, the ageing nationalist will garner only around 10% of the total votes, the rest shared between Tsvangirai and Professor Welshman Ncube.

Those of us who claim liberal democratic enlightenment wryly celebrate the prospect of Zanu PF’s unfamiliar role as a fringe opposition party.

If Tsvangirai’s calculations of Parliamentary domination are based on possible Zanu PF extinction, he is sliding on a rail of false levitation.

I use the word “false” lavishly, knowing that his strategists are consumed with a sense of domineering political monopoly, defeating the very cause of democratic parliamentary multiplicity.

Caveat: Electoral success is not measured on the basis of 20 000 ululations at Zimbabwe Grounds but for me, the mere prospect of “one-party MDC-T dictatorship” is itself too ghastly to contemplate.

Both MDCs have a glaring opportunity in the Government of National Unity to prove their proficiency.

However, a sneak preview of Tsvangirai’s performance in both central and local government makes me concur with M&G blogger Amukelani Mayimele’s prophetic pronouncement that “when you vote you change nothing”.

Benjamin Chitate insists: “It would be unfair to say Tsvangirai has been a failure when he managed to lead a party that defeated Mugabe with all his university degrees in the 2008 elections.”

The sort of blind loyalty that breeds damaging cult mentality! Towns under the “spell” of MDC-T governance have probably less water today than 10 years ago. Since the “unceremonious” displacement of Ncube’s MDC from Bulawayo, the city has slid into exponential infrastructure and social service dilapidation.

MDC-T minister Sipepa Nkomo’s “dream pipe” from Zambezi River still remains . . . a pipe dream! Much Masunda’s Harare teems with idle citizens while those that are employed — including civil servants — wallow in poverty. MDC-T councils are burdened with a repertoire of scandals — the kind of political fuel ideal to jettison voters towards “issue-based” preferences.

Welshman Ncube and his lieutenants, though credited with “fewer crowds”, have tenure in government that presents better value proposition for “issue- based” voting in 2013.

His model of “industrialisation” as applied in Redcliff and David Coltart’s resuscitative participatory education system are examples of how countries must be run.

MDC-T’s Elton Mangoma presides over notorious electricity power outages while Tapiwa Mashakada’s STERP smacks of leftist Hugo Chavezian paranoia. Tendai Biti struggles with fiscal infirmity and Sesel Zvidzai is conspicuous by his deafening silence.

Restive Theresa Makone blows harmless political volcanic ash as Jacqueline Zwambila gloats in her new lead role as Australia’s rendition of Desperate Housewives. Contrast this with Ncube, Coltart, Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, Trudy Stevenson and Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga who portray a likeable image of sober maturity and sophistication!

I may be wrong, but were 2013 elections to be GNU performance based, Ncube’s “sadza and tea”offerings would confine Tsvangirai to second place, with Mugabe a miserable but necessary-for-a-healthy-democracy distant third!

Daily News

By Chengetai Zvauya

14 October 2011

Harare - Police have barred members of Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) from marching in the streets of Harare to demonstrate against the continued harassment of teachers countrywide.

They wanted to demonstrate against the dismissal and victimisation of teachers who were given a blanket amnesty by the coalition government in 2009 to return to work after they had absconded from their duties seeking greener pastures in neighbouring countries.

PTUZ secretary-general Raymond Majongwe said the union had mobilised its members to march along Julius Nyerere Way to National Social Security (NSSA) building in the city but were stopped by the police.

“Teachers given amnesty to return back to their teaching stations are being victimised and dismissed from their work. The amnesty has ended and this is what we want to demonstrate against,” said Majongwe.

PTUZ petitioned the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture with demands they needed addressed including the non-payment of salaries for some teachers who were blacklisted for their perceived support of the MDC.

Some have not been paid since their reappointment March in 2009.

David Coltart Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture said he did not support the non-payment of the teachers who were given amnesty in 2009.

“When we announced amnesty to the teachers we agreed as cabinet that they must be paid, and that the political victimisation of the teachers has to stop,” said Coltart.

PTUZ is teacher union body with membership of 15 000 countrywide.

B-Metro

14-20 October 2011

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, has congratulated Zimbabwean, David Pocock for a sterling performance that helped Australia beat defending champions South Africa in the quarter finals of the World Cup in New Zealand last Sunday.

Pocock was born in the country and then migrated to Australia, where he made it to the national team. The South Africans have Zimbabwean Tendai Mtwarira in their books but he did not feature in the match.

“Congratulations to Zimbabwean David Pocock for securing the Wallabies place in the Rugby Eorld Cup semi final,” said Coltart on the social network site Facebook on Monday.

Pocock proved to be the Wallabies’ ‘Jewel of a Jackal’ when winning 11-9 over the Springbocks.

The 23 year old flanker, who moved to Australia from his Zimbabwe as a teenager, produced a stunning display in the Wallabies’ quarter-final victory over.

He put in 26 tackles but more importantly continued to gorge his trade in forcing turnovers at the breakdown.

In the absence of Springbok ‘fetcher’ Heinrich Brussow, who went off injured after 20 minutes, Pocock totally dominated the breakdown to help set up a semi-final against trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand next weekend. Australia coach Robbie Deans labelled Pocock’s performance as the best individual display of the 2011 tournament.

“Immense. David Pocock’s game was remarkable,” he said. “And it was bigger than he got credit for.

“He’s clearly a huge influence in any game he plays in and we’d clearer be poorer for his absence.

“The world is blessed with some very good snafflers at the moment and no doubt people will be looking forward to next week, to that end,” he said of Pocock’s likely duel with All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

Pocock has amassed 37 caps in the three years since making his debut, but was back on the field on Sunday for his first full game since missing the Wallabies’ shock 15-6 pool loss to Ireland.

“We were very confident and clear what we wanted to do,” Pocock said. “But they pinned us in our half for long periods of the game.

“Because we were defending for so long there were great opportunities at the breakdown.

“Losing Brussow was definitely a blow for them,” Pocock admitted. “He’s a quality player and he puts a lot of pressure on the breakdown.”

Deans acknowledged that New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence’s ‘anything goes’ approach to the breakdown had helped Pocock’s game.

“I think both sides were hard done by. It was a hotly contested area so maybe it evened out, maybe it was fair,” he said. Deans added of his star flanker, who took the number seven shirt from the legendary George Smith:

“David was one of the International Rugby Board players of the year last year (Pocock was a nominee for an award won by McCaw) and you do not get that status lightly.

“He is an influential player who makes things happen.”

Springbock flanker Schalk Burger called Pocock a “fantastic player”.

“Getting him back is a massive boost for Australia,” Burger said. “You know that if he gets the opportunity he will turn over possession.

“Any team knows that if it dominates the breakdown it will go well in the game and Pocock is one of the best openside flankers in the world.”

The other semifinal will feature Wales and France on Saturday with the hosts playing Australia on Sunday.

The Herald

13 October 2011

Zifa are hoping to use the goodwill they are enjoying with the Government now to help them in securing the State’s guarantee to host the 2012 African Women Championships. The soccer mother body has, over the last year, mended their relationship with the Government and the Sport and Recreation Commission and in turn have started receiving support from the ministry. The Confederation of African Football have offered Zimbabwe a chance to host the women’s version of the Africa Cup of Nations if they meet the conditions needed to stage an event of such magnitude.

This year in July, Zimbabwe successfully hosted the Cosafa Women’s Championships following the last minute withdrawal of Reunion. The African championships also serves as the qualifying games for the World Cup and the teams which finish in the top two automatically qualify for the next edition of the Fifa Women’s Soccer World Cup. The Mighty Warriors have been drawn to play Botswana in the preliminary round with the winners set to meet defending champions Nigeria in the final qualifying round.

But if Zimbabwe succeed in hosting the event they will automatically qualify for the tournament as the hosts

After briefing the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart on Tuesday during the signing of a memorandum of understanding for grassroots development, Zifa are now expected to make the formal request by writing to the permanent secretary Stephen Mahere and submit the letter from Caf lutlining the continental soccer governing body’s requirements. Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze said they cannot disclose much at the moment and will only do so after engaging the Government first.

Coltart, however, revealed that it is the government’s policy to put the country in a good light by hosting many international events, which in turn also market the nation. South Africa hosted last year’s AWC in Johannesburg and missed out on the World Cup ticket after coming third behind winners Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

If Zimbabwe succeed in hosting the AWC it would be the first time for the country to host a football event of such magnitude. Zimbabwe hosted the 2009 Cosafa Men’s Challenge and won the event while the Mighty Warriors also won the Cosafa title on home soil in July beating defending champions Banyana Banyana 1-0 at Rufaro.