• Congrats to Kirsty Coventry for her 4 gold medal haul at the All Africa Games which has helped take Zimbabwe to 5th on the the medal table #
• I am pleased that my friend John Makumbe has finally announced what we knew all along – that he was partisan which after all is his right #
• TheStar Malawians protest a nation in decline: http://t.co/FaNJHmp via @TorontoStar #
• Nice evening with the entire Pakistan cricket team – they were very complimentary about Zimbabwe Cricketers and look forward to another tour #
• Cracking 30 off 13 from Coventry – hopefully this will make our selectors remember his worth – he's an automatic pick for 50 overs as well #
• Nice to see the "Zimbabwean Beast" scoring for South Africa in Rugby World Cup – seems Australia needed the other Zimbabwean David Pocock #

Newsday 

17 September 2011

By Feluna Nleya

As Nolbert Kunonga’s onslaught in the Anglican Church continues, schoolchildren at Daramombe Mission in Chivhu were on Friday left shepherdless after the Zanu PF-aligned bishop reportedly evicted headmasters, teachers and priests for allegedly aligning themselves with the diocese of his rival, Chad Gandiya.

The evictions come hard on the heels of similar action at a children’s home in Murehwa on Tuesday, where over 100 orphans were reportedly left in a similar predicament after caregivers, who included nuns, were chucked out.

A priest at Daramombe on Friday confirmed the evictions.

“The messenger of court came on Monday and I was evicted then. On Tuesday they came back again and evicted the headmasters of both the primary and secondary schools, and also some teachers including the boarding master.”

“They initially came in April and told us that the school was now under the Diocese of Harare and we should now be in his (Kunonga’s) congregation, but that is not what we wanted hence we were evicted,” the priest said.

The evictions come after the Kunonga faction wrote a circular to Anglican institutions, warning that those who did not play ball and worship under his diocese faced expulsions.

“This circular serves to notify you those teachers and non-teaching staff are to be removed or transferred elsewhere, since they are in disagreement with the ethos of the responsible authority, Diocese of Harare,” the letter read.

“Any head who does not take action concerning the issue will in turn be answerable to the Archbishop of the Diocese of Harare Anglican Church in Zimbabwe,” reads part of the letter.

On Tuesday, Kunonga caused a national stir when he unleashed a messenger of court at Shearly Cripps Children’s Home in Murehwa to evict caregivers looking after orphans.

The crisis has seen the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, clash with his deputy, Lazarus Dokora.

Said Coltart on Friday: “I unequivocally condemn this act . . . It is not in the interest of the schoolchildren that the authorities could just be changed like that at this time. This is detrimental to the students especially when this has to happen in the third term with public examinations about to start in the few coming weeks. I am, however, waiting for a report from the provincial office through the permanent secretary.”

The minister’s position is in sharp contrast to Dokora’s statements early this week, when he opted to fold arms.

“I understand there is a Supreme Court ruling and in the first instance headmasters are recommended by the church.

“They come from the responsible authorities and they look for their own teachers. We can’t intervene in issues of belief,” Dokora told NewsDay.

However, Kunonga’s actions come despite Thursday’s High Court decision to defer ruling on the wrangle in which Bishop Gandiya’s diocese is seeking stay of ejectment from church properties.

The ruling is set for September 23.

Senator David Coltart

Westwood, Harare, 15^th September 2011 

Address by Education Minister David Coltart at the

School for All: 30^th Anniversary of Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe Trust Launch of an Inclusive Education manual entitled “Breaking Down Barriers to Inclusive Education in Zimbabwe”

Ladies and Gentlemen and Children

The Inclusive Education Teacher’s Handbook being officially launched here today is an important event. We rather like the word ‘inclusive’ – it is the inclusive government which has brought Zimbabwe back from the brink of destruction, so it’s a good concept which must be applied to education. It sets out to facilitate the management of children with and without disabilities in the same classroom environment. I am delighted to hear of the progress made in schools since Vice President Mujuru and I launched the Inclusive Policy last year.

Zimbabwe is well known for its commitment to providing education for all its children. It has been my ministry’s desire for many years to see children with disabilities included in ordinary schools. The launch of the Inclusive Education Teacher’s Handbook today is a milestone development that is a culmination of several dedicated players, with Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe Trust taking the leading role in coordinating this development process and assisted by officers from my Ministry and those from the Zimbabwe Open University. I wish to commend all those who took an active part in making the dream become true. I am also aware of the work done by the Directorate in the schools psychological services and Special Needs Education Department, some District Education Officers, Headmasters and teachers.  I am also aware of the wonderful contribution made by organisations such as the Dorothy Duncan Centre and King George VI. I also acknowledge support of UNICEF and partners in the Education Transition Fund, which has resulted in the production of Braille books which are now in all schools countrywide.

However, while we do have children with disabilities in some of your schools and have a number of schools with special classes for children with learning disabilities, a number of factors have militated against the full realisation of our ideals.

A major limitation has been inadequate resources. The difficult years of hyperinflation have seen many previously well resourced schools struggling to provide basic educational materials and keep their furniture and equipment in good repair. In addition, our centre in Mount Pleasant is in a very poor state. Equipment is not working. They recently had a meeting with the CEO of a local bank and are hoping that they will rehabilitate it.

Government’s thrust to provide education for everyone required huge resources and Government has had to rely on parents and communities to play a major role in providing many of the resources that their schools and children need.

Resource constraints affected too special units within schools for children with learning disabilities. Some of these units had very little in the way of special teaching aids. In some case parents formed support groups for these classes and purchased some of the equipment they needed.

Schools specifically for children with disabilities, such as those run by the Jairos Jiri Association, King George VI, Zimcare and St Giles, also suffered severe resource restraints in recent years.

We welcome partnerships with non-governmental organisations such as Leonard Cheshire in trying to ensure that all our children are able to enjoy a high quality of education.

When it comes to integrating children with disabilities into schools with a predominantly non-disabled enrolment, the difficulties in achieving this go beyond resources.

Whilst the lack of ramps and toilets designed for pupils with disabilities may be a limiting factor , I am pleased to see that Leonard Cheshire has already made remarkable adaptations in 19 schools since the inception of this programme.

However, another major limitation is the attitude of families, communities, teachers, parents and other children towards children with disabilities. I am pleased that this is an area that the Leonard Cheshire project is tackling too through their disability community awareness and sensation programme.

While we are proud of the fact that most of the schools in which this project began already have children with disabilities enrolled as a result of this programme, it is obviously a matter of concern that there are many more children with disabilities who have not enrolled in school.

This project is already helping the targeted government schools to overcome the challenges they face in catering for disabled as well as able-bodied children. It should also facilitate the eventual enrolment in these schools of other disabled children who are not currently attending school.

My Ministry shares the Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe Trust’s vision of children with disabilities and able-bodied students eventually learning together in schools throughout the country.

What is most encouraging about this project is its practical approach and the dynamism that has already been displayed in getting this project off the ground.

I very much hope it will be successful. However, we must not underestimate the difficulties.

A major difficulty in Government schools is sure to be the pupil to teacher ratio which is too high in many of our schools, with a single teacher often having to teach 50 children. With that number of children in a class, it becomes difficult for a teacher to give children the individual attention they require. Where a child need extra help the problem is worse still. We therefore urge parents to take an active part in helping alleviate some of the challenges teachers face by participating as classroom assistants.

In schools that have a special unit for children with learning disabilities, some of whom have a degree of physical disability as well, other teachers sometimes resent the lower pupil to teacher ratio that is necessary in these classes.

The trend in many countries is towards integrating children with disabilities in ordinary schools along with the non-disabled. However, often this is at a policy level and there is less keenness for it at the school level.

Organisations such as Leonard Cheshire are needed not only to lobby for the inclusion of disabled children in ordinary schools and the provision of facilities to accommodate them but to educate parents and teachers.

The Government believes that every child should have the right to go to school and to have an education. It would be my wish that my Ministry did more to promote the integration of children with disabilities in ordinary schools. However, you are all aware of the severe financial constraints my Ministry is faced with. In terms of this year’s budget I have less than US$2 per child per month to educate them, an impossible task without partners.

We welcome this initiative, therefore, which has been clearly well thought out, providing as it does for the targeting of specific schools, training of teachers in inclusive teaching methods, development of manuals to assist teachers, implementing adaptations such as toilets and ramps, educating parents and community members on disability issues and facilitating the provision of mobility aids for children requiring them. Most importantly we need to applaud Leonard Cheshire for facilitating the development of a Teacher’s Handbook on Inclusive Education for use by all schools in Zimbabwe, a development that is quite historic indeed.

This is a critical handbook which I believe will benefit considerably not only those schools that have been targeted but also other schools and communities outside the pilot zone.

This is, of course, a pilot project. The hope is that it will prove so successful that the concept of inclusive education will be extended to all our schools.

I would certainly like to see training in inclusive education being taught at all our teacher training colleges. Every teacher should be able to teach in an inclusive education environment. This also encourages non-government schools to teach inclusively. An example of a school I have had a close interest in is Petra, which works very closely with King George VI in Bulawayo, especially at Upper Sixth level. As I speak I two graduates with severe disabilities have now been enrolled in US universities having obtained scholarships – for them the sky is the limit, and should be for all.

I should like to congratulate Leonard Cheshire Disability and the Leonard Cheshire Zimbabwe Trust for initiating this project. I can assure them that they will continue to have the full cooperation and support of my Ministry.

I would like to thank the Anglo American Group Foundation for sponsoring this project and would encourage other corporate bodies to help organisations like Leonard Cheshire to make a difference to our society.

This is a worthwhile project. I am sure that, working together, my Ministry and Leonard Cheshire will be able to make this project a success and an important step towards more widespread inclusive education.

It is now my honour to finally launch the Inclusive Education Teacher’s Handbook.

Thank you.

Zimbabwean

By Ngoni Chanakira

15 September 2011

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, Senator David Coltart, will tonight join several diplomats to celebrate Alliance Francaise’s 60th Anniversary.

Coltart, a Senator from the Professor Welshman Ncube-led MDC political party, will be Guest of Honour at the event.

A spokesman for Alliance Francaise said: “Yes I can confirm that Education Minister, Mr David Coltart, will be Guest of Honour at the cocktail function here tonight.

The event will feature Ambassadors, corporate executives, senior journalists, and cultural figures based in Harare.

“This is among the many top events celebrating our 60 years operating in Zimbabwe and our presence to re-assert the strength of friendship between France and Zimbabwe after 60 years of collaboration,” the spokesman said.

Charles Houdart, the AF boss, will host the event.

The spokesman said in an interview that since 1951, AF had been hosting and organising pluri-disciplinary cultural events in Zimbabwe.

“The events include concerts, exhibitions, cinema showings, theatre performances, as well as the annual Francophone Week, usually held in March,” he said.

“We also take part in many local and cultural projects such as the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) and the Zimbabwe International Film Festival (ZIFF).

“During the 60 years, the Alliance Francaise of Harare has pursued three main missions according to its values, and we should not be ashamed to say that we have done well”.

The spokesman said Alliance Francaise offers French lessons, increased the awareness of French and Francophone culture, and provided a platform for enhancing the Zimbabwe/France cultural network.

He said during the 60th Anniversary celebrations the AF would host the cocktail party tonight for “invited VIPs only”.

On Friday it will host an international “DJ – Funkalicious”, while top group “Gargar” is expected to entertain guests later during the night.

Gargar is an all female group from Kenya.

The spokesman said the Friday night event would be hosted by the resident Master of Ceremonies (MC), “Comrade Fatso”.

“We are expecting more than 300 people to enjoy the music performed by our artists until dawn and celebrate as it has to be the 60th Anniversary of the Alliance de Harare with us,” the spokesman said in an interview.

The events are being sponsored by Harare’s Courtney Hotel (accommodation for artists), Spar (Zimbabwe) (Private) Limited (cocktail party including food and drinks), and I-Way Africa (Private) Limited, a leading regional internet service provider (Information Communication Technology (ICT) activities).

The Zimbabwe Mail

By Patience Nyangove

12 September 2011

DEFENCE minister Emmerson Mnangagwa allegedly pleaded with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai five years ago to include him in a future MDC government, a leaked United States embassy cable has revealed.

According to the secret cable dated June 2006, made public by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks last week, MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti allegedly told a US embassy official Eric Schultz that Tsvangirai had been secretly discussing a power-sharing deal with Zanu PF officials.

Biti allegedly identified the Zanu PF officials as Mnangagwa and the late former army commander Solomon Mujuru. Mnangagwa could not be reached for comment yesterday.He said while Mngangwa was willing to be Tsvangirai’s subordinate in the proposed government, Mujuru wanted the then popular opposition leader to be a junior partner.

“According to Biti, Mnangagwa was willing to subordinate himself to Tsvangirai in exchange for cabinet slots and protection guarantees for affiliated businesses,” reads part of the cable.

“Biti said Mujuru was only offering to take Tsvangirai in as a junior partner, which he said reflected the Mujuru faction’s continued primacy.” The cable also alleges that MDC leader Welshman Ncube had offered Biti the post of president in his faction before they brought in Arthur Mutambara.

“He said Ncube had offered him the presidency of the pro-senate faction, but that he had no regrets about remaining with Tsvangirai in spite of his faults,” Schultz wrote in the cable.

Biti is also quoted accusing Education, Sport and Culture minister David Coltart of being obsessed with race. Coltart had allegedly written an email to an official at the US embassy accusing the MDC-T faction of being behind the intra-party violence that led to the split of the MDC in 2005.

Biti, who could not be reached for comment, compared Coltart, who could also not be reached for comment, to MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett, who speaks Shona fluently. “Bennett was culturally Zimbabwean; Coltart, who spoke not a word of the local language, would always be an outsider,” Schultz wrote in the cable.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Webmaster’s Note:

The original text from the US Cable sent in June 2006 is as follows:

“(C) Biti emphasized the centrality of Morgan Tsvangirai 

to the opposition’s political fortunes.  Though not without 

faults, Tsvangirai commanded more respect and enthusiasm from 

the masses than any other figure in either faction of either 

party.  The tens of thousands he drew in rallies across the 

country — and the overtures from ZANU-PFQ,s factions — were 

testament to that.  TsvangiraiQ,s commitment to non-violent 

but open challenges to the regime reflected the desires of 

the country. 

¶6.  (C) Biti was excoriating in his assessment of pro-senate 

faction-aligned MP David Coltart’s recent missive (e-mailed 

to AF/S) attacking the Tsvangirai faction for violence.  He 

asserted that the intra-party violence Coltart raised was 

exaggerated and not encouraged or condoned by the party 

leadership.  He noted that those most reviled within the 

anti-senate faction — Welshman Ncube and Gift Chimanakire, 

for example — lived, worked and traveled openly in 

vulnerable locations but suffered no harm.  “If there wasn’t 

a constant and convincing priority from the top on 

non-violence, these people would have been attacked,” he 

concluded. 

¶7.  (C) Biti he believed Coltart’s stated convictions were 

genuine but naQve and played to his personal aggrandizement 

at the expense of the party.  Coltart was more concerned with 

international audiences more than local ones.  Biti said 

Coltart “saw everything in black and white — in a literal 

not a figurative sense.”  Race and place colored all his 

views.  Biti compared Coltart unfavorably with Roy Bennett, 

the nationally popular party treasurer who “speaks Shona 

better than me.”  Bennett was culturally Zimbabwean; Coltart, 

who spoke not a word of local language, would always be an 

outsider. “

• Zimbabwe 1 Liberia 0!! Katsande goal – thankfully although the cricket is disastrous the football is not #
• Zimbabwe Warriors 2 – Liberia 0 at half time!! Also nice to see Tatenda Taibu digging in and fighting back in Bulawayo. That's the spirit! #
• Things looking much better all round – Zim still 2/0 up against Liberia in the 37th minute of 2nd half – cricketers still alive in Bulawayo #
• Zimbabwe 3 Liberia 0. Taibu and Jarvis still battling away in Bulawayo – excellent end to the afternoon. #
• Taibu and Jarvis have taught all of us Zimbabweans to never give up – whatever the situation, whatever the game – magnificent performance #
• Now off to support Zimbabwe in their Africa Olympic hockey qualifying match against South Africa – a tough ask but I hope they do their best #
• Biased support of ZANU, judiciary and police for the minority Kunonga faction of the Anglican Church an appalling assault by state on church #
• Alan Butcher: 'We'll be a tougher prospect in the next World Cup' http://t.co/XHpRHKw via @espncricinfo #
• Life Under Challenging Regimes: Argentina and Zimbabwe: http://t.co/1ztBEmA via @AddThis #
• Another gold medal for Kirsty Coventry – congrats to our golden swimming girl – you make us SO PROUD!! #
• Good luck to all the Zimbabweans helping other nations in the RWC such as David Pocock – looking forward to when Zim itself is back in RWC #
• Note who was next to Australia's Ben Alexander forcing him across to score against Italy – none other than Zimbabwe's David Pocock #
• Not happy with DSTV – replaced Zimbabwe cricket with European golf – usual arrogance we have come to expect from south of the Limpopo #

VOA

9 September 2011

By Peta Thornycroft

Zimbabwe’s breakaway Anglican bishop Nolbert Kunonga, a supporter of President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union -Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, has seized a rural orphanage housing children as young as six months old.

Kunonga, who has been excommunicated by the main Anglican Church of Central Africa and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has already taken more than half of the church’s properties in Zimbabwe, including scores of places of worship, mission schools and business centers.

Two long standing mission schools in the south of Zimbabwe were commandeered by Kunonga this week. The fee-paying schools known as Daribamombe are now under the control of Kunonga’s employees, none of whom are qualified to teach.

“The headmaster for both the high school and the primary school both were evicted by Kunonga,” said Mathias Maduba, education secretary for the church’s Masvingo diocese. “The same happened also for the clinic staff except one nurse who is their ally.”

According to a recent interview in the pro-Zanu PF daily newspaper The Herald, Kunonga claimed that he is permitted to take all Anglican properties in the country by terms of a High Court ruling. The Anglican Church in Zimbabwe, which has 350,000 members, has appealed the judgment to the Supreme Court.

David Coltart, Movement for Democratic Change education minister in the current inclusive government of Zimbabwe, says the takeover will be investigated, as only authorities approved by the ministry are permitted to run schools.

Harare Anglican bishop Chad Gandiya said that he had gone to court this week to try and prevent Kunonga from evicting about 100 children from an Anglican orphanage about 60 kilometers northeast of the capital.

“The Shearly Cripps children’s homes at St John’s, Chikwaka, holds about 100 children whose ages range from 6-months to about 16,” he said. “If the staff are evicted and the children are not, who will look after the children? The whole thing is a mess.”

Bishop Gandiya added that all 30 Anglican churches in the capital have come under Kunonga’s control, leaving Harare-based followers without a place of worship.

Archbishop Williams, head of the world-wide Anglican community, plans to visit Zimbabwe to conduct open air ceremonies next month.

Kunonga was not available for comment Friday.

Zimbabwean

8 September 2011

By Fungai Kwaramba

Zimbabweans from all walks of life last week demanded that government officials who got luxury vehicles at a combined cost of US$20 million return them and use the money for poverty reduction.

Through the People Charter, a petition was signed and submitted to the Minister of Finance Tendai Biti, Higher Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Henry Madzorera, The Minister of Education, David Coltart, Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education Dr. Stan Mudenge, and Speaker of the House of Assembly, Lovemore Moyo.

The petitioners said that they were disappointed by the government’s unfortunate demonstration of opulence amidst poverty via the recent purchase of luxury vehicles for cabinet ministers and their deputies.

The ministers including their deputies and permanent secretaries got Range Rover vehicles at a time when thousands in the country are wallowing in poverty.

“We hereby petition the government to return the luxury vehicles and acquire a reimbursement of the US$20 million resources and to reallocate the resources that had been used to purchase these vehicles to the Ministries of Health, Education, and Higher and Tertiary Education in order to purchase medicine and books for our hospitals, schools, colleges and universities.

“While Zimbabweans are struggling to set a meal on the table, the government has been nothing but extravagant with ministers,” the petition reads.

In a statement the petitioners said that they want an urgent response from the government.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Note from Senator David Coltart:

I issued a brief statement regarding this matter on the 15th August 2011 when the Daily News first ran the story. I repeat it below:

“For the record as far as the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture is concerned the following is the factual situation: I declined the offer of acquiring for the Ministry a Land Rover Discovery or Jeep Cherokee but agreed that the Ministry could acquire a Toyota Prado to replace its 2006 Mitsubishi Pajero which had reached the end of its economic life. This vehicle is a Ministry vehicle and will remain so.”

Daily News

By Enock Muchinjo

8 September 2011

Harare - Pressure has mounted on the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa) to wrap up investigation into the Asiagate match-fixing scam, the biggest scandal ever to rock Zimbabwean football.
Concerned by the slow pace of action following the leakage of a damning Asiagate final report in July, the Daily News can reveal that government, through the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), last week wrote to Zifa urging the association to take all necessary measures to bring the culprits to book.

The Asiagate dossier, put together by a Zifa inquiry team, fingered several players and officials as having taken bribes from a huge underground network of illegal Asian betting syndicates to lose matches on several trips to the Far East between 2007 and 2009.

Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze yesterday confirmed receipt of the letter, written by Sports minister David Coltart.

“Yes, government wrote to us saying they want to see finality to the issue,” Mashingaidze said yesterday. “We are now working flat out on that. Pressure is now on us and the police to act.”

Coltart has previously vowed to protect the Asiagate document from “gathering dust.”

“I will certainly raise the matter with the Attorney General’s office and the Ministry of Home Affairs to make sure that appropriate action is taken,” Coltart told the Daily News in July.

SRC director general Charles Nhemachena yesterday detailed contents of Coltart’s letter.

“The minister wrote to us last week asking us to update him on developments,” said Nhemachena. “The letter was clear and straightforward. So we simply forwarded the letter to Zifa to respond. We are still waiting to hear from Zifa. (In the letter) He was acknowledging receipt of the (Asiagate) report and he wanted to know if the matter had been reported to the police, and if it was reported, what kind of action has been taken. He wanted us to check on progress.”

Nhemachena said the SRC, the country’s sports regulatory body, was equally disturbed about the delay in wrapping up the investigation.

“As the SRC we are obviously concerned by the delay,” he said. “We don’t want this matter to drag on longer than necessary. As they say, just delayed is justice denied….We don’t want this issue to distract us from real issues like the development of our game. Right now the Warriors have just revived people’s hopes by beating Liberia. We don’t want this Asiagate issue to keep distracting us from these positive developments.”

He said government has also called for an all-stakeholders meeting on factors affecting the game.

“The minister has called for an all-stakeholders indaba to iron out all issues which are hampering our development,” he said.

“As SRC we don’t want to be dragged back. It is our outmost desire to see Zifa finalise this issue. I agree with the recommendations of the Zifa probe team that criminality be reported to the police and that a disciplinary tribune be set up. As SRC we agreed on these recommendations, but since then there has been no report on progress.”

The Daily News is also reliably informed that police has quizzed several people implicated in the report.

A copy of the Asiagate report was already in procession of the police six weeks before it was leaked to the media.

Zifa employees, players and coaches fingered in the scandal were recently interviewed by the Central Investigation Department (CID) officers, a highly-placed source said.

In another development, the Fifa anti-corruption team, which has twice delayed its visit to Zimbabwe, is now set to arrive in Harare next week to help wrap up the investigations.

The team, led by Fifa’s head of security Chris Eaton, postponed the visit to “guarantee a thorough and far-reaching investigation” by Zifa.

Nhemachena welcomed the visit, saying: “I’m hoping that the visit by the Fifa officials will give a clear-cut direction on how Zifa should progress.”

The Centre for Independent Studies

5th September 2011

Zimbabwe’s Minister for Education, Sports, Culture and the Arts Senator David Coltart and Argentina’s former minister and presidential candidate, economist Ricardo Lopez Murphy speak with The Australian’s Paul Kelly.

View the interview on U tube at:

http://www.cis.org.au/media-information/videos/233-life-under-challenging-regimes-argentina-and-zimbabwe-