Zimbabwe Independent

Muckraker

8 July 2011

THERE has been much hoopla over Sepp Blatter’s visit this week. “Blatter magic hits Harare,” the Herald proclaimed. Zimbabwe was being singled out for a special favour, we were led to believe.

Of course the only country on the continent Blatter could fit in with perfectly is Zimbabwe. According to one blog he likes money, clings to power, runs a dodgy administration, and loves travel. We were also struck by the way he dealt with his enemies before they could deal with him!

Anyway, no sooner had we had an opportunity to say hello than he was off to South Africa for an IOC meeting, the real purpose of his trip. We were just a pit stop.

We all know that the state broadcaster needs to attack ministers from both MDC formations as they sing for their supper but they took it to preposterous levels on Monday.

This time they were attacking Education minister David Coltart. His Crime? Not being at the airport to welcome Fifa president Sepp Blatter .

What’s more they said this was because he was trying to organise a meeting with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. There was of course no coverage from ZBC of Blatter’s meeting with the Prime Minister.

Never mind that Coltart practically spent the whole day with Blatter  going with him to meet Mugabe, Tsvangirai as well as attending the national women’s Cosafa match against Malawi with the Fifa boss.

This kind of rubbish has few takers  and is among the numerous indicators that professionalism at the national broadcaster has well and truly gone to the dogs.

And they wonder why viewers think their television licence fees are just $50 too much.

Another group of Mugabe praise-singers have come onto the scene. This time in the form of the Muzarabani Nehanda Choir. The Herald quotes group member Ainesu Kasambarave saying of the objective of the album: “Our aim as a group is to promote our area (Muzarabani). We also want to remind youths of the sacrifices that Mbuya Nehanda and other heroes and heroines who came after her made for the liberation of the country.”

“We also want to inculcate into people’s minds how our leaders like President Mugabe have led the country with vision, courage and determination.”

Vision and courage? Runaway inflation, rendering people homeless through Operation Murambatsvina and declaring that the bullet can replace the pen during the presidential runoff campaign after he lost to Morgan Tsvangirai in the first round of elections in 2008 hardly sounds like vision and courage to us.

And you are hardly going to change people’s minds by jingles and bottom wriggling!

The Herald’s literary standards are definitely sinking. How about this for an introductory paragraph from an op/ed piece by a teacher, one Caine Humanikwa: “The West which I hear calls itself the international community is the worst notorious (sic) wealth hunter and the path on which it walks is strewn with trails of blood, cries, death, disasters, great suffering, pain, and poverty and uses brutal tactics to achieve its so-called permanent interests.”

Can you imagine a whole generation of Zimbabweans brought up on this semi-literate drivel? And were you aware that some Zimbabweans should not vacation at the country’s chief resorts?

“In these tough turbulent times,” the teacher continued, “the kith and kin have never stopped holidaying in Nyanga, Victoria Falls, Kariba, clubbing in hotels or abroad.

So “abroad” is off limits as well? Where does that leave?

Sitting in petrol queues apparently. That’s the place to be, according to the writer. But ironically the petrol queues were seen at the time as recruiting sergeants of the MDC.

The thing about Herald and Sunday Mail columnists is that they think they speak for an authentic Zimbabwean constituency when in fact that same constituency voted against these imposters as soon as it had the chance. So now they have to threaten and intimidate with half-baked racist rubbish which gets them nowhere in the end. The nation in 2000 and 2008 said it was not interested in their fulminations.

What is evident is the invention of bogeymen who are manipulated to scare voters. They are called “the enemy” but needless to say they don’t exist. The real enemy are the people pillaging the country as they cling to power. So long as they continue to spout the sort of ignorant and hate-filled vituperations we are currently witnessing in the state media there is little prospect of national recovery.

We were amused by Jonathan Moyo’s reference to donkeys (courtesy of Mahatma Ghandi) at the conclusion of his interview with Chris Maroleng. When it was pointed out to us that it was nothing new and he frequently made reference to donkeys, some wag was quick to say that was because he came from Tsholotsho.

What has happened to Tendai Biti? In London to address the Commonwealth Business Council, he said land reform was irreversible “no matter how ugly it was done”.

So those who were killed and had their properties stolen don’t matter?

He described the US as “intransigent and aloof” and said the land reform was successful when judging production output in crops such as tobacco.

What we have here is a senior MDC-T official prepared to overlook violence and pillaging of property in the name of inter-party solidarity. Is this the right thing to do? Is it principled or just expedient? What happened to the land reform commission? Has that been glossed over?

The members of the Commonwealth Business Council who Biti implored to come here and invest are unlikely to do so when senior members of the government ignore confiscation of property and lack of compensation. This by the way is Zimbabwe’s responsibility, not Britain’s. It was slipped into the 2000 draft constitution by Zanu PF and rejected by voters.

Biti sounded as if he was speaking for Zanu PF. He claimed the country’s judiciary measured up to any other around the world. “The judges and officials are well-read,” he claimed, “well-trained and respected globally.”

And what of the Sadc Tribunal Tendai, to which applicants had recourse if their own judicial systems failed to assist? That proved an inconvenience so it was abolished.

Strange justice there. Again, the MDC-T said nothing.

Biti castigated the Americans for not taking advantage of the opportunities Zimbabwe offered. Can the Americans be blamed for avoiding commitments to a country whose leading party — the MDC-T — is so shallow in its approach to governance?

We recall the visits of MDC-T officials to besieged farms to see the evidence for themselves and then returning to Harare with nothing to say as if some shady deal had been done. Again, what has happened to the land commission?

We were interested to note that Zimbabwe had been removed from the agenda of the Sadc organ on Defence, Politics and Security ministerial committee “because the political and security situation has normalised”.

We rolled around with laughter at that one. Normalised? Is that what they call it?

And who made this dubious claim? Secretary for Foreign Affairs Joey Bimha, we gather.

Zimbabwe will be left to the facilitator to deal with rather than the troika, he said.

Strange isn’t it that this news hasn’t been published elsewhere.

It was salutary to read the remarks of Thailand’s generals on the outcome of their election this week. Thailand’s outgoing Defence minister, himself a retired general, said the army accepted the election result.

“I have talked to military leaders. We will allow politicians to work it out,” he said. “The military will not get involved,” General Prawit Wongsuwon told AFP. “The people have spoken clearly so the military cannot do anything. We accept it.”

Wise words and a good example to others.

Meanwhile, have you noticed how all those columnists in the state media who are batting for Gaddafi omitted to tell us that China hosted Libyan rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril last month? Do we detect a crack in the solidarity ranks?

Finally we enjoyed ZBC’s commentary from the Sandton summit last month. Morgan Tsvangirai left the meeting with “an egg on his face”, we were told.

Scrambled or poached?

The Zimbabwe Guardian

http://talkzimbabwe.com/

By Tendai Moyo

8 July 2011

CALLS for immediate security sector reforms in Zimbabwe by America and its local regime change functionaries betray their unparalleled hypocrisy and fork-tongued nature.

While they are vociferously calling for our security structures to be neutered, their political and governance structures are replete with military and intelligence people who hold influential positions.

It is interesting to note that the USA, the voice behind Tsvangirai and other like-minded organisations, has a rich history of leaders who literally walked from their barracks to assume the presidency of this powerful country. George Washington, who is the first president of America, was a General of the Army with experiences from the American Revolutionary war and the French and Indian wars from 1754 until 1764.

Information at hand also indicates that of all the 44 presidents of the USA, only 12 of them did not belong to the barracks. The rest have fought wars, commanded armies and held key military positions. Outstanding among these are Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan who fought bitter wars to expand and strengthen the territorial integrity and sovereignty of America.

In 2000, General Colin Powel, another military man from the US, rose from the trenches of America’s military escapades in Iraq to contest in primary elections for the Democrats presidential candidate’s post. He was eventually trounced by George W. Bush Jr and ultimately settled for the influential governance post of Secretary for State.

In the US, military men are not only confined to national governance but are also incorporated in other affairs of the state that include, but are not limited to, diplomatic services. This is glaringly evident in Zimbabwe where it has consecutively deployed former military men to represent its interests. The current US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray, is a retired Major of the US Army. Mr. Ray served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1982. He replaced Ambassador James McGee who also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1974.

Closer home in Botswana, the president is a military man, Lieutenant General Ian Khama, who exchanged military fatigue for presidential suits. He is deputized by a soldier, Lieutenant General Mompati Merafhe, who has previously served as Khama’s superior in the army. The Batswana government has numerous other top government officials who have hailed from the barracks.

Despite the omnipresence of such decorated military men in the Botswana government, it is hailed as Africa’s beacon of democracy.

Cases of military men who traded their military offices for political persuasions are innumerably abundant and not peculiar to the US or Botswana. Interestingly, the MDC-T, the most vocal proponent of security sector reforms, has also managed to grab this global trend by recruiting military men into its ranks.

It has a legion of serving and retired high ranking military men in its ranks that include retired Major Giles Mutsekwa, who is Minister of Housing and Social Amenities, Retired Colonel Martin Rupiya, Retired Senior Intelligence Officer Pearson Mbalekwa, Former Senior Assistant Commissioner Emmanuel Chibanda, who is the MDC-T Director of Security, Retired Senior Selous Scouts David Coltart, who is Minister of Education and Culture, and the beleaguered Roy Bennett, who is MDC-T’s fund raiser and Treasurer General.

There are numerous other junior ranking military people who constitute the membership of this supposedly military averse organization.

The lesson inherent in the afore-mentioned revelations is that military men are universally allowed to become political men.

It is this realisation that palpably jostled Professor Charles Pfukwa, in one of his editorials in The Patriot to question that; ‘How can one man ask another to break his spear when the former has a quiver full of arrows and fully strung bow?”

However all these revelations come on the backdrop of heightened campaigns by the Americans and their local and international quislings to push for security sector reforms in Zimbabwe arguing that the country’s political space has become too militarized.

In line with this imperial crusade, the Crisis in Zimbawe Coalition on 9 June 2011 published a report titled ‘The Military Factor in Zimbabwe’s Political and Electoral Affairs,’ which tries to portray the participation of Zimbabwe’s military men in governance and politics as an insipid phenomenon peculiar to the Southern African nation.

Ironically the crisis savvy organisation recently entangled itself in some security crisis in South Africa when it’s hired mob of largely European demonstrator’s triggered violent skirmishes on the sidelines of the Sandton Extraordinary SADC Summit in South Africa, which were ably managed by the South African security forces. We could be forgiven for believing that the crisis ridden organization would also lobby for the reformation of the South African security forces for dousing their ill-fated violent demonstrations.

What is also puzzling is that the MDC-T, whose members are a constant threat to the general security of the country, is spearheading the campaign to emasculate our security sector.

The party recently left a bloody trail of violence on the run up to its fractious national congress in Bulawayo. Also emerging from the womb of the violent congress is a militant youth assembly that immediately launched a violent campaigned they aptly dubbed the ‘eye for an eye campaign’ against ZANU-PF members.

The campaign was consummated when suspected MDC-T supporters callously murdered a police Inspector Petros Mutedza. Inspector Mutedza was lynched by political followers who were unquestionably buoyed by the instigative ‘eye for an eye’ campaign.

It is such security challenges that the MDC-T and its regime change bedfellows would like the security forces to turn a blind eye against.

One of the concerns raised in Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition’s report was that the military have come up with specifications for who can occupy the presidential seat. They indicated that the position should not be straitjacket.

It is clear from this assertion that these pro-western organisations are naively oblivious of the fact that even their American masters, in buttressing their national security against extraneous forces, have specifications that determine the characteristics of who should become president in their country. It is irrefutable that some of these specifications stipulate that no one with communist and/or Islam inclinations would ever be allowed to rule the US.

In this sense, the US security functionaries at the Pentagon are the guardians of the nation’s presidency and no one has any qualms about it. So what is this hullabaloo against the Zimbabwean security forces when they duly prescribe who should and who should not be the president of Zimbabwe under the prevailing security challenges besieging our country?

It is also interesting that while the MDC-T and its coterie of regime change acolytes are finding fault with the security structures in Zimbabwe, the Sadc Sandton summit had consigned the security issue to the political dustbin. The summit refused to entertain this unsubstantiated security scare.

This regional position was further entrenched when the organisation’s organ responsible for security, after a rigorous scrutiny of the country’s security situation, decided to remove the country from its agenda. This was a slap in the face of the shameless regime change apparatchiks.

Perplexingly, in the militarized country of Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba and while the imperial coalition is propagating its security lies, the General was booted out of the constitution making body, COPAC. How can this happen in a country where the general and his colleagues in the barracks have usurped civilian power?

Similarly, how could Morgan Tsvangirai, in such a de facto military state, be allowed to spew such abrasively provocative utterances against the omnipotent Generals without scurrying for cover at the Dutch Embassy?

Furthermore, how can his party continue to freely traverse the breadth and width of the country holding peace rallies in a country were war veterans, soldiers and youth militia have been deployed to orchestrate violence?

If the military men in the US and other countries are allowed to participate in the political affairs of their countries, why is our military men denied the same privilege?

The whole security sector reform crusade smacks of a spirited and disingenuous campaign to weaken our military establishments so as expedite the treacherous regime change project. Our detractors have identified the military as a stumbling block to their imperial designs hence their unremitting denigration of the institution.

The hypocrisy in these calls for security sector reforms is however unquestionable. We should therefore resist any temptations to concede more ground to these neo-colonial demands as they are insidiously designed to weaken our revolutionary resolve.

Newsday

By Silas Nkala

8 July 2011

The MDC-T has said it is closely monitoring the performance of all its Bulawayo MPs, senators and councillors to ensure sound service delivery.

MDC-T provincial spokesman Mandla Sibanda told NewsDay yesterday elected members of the party were obliged to visit their constituencies regularly to update the electorate on issues discussed in Parliament for them to keep abreast with issues concerning them.

The move comes in the wake of complaints by residents that most of the MPs and councillors who were being elected since independence, had failed to deliver hence the region remained underdeveloped.

The MDC-T controls all 12 House of Assembly seats in the city, six of the seven Senate seats and 26 of the 29 councillors constituting Bulawayo City Council.

The Welshman Ncube-led MDC formation has one senator (David Coltart) and three councillors.

As part of the monitoring exercise, the party’s Bulawayo provincial executive attended the Wednesday full council meeting to monitor how their elected members debated issues.

“In efforts to establish how effective our councillors are in the Bulawayo City Council operations, we attended the full council meeting to hear how they were contributing to the development of the city on behalf of the electorate,” said Sibanda.

“What is left is for them to go down with that kind of information to their electorate to update them. The councillors could openly talk on developmental issues to a wider extent and it was really good.”

He said it was important for the MDC-T to ensure its elected members delivered what they promised to the electorate during the campaign period.

Sibanda said the party would make public its findings under the leadership-monitoring exercise.

Herald

7 July 2011

By Petros Kausiyo

EDUCATION, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart wants Zifa and the Sport and Recreation Commission to convene an urgent football stakeholders indaba that will ensure the domestic game reaps rewards from Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s visit to the country.

Coltart had a chance to meet with Blatter during his whirlwind tour of Zimbabwe his visit to Zimbabwe and joined the Zifa board, Sports Commission leadership and other officials at the Harare International Airport on Tuesday to see off the Fifa boss and his entourage.

Blatter left Harare for Durban, South Africa where he will attend the 123rd session of the International Olympic Committee but not before indicating to the local football family that they needed to come up with initiatives after which Fifa would assist them financially and materially.

Coltart said it was imperative that government led the way in assisting Zifa’s revival mission and felt that Blatter’s maiden visit to Zimbabwe would “re-energise our football”.

The Minister insisted that Zimbabwe had the capacity and potential to be a regular feature at the African Cup of Nations and also felt the Warriors could also put up a strong fight and even qualify for the World Cup.

“I think it has been a very positive trip by the Fifa president. I hope it energises all of us to work harder so that Zimbabwe football reaches its true potential.

“I think we have under-performed given the talent that we have and we should not be battling to qualify for the African Cup of Nations or even the World Cup.

“We should also de-politicise football so that we leave people who are better placed to run the game and have the passion for it to run the sport,” Coltart said.

Coltart said he had impressed upon both Zifa and the Sports Commission the urgent need for the football indaba.

“I have had a discussion with Zifa and the SRC and agreed that we need to have a fresh impetus to the indaba in August.”

Coltart said the main thrust of the meeting would be to find tangible ways funding for football and also comes against the background of Blatter’s pledge to assist the association.

“The focus of the indaba is to look at financing of football, seeing what we can do as a government and the private sector to ensure that football on a viable and sound footing,” Coltart said.

Coltart said it was also important for the Zifa board to focus on other facets of the game after they completed their probe into allegations of match fixing that had rocked the domestic game.

Zifa’s investigating committee, headed by the association’s vice-president Ndumiso Gumede, compiled the Asiagate report which has been handed over to Fifa, Caf, Sports Commission and the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.

“I think the Zifa board has, in the last few months, been focusing on the match-fixing and efforts to clean up the game.

“I have not seen their report yet but the law must take its course without fear or favour. If there is criminal activity established and if there is prima facie evidence then the police will have to come in and deal with that.

“Some of the offences may not constitute a criminal act but if it infringes on Zifa and the Fifa statutes then Zifa should use their disciplinary code, our role as the Ministry is that of overseeing that due process is done,” Coltart said.

Fifa have since engaged Interpol to assist them fight the scourge of match fixing and illegal betting across the globe.

The World soccer governing body’s head of security Chris Eaton and investigations officer Terry Steans are also scheduled to travel to Harare for meetings with the Gumede committee, the Zimbabwe Republic

Police, the Sports Commission and other people viewed as key to completing the probe.

Eaton had been expected to arrive in Harare from South Korea last Sunday but is understood to have rescheduled his journey for later his month as his team had another mission in Mexico.

Coltart also said he had noted that Zifa needed assistance to beef up their secretariat and said the matter would also be tabled for discussion at the envisaged indaba.

“Under the ambit of the indaba if it comes up that Zifa needs help in terms of personnel we will see how can assist.

“But really I would want to invite some of my colleagues in Cabinet for that indaba so that we address issues of taxation, the costs of hiring stadia and other levies eating into football,” Coltart said.

Sports Commission board vice-chairman Edward Siwela said although Blatter’s visit was a big event for football, he believed it was also a blessing for the country’s sport.

“Our view is that this must be a blessing to Zimbabwe sport and to Zifa in particular when these big guys come. It is an endorsement of what we are doing in sport.

“We however need to ensure that we button up on our administration so that we exploit the opportunities that such a visit brings. We appreciate fully the significance of this tour and as SRC we have completed our strategic plan for the next six years on the challenges bedeviling the administration of sport,” Siwela said.

The Zimbabwean

6 July 2011

Africa has more football talent than the Brazilians. All that is left is for it to be developed and it needs a lot of patience, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said during his historic one day visit to Zimbabwe last week.

Blatter, who met with both President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, on different occasions, was impressed with the way the world’s famous game is uniting people of different political, religious and social backgrounds across the globe.

“I’m happy that you have managed to organize this tournament and the response from the people here is just amazing. It shows how people of different backgrounds can be united by football just as was the case in South Africa during the World Cup. I met with the two political leaders and it they both spoke of football as such an amazing game,” said Blatter.

“We (FIFA) do not intend to impose European football in Africa, but we want to help you develop the game in the best way you understand it. I was pretty impressed by the way the girls displayed their ability to attack during play. They have great skills and we hope to see women teams from Africa making it all the way to the finals of the World Cup.”

Speaking on Zimbabwe’s issue of the Asiagate scandal, Blatter assured that once found guilty of participating in match-fixing players or any administrators involved will face “a life suspension from football.”

While Zimbabwe Football Association president Cuthbert Dube believes Blatter’s visit will open doors of trust for the corporate world to come on board in the development of football in Zimbabwe, the Minister of Education, Sports, Art and culture, David Coltart, took the visit as a blessing to the nation’s image.

“This visit goes way beyond football; Zimbabwe had become a negative brand in the world and since the formation of the unity government we have been trying to correct that. This visit is an endorsement we seek. We hope to see the Football for Hope Project coming in to extend education in Zimbabwe and my hope is that this visit can bring some hope in that regard,” said Coltart.

http://bulawayo24.com/

By Roy Moyo

6 July 2011

In a move to prove his detractors wrong, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart is flexing his muscles on Zimbabwean football matters.

The minister wants Zifa and the Sport and Recreation Commission to convene an urgent football stakeholders indaba that will ensure the domestic game reaps rewards from Fifa president Sepp Blatter’s visit to the country.

Coltart meet with Blatter during his tour of Zimbabwe. The minister joined the Zifa board, Sports Commission leadership and other officials at the Harare International Airport on Tuesday to see off the Fifa boss and his entourage.

Coltart said it was imperative that government led the way in assisting Zifa’s revival mission and felt that Blatter’s maiden visit to Zimbabwe would “re-energise our football”.

The Minister insisted that Zimbabwe had the capacity and potential to be a regular feature at the African Cup of Nations and also felt the Warriors could also put up a strong fight and even qualify for the World Cup.

Coltart said he had impressed upon both Zifa and the Sports Commission the urgent need for the football indaba.

“I have had a discussion with Zifa and the SRC and agreed that we need to have a fresh impetus to the indaba in August.”

Coltart said the main thrust of the meeting would be to find tangible ways for funding for football and also comes against the background of Blatter’s pledge to assist the association.

Coltart said it was also important for the Zifa board to focus on other facets of the game after they completed their probe into allegations of match fixing that had rocked the domestic game.

Coltart also said he had noted that Zifa needed assistance to beef up their secretariat and said the matter would also be tabled for discussion at the envisaged indaba.

ZBC recently reported that Coltart is with developments and challenges facing his Ministry the statement which the Minister dismissed as cheap politicking.

Herald

6 July 2011

GOVERNMENT yesterday commissioned 59 Nissan Hardbody vehicles valued at US$1,3 million to be used by district education officers in monitoring schools countrywide.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Harare yesterday, Education, Sports, Art and Culture Minister David Coltart, said the vehicles were acquired using money the Ministry of Finance allocated to the sector in the 2010 national budget.

He said some of the vehicles had already been dispatched to various districts around the country, while others would be distributed this week.

“This is money from the fiscus and it is a welcome development, which will show how tax payers’ money is being used.

“This is a clear testimony of the importance Government gives to the education sector. I am happy to announce that some of the vehicles have already reached their destinations and some provinces like Matabeleland can now boast of seven vehicles,” he said.

He said each province would get four vehicles and Harare and Bulawayo would receive two each.

He said to ensure quality education, Government would provide each of the country’s 73 administrative districts with a vehicle.

Minister Coltart said the vehicles would go a long way in improving the education standards in the country.

“Lawlessness had crept in the education sector and it is these regulations and policies that we want to restore in the sector with tight monitoring.

We no longer want to have excuses from the monitors,” he said.

Monitoring of schools by Government had been slowed, as most education officers did not have transport to move around the schools.

Herald

By Petros Kausiyo

6 July 2011

FIFA president Sepp Blatter flew out of Harare yesterday, leaving behind a Zimbabwean football community with a spring in its step, with prospects of a bright future powered by funds and technical expertise from the world soccer controlling body.

The organisation’s representatives in Southern Africa yesterday hailed the historic visit and said Zimbabwean football would never be the same again.

Blatter ended his 24-hour whirlwind tour of Zimbabwe by flying out of Harare in the morning to Durban, South Africa, after a maiden visit that charmed the nation and brought hope for a better tomorrow.

The 75 year old Swiss, the most powerful man in world football, pledged – as he left the country – to remain committed to his promise to help transform the fortunes of Zimbabwe football, which could see the country getting US$1,5 million in direct Fifa aid.

There could also be more, in terms of technical help, with referees and coaches also being seconded here.

The Fifa president, who was accompanied by secretary-general Jerome Valcke and some high-ranking officials including his advisor Walter Gagg and head of development Cyril Loisel, also met President Mugabe,

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as well as the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart and his Tourism and Hospitality Industry counterpart Walter Mzembi.

Fifa development officer for Southern Africa, Ashford Mamelodi, has urged Zifa to maximise on the historic visit to Zimbabwe by Blatter and turn the association into a professional and viable entity.

Mamelodi is Fifa’s point man in the region and the Botswana-based official has over the years been working hard to try and assist successive Zifa boards to turn around the fortunes of the game.

But Mamelodi reckons that although the current Zifa leadership has shown a passion and zeal to unlock value in the domestic game, Blatter’s visit – which ended yesterday – should be the tonic that should give local football a fresh impetus to grow.

The Fifa boss pledged the world body’s full support to Zifa in their development efforts and noted the challenges that the association has faced along the way.

Mamelodi also threw his weight behind Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and his lieutenants and backed them to succeed in their tenure at 53 Livingstone Avenue and revealed that the board had also charmed Blatter with its vision for the game.

Blatter – who toured the Zifa Village in Mt Hampden – pledged Fifa’s assistance for Zifa’s Goal Project and revealed that the world body was working on the plea by the association for funding to recapitalise their opera- tions.

Zifa have asked for US$1,5 million which they believe will jump start them and help pay a seemingly endless list of creditors.

As the Fifa boss flew off to Durban, South Africa, he also reiterated before his departure that he had been impressed by Zimbabwe and Zifa’s efforts to clean up the game and conduct business in a transparent manner.

But Mamelodi warned that Zifa should not bask in the glory of having had the privilege to host Blatter and “ensure Zimbabwean football really profits from this rare visit by a Fifa president to the country”.

Mamelodi felt that Blatter’s visit would bring a lot of positive spin-offs for local football and also give impetus to Zifa’s rebranding exercise which has seen the association trying to win the confidence of the corporate world to come in and partner the country’s biggest sport.

“History has been made… this was a very important visit, I am extremely happy that it was possible. We have been trying on many occasions to have him here including last year when he was visiting South Africa ahead of the World Cup.

“Zifa needed it…Zifa needed something like a visit by the Fifa president for the sake of their image in the eyes of the public, the government and the corporate world. We now need to build on this and the confidence levels that it brings because maybe now sponsors can listen to us,” Mamelodi said.

Mamelodi also shared the same sentiments with Blatter and said Zifa needed to be innovative in order for them to access Fifa support with the development officer suggesting an urgent strengthening of the secretariat.

“For me the reconstruction of Zifa must start from within, the governance structures such as the board and the secretariat must be strengthened. They need to present themselves as a united front and with full support behind their president.

“They need to take the initiative and Fifa will provide,” Mamelodi said.

Mamelodi said Zifa also urgently needed to appoint at least two key managers to help chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze in administering the association.

There have been genuine concerns that the set up at Zifa has meant that their chief executive is being overburdened as he has literally had to do everything in the administration of the game.

“We cannot have Jonathan continuing to run around like a headless chicken.

“It’s too much for the young man and it is untenable because he needs time to focus on his duties as chief executive otherwise we will all accuse of him of having failed yet he is also human.

“Zifa urgently needs a finance and administration manager and a communications manager. For me those are the priority areas that Zifa urgently need to address so that the board does not do operational issues, they can always find a marketing manager or officer later when they have filled those two key posts.

“It doesn’t augur well for the cohesion between the board and the secretariat if the board members are to be involved in the day to day running of football.

“The communications guy will help us with image building because we need to profit from Blatter’s visit.

“Zifa has been painted by a bad brush because of problems associated with previous leaderships, now we need someone who can manage a Zifa website and keep the stakeholders informed of the true picture of football”.

Mamelodi also warned Zifa against resting on their laurels and believing that Blatter’s visit would automatically mean a change in the association’s fortunes.

“You cannot go to sponsors and think you will come out with a big deal simply because Blatter was here, we need to put the Zifa house in order first.

“But it was important that Blatter was here and also met with the leaders of the country and this should be the catalyst that Zimbabwe football needed.

Blatter also promised Zifa that Fifa would avail funds for the third phase of the association’s Goal Project, expected to start at the end of September.

“Goal Project II is starting soon. It is regrettable that Zifa’s Goal project has taken too long but I sat down with the architects and looked at the master plan and the budget went beyond US$1 million.

“We will do it in parts and the initial one will be a totally serviceable and habitable camp house with adequate security. The next stage will be the training fields and the final component will be the floodlights around the pitch which will be natural grass.

“We cannot have artificial turf because it is too expensive, that would require an additional US$700 000.

“But we need a fully completed Zifa Village so that can save money and the senior national team can be able stay and train there. In the long term then we should look at a new Zifa office because where you conduct your business from is also an important place that can instill confidence in people.

“Everybody is happy with Zifa under Cuthbert and Blatter was impressed by the Zifa president’s inclination towards transparency, now we need to strengthen their secretariat and implement the resolutions of the Kariba declaration that we made last year,” Mamelodi said.

Statement by Senator David Coltart

5 July 2011

Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Deputy Minister Lazarus Dokora and Permanent Secretary Dr. Stephen Mahere commission 59 vehicles worth$1,3 million to be distributed to districts by government.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, today commissioned 59 vehicles to be distributed to district education officers across the country. The vehicles, which were purchased using $1,3 million from government, will help strengthen the ministry’s capacity to supervise the education sector.

Speaking at the event – which was attended by senior Ministry staff, including the Deputy Minister, Hon. Lazarus Dokora, Permanent Secretary, Dr. Stephen Mahere, Principal Directors and other staff – Minister Coltart said: “We are meeting here today to commission these vehicles to highlight government’s commitment to rehabilitate the education sector. Many a times we meet for such occasions to thank donors and development partners for their support. However,today we are meeting to thank government for its commitment to education because the funds to procure these vehicles- $1,3million in total- are from government.”

The minister thanked all staff members who worked hard for this day to come and expressed hope that citizens would rally behind government in its efforts to restore the sector. “We are here today in part because we believe it is important for citizens and tax-payers to know where their money is going, and about government’s efforts to strengthen the education sector.”“The Government of Zimbabwe has made the revival of the education sector an increasingly important part of its strategy for the country’s rehabilitation. To that end, we are working on a number of government initiatives and also with support from development partners. The disbursement of vehicles is part of our efforts to reinvigorate school governance and supervision. There has been a lot of lawlessness in the sector, in part because education officers did not have the necessary resources to supervise the system. But, now that we have vehicles,we hope that all education officers will be able to go into the remotest parts of the country to supervise schools and ensure that we provide a quality education. I was in Binga on Friday and was pleased to learn that the district has already received vehicles. Establishing an effective supervision system is imperative to help improve the quality of education. Ultimately, the beneficiaries of our efforts will be the millions school children from all social and economic backgrounds in Zimbabwe.”