Newsday

26 April 2011

Jennifer Madongonda (43) shares a seven-roomed house with three other families in the low-income suburb of Budiriro.

Seven months ago the municipality cut off their water supply because they could not pay the bill.

“Water supplies to this suburb are very erratic. People get running water at most four times a week and for short periods, but for us who live at this house, it means nothing because we accumulated a huge bill that we are struggling to pay,” Madongonda said.

“We used to rely on the boreholes that were set up in 2008 but most of them have broken down and no one has come to repair them. Our neighbours don’t want to share their water because they are afraid they will accumulate huge bills too.”

Budiriro was regarded as the epicentre of the cholera epidemic that began in August 2008 and lasted for a year before it was officially declared at an end in July 2009.

The waterborne disease killed more than 4 000 people and infected nearly 100 000 others, and all water sources in the working class suburb were found to be contaminated.

Many neighbourhoods had dug shallow wells after the collapse of water and sanitation infrastructure in Zimbabwe’s economic implosion, creating ideal conditions for the proliferation of cholera, which infects the gastrointestinal system, causing vomiting and diarrhoea that can lead to acute dehydration; left untreated, it can kill within 24 hours.

In response to the epidemic, donor organisations, including the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) Zimbabwe, drilled scores of boreholes, but many have since fallen into disrepair and at night it is not uncommon to see long queues at few remaining working boreholes as residents jostle to get water for the next day.

“We now cook at all sorts of times, sometimes at midnight or early morning, when we manage to get water. We can hardly spare any to wash clothes because we don’t have containers big enough to store it,” Madongonda said.

A stream about 5km away is used for laundry and bathing. “Many women complain of skin problems and we suspect it is because the water is polluted with sewage and dangerous chemicals dumped in the stream by factories. It will not be long before there is another cholera outbreak,” she warned.

Unicef Zimbabwe’s head of communications, Micaela Marques de Souza, said the boreholes drilled “in response to the 2008/09 cholera outbreak were handed over and are being maintained by Harare City (municipality)”.

Unicef had “also supported training of the staff of Harare City in the operation and maintenance of these boreholes. In order to ease the water shortages in these areas and Harare City, Unicef has recently provided spares and tool kits (for the boreholes) to the director of health services”, De Souza said.

In 2010 Unicef drilled 43 additional boreholes in Harare and was assisting in the rehabilitation of the capital’s main source of water, Morton Jaffray Water Works, where the pumps regularly break down because the municipality does not have enough money to buy spares.

“I am aware of the fact that most of the boreholes, even some drilled last year, have broken down because there are too many residents using them and some of them are careless, but I am surprised that we are supposed to be repairing them,” a senior health official in the municipality’s public works department said.

Reticulated water is also becoming scarce in Glen Norah, the suburb next to Budiriro, where boreholes were also sunk to combat the cholera epidemic.

“A lot of people use the bush and buckets to relieve themselves because of the water shortages. Toilets are overflowing and our children suffer from running stomachs most of the time.” The tap water was “suspicious”, because whenever supplies returned briefly, it was dirty, Glen Norah resident Trymore Purazi(28) said.

“We have been advised by health officials to leave the water to settle, but it is difficult to heed this advice because, in most cases, we would have waited the whole day to have water to cook and we would be very hungry,” he said.

Chris Magadza, a researcher at the University of Zimbabwe, told participants at a recent workshop that “clinical studies carried out on Harare’s water supplies, and the results obtained, revealed that the water bodies carry a significant amount of pollutants, which pose a potential health risk.”

In March this year, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart officially launched the Peri-urban roofttop rain water harvesting programme at Tasimukira Primary School in Chitungwiza.

The launch of the programme, which is run by International Relief and Development with funding from USAID, came a day after the world commemorated the annual International Water Day on March 22.

Coltart said the programme was part of the national response to the national water crisis, particularly in Chitungwiza, a dormitory town devastated by the fatal 2008 cholera epidemic.

VOA

By Tatenda Gumbo & Sithandekile Mhlanga

25 April 2011

Education Minister David Coltart said his ministry does not oblige teachers or students to participate in holiday tutoring, adding that such lessons should only be scheduled when parents and teachers agree

The Zimbabwean government has warned schools against scheduling mandatory holiday lessons it says are increasingly a way for teachers to bolster their incomes.

Deputy Education Minister Lazarus Dokora sounded a warning this week saying the government has realized that many schools are now making it mandatory
for children to attend holiday lessons – in the process fleecing students’ parents and guardians.

Authorities added that they are suspicious some teachers are holding back during regular class hours to ensure children will require lessons during holidays.

Day schools are charging an upwards of US$40 a child for such instruction, in addition to which parents are also expected to pay an administration fee of US$20.

Boarding schools are said to be charging more than US$100 for lessons. Parents say they pay up because they do not want their children to lag behind their classmates.

Dokora says schools should use allotted school periods for learning and not exhaust students using the so-called holiday lessons as an opportunity to derive income.

Education Minister David Coltart said the ministry does not obligate teachers to teach during holidays or mandate students to attend any extra lessons,  adding that this should happen only when parents and teachers have reached an agreement.

Coltart told VOA Studio 7 reporter Tatenda Gumbo that teachers found to be compelling students or their parents to attend and pay for extra lessons will be disciplined.

Coltart said private institutions are free to decide if children must attend extra lessons.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association Chief Executive Sifiso Ndlovu said a high teacher-pupil ratio in schools plus economic hardships are obliging teachers to give holiday lessons.

Ndlovu told reporter Sithandekile Mhlanga that both parties benefit from the set-up – but adds teachers are at fault if they fail to use the time to help struggling students.

• I am outraged by the detention this weekend of my friend and Ministerial colleague Moses Mzila Ndlovu. Makes Independence day a farce. #

Herald

22 April 2011

By Farirai Chubvu

‘‘THESE are makers of carrion,” the wary ones said, “do not shelter them. See their eyes, their noses, such are the beaks of all the desert’s predatory birds. We laughed at the fearful ones, gave the askers shelter and watched them unsuspicious, watched them turn in the fecundity of our way, the way itself became a lonely memory for abandoned minds . . . for those who came as beggars turned snakes after feeding,” writes Ayi Kwei Armah, in his book Two Thousand Seasons, a book which tells of how white supremacists have successfully distorted black history and achievements.

He goes on to say, “Destroyers will travel long distances in their minds to deny you this truth.”

A truth which is being denied by former Rhodesian security operative David Coltart, whose article on the online website newzimbabwe.com called our 31st independence anniversary celebrations ‘‘a farce.”

What cheek!

Coltart was apparently oblivious to the fact that, the fact that he could write such trash that insults our collective memory without comebacks is testimony to how democratic this country is.

Anyone can say what they want and not have to look over their shoulders.

However, Coltart is either very naïve or mischievous to make such scandalous allegations at a time thousands of bones of patriots who perished at the hands of Coltart and his compatriots are being extracted from mine shafts in Chibondo, Mt Darwin.

Imagine an Arab standing at Ground Zero in New York and hailing the virtues of Osama bin Laden, or a skin-head with swastika tattoos all over, standing in central Jerusalem, Israel proclaiming the virtues of the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler.

But I forgive Coltart for his fulminations because he apparently lost his privileged position as a super-citizen in Rhodesia and is now just the same as my aunt, down under in Dotito, though he is abusing the independence and democracy that sees him, a man who opposed majority rule by fighting on the side of the Rhodesian Security Forces, enjoy a ministerial position in a black Government he never wanted to see born, that he would rather have quashed and destroyed true to Ian Smith’s ‘‘not in a thousand years” refrain.

Coltart, whose ilk profited on the grounds of race from Rhodesia’s segregationist and exclusionist policies, would naturally have nothing to celebrate about the land reform programme because the land is being transferred from people like him to their former workers.

He would naturally have nothing to celebrate about indigenisation and economic empowerment because those policies seek to put him at par with his erstwhile perceived chattel slaves.

However, no sane black person can ever belittle the gains of independence.

I, however, do not forgive my fellow black brothers and sisters at the Daily News who had the audacity to claim that we went through ‘31 years of hell’ since April 18 1980.

The tone of the article was that Ian Smith was right, black majority rule has been a disaster and we would have been better off remaining under the colonial yoke.

Either the writer of the article and her bosses are retarded or they were just being deliberately naughty to assuage their handlers.

Coltart’s fulminations and the frantic agenda-setting by the likes of the Daily News are easy to understand given the fact that we celebrate 31 years of Independence at a time forces opposed to our total emancipation have ranged against us for daring to go beyond the façade of flag independence.

As a nation we chose to take the bull by the horns. We dropped the short-end of the stick the erstwhile coloniser had given us at the Lancaster House Constitutional Conference.

And, over the past 31 years, we have systematically worked to transform our country into a truly independent unitary state.

Independence does not only mean flying our flag over our territory, neither does it mean having black faces in Government.

Independence means non-dependence on anyone but ourselves for our own destiny.

And when we look at the path travelled over the past 31 years, there is every reason to celebrate the achievements scored, gains that are unparalleled by any nation that attained political independence in our generation, or even those that have been free much longer.

The gains in the social services sector are phenomenal, infrastructure development, housing, you name it, the only blight was an economy dominated by foreign-owned companies, and this is what we are painstakingly changing on the back of crippling economic sanctions imposed to subvert our drive for holistic independence.

Indeed, the fact that despite a sustained seven-year assault, our country has not gone under is testimony to the strength of the foundation laid since 1980.

Yes, there are those who point gleefully at the prevailing economic hardships as a sign of failure.

I disagree with them strongly.

What our nation is experiencing are the pangs of transformation, and any reasonable person can concur that the economic malaise of the past decade was spawned by illegal Western economic sanctions.

Our economy has not collapsed, but that which we called our economy when it was in fact a white economy is collapsing, and in its place an indigenous Zimbabwean economy is emerging on the back of a genuine land-owning middle class.

That transformation cannot occur overnight, neither can it be cosy; it is a duel with dark forces whose very existence hinges on continued exploitation of our resources, with us as the labourers.

These are the forces that drive the likes of Coltart to insult us like that, and have the slavish Daily News print such scandalous drivel.

Never again will we allow them to reverse the gains we have made, amid so much opposition.

However, for that transformation to be achieved expeditiously, we must all pull in the same direction.

This is the last phase of our struggle, and history tells us that the myopia of those who opted to abet the enemy prolonged the liberation struggle.

This is why we need this day, to dedicate ourselves to the ideals of the struggle, close ranks to defeat the machinations of those seeking to torpedo and reverse our Independence.

The sanctions imposed by the West are not for our benefit, but they are meant to benefit their kith and kin, which we have dispossessed of resources that are rightfully ours.

Thus whether we are Zanu-PF, MDC-T, MDC or Mavambo, let us differ only on the modalities of governing our nation, not who should govern it.

We won the right to self-determination 31 years ago, and the sooner the likes of Coltart and the Daily News realise it, the better.

fariraichubvu@gmail.com

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daily News

By Chengetai Zvauya, Staff Writer

20 April 2011

The wife of murdered MDC activist Patrick Nabanyama is suing the Attorney-General Johannes Tomana for refusing to prosecute the six war veterans and Zanu PF members who allegedly kidnapped and killed her husband 11 years ago.

Nabanyama’s widow, Patricia wants the attorney-general to immediately start proceedings to bring to justice the people accused of murdering her husband.

Nabanyama was the polling agent for the minister of education, sports and culture, David Coltart in the 2000 elections and he was abducted on June 19, 2000 at his home in Nketa.

Nine war veterans were initially implicated in the murder and were questioned by police but three of the alleged kidnappers have since died.

Nyabanyama was declared dead by the Bulawayo provincial magistrate Rose Dube, in October last year and this resulted in Patricia, applying to the attorney-general seeking the issuance of a certificate that allows her lawyers to carry out a private prosecution against her husband killers.

The Nabanyama family accuses the attorney-general of refusing to prosecute the six and has decided to sue Tomana to compel him to issue the certificate.

Contacted for comment, David Coltart, confirmed the legal action.

“It has been an on-going issue for a long time and I understand that suing the attorney-general is now one of the options being followed,” said Coltart.

Chief Law officer in the Attorney-General’s office, Chris Mutangadura confirmed that the Nabanyama family was suing the attorney-general but denied that they was refusing to issue the certificate of prosecution.

“We cannot sign the certificate because there is no docket concerning the death of Nabanyama, although he was declared dead by the magistrate.

“We cannot issue the certificate as we need to study the docket and decide whether to prosecute or not,” said Mutangadura.

A private prosecution follows when the attorney-general officially refuses to prosecute for whatever reason and then issues a certificate that allows one to engage another lawyer or prosecutor other that the attorney-general to deal with the case.

During the 2000 elections, many MDC supporters were murdered and the same happened in the 2008 elections.

New Zimbabwe.com

18 April 2011

INDEPENDENCE Day celebrations in the midst of a crackdown on President Robert Mugabe’s opponents are a “farce”, Education Minister David Coltart said on Sunday.

Coltart spoke after National Healing Minister Moses Mzila-Ndlovu spent the weekend in jail, charged with undermining the authority of the police.

Mzila-Ndlovu was arrested along with a Roman Catholic Church priest after they officiated at a memorial service for victims of the 1980s genocide in Matabeleland and the Midlands.

It is believed 20,000 people were killed in the crackdown by an especially-trained army unit sent to the region ostensibly to put down an armed insurrection by supporters of the late nationalist leader, Joshua Nkomo. Rights groups say the soldiers targeted civilians.

Coltart, a member of the MDC party led by Welshman Ncube, signalled he will not be attending the Independence Day celebrations on Monday in protest.

“I am outraged by the detention this weekend of my friend and ministerial colleague Moses Mzila Ndlovu. Makes Independence Day a farce,” Coltart said on Twitter.

Mzila-Ndlovu and Father Marko Mnkandla are accused of addressing a public meeting without police authority. Additionally, prosecutors say they are charging the priest with possession of pornography.

Meanwhile, the opposition ZAPU, in an Independence Day message, accused Zanu PF of “using their 30 years in power to destroy all the hopes the people had when our nation became independent.”

“It has been a 31 years of controlling power, 31 years of ever declining employment, 31 years of worsening poverty, 31 years of virtually no development for most areas, 31 years of hunger, 31 years of homelessness, 31 years of fear, 31 years of no freedom of speech, 31 years of no freedom of assembly. The list of human rights violations is endless,” said spokesman, Methuseli Moyo.

The Arcadia Foundation

http://arcadiafoundation.org/

18 April 2011

We as an international community have a duty in newfound opportunity: we must pay close attention to the booms in present-day Zimbabwe in order for them to respectively blossom in to sustainable pillars of development. We must also accept and address certain realities hindering our ‘getting on-board’.

The Zimbabwean mining sector is expected to grow by 44 percent this year alone, buoyed by an increase in platinum, diamond, coal and ferrochrome output, according to a recent report by Frost & Sullivan.

15 million textbooks were provided to schoolchildren throughout Zimbabwe, thanks in large part to UNICEF and the diligent efforts of the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart. The ratio of student to textbook is 1:1, a tremendous continent-wide precedent.

Tourism is encouragingly on the rise; there are more and more reasons for the United States and the EU to effectively lift longstanding sanctions. Certainly these will encourage the type of foreign investment the country continues to deserve.

One must however continue to be wary; foreign investment in Zimbabwe has the abysmal geopolitical reputation of Russia regarding the stigma of political corruption and violence, following controversial 2008 elections between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and President Mugabe, 87, and his Zanu-PF. Political in-fighting continues.

Security reforms initiated by the SADC have yet to be effectively installed. Mugabe’s rhetoric isn’t helping – as of late beset by ill-health and divisions in his party, the President stated the government will ‘take over’ companies, in part through the controversial indigenization act, especially those owned by EU member countries, in response to said sanctions.

The indigenization and empowerment laws alone could adversely affect infrastructural growth; in a time of growing prospects, securing effective political resolution for applicable oversight, addressing and compromising dated campaigns of repatriation and helping to promote the positives emanating from the once-breadbasket of Africa are paramount in order for a globalized community to engage effectively.

• Reckless and unacceptable war talk by an immature and inexperienced South African Cabinet minister http://goo.gl/xsYfl Jonathan Moyo rants #
• Fantastic Masters. But brutal. #
• Scott slices – will be blow the lead? #
• Come on Schwartzel for Africa at the Masters! #
• Schwartzel in the lead on 16th!!!! Go South Africa, go Africa! #
• Come on Charl nail that putt on 17 #
• Charl nailed it – takes outright lead on 17 at Masters!! Now do it for Africa on the 18th #
• Come on Charl just lay this up nice and easy now #
• Charl – its a goodie 2 putts to victory at the Masters for Africa!! #
• Charl Schwartzel nails his putt for birdie and victory in the Masters for Africa!! Makorokoto from Zimbabwe #
• Ikeys win Varsity Rugby Cup!! Die Sacs kom terug!! UCT 26 – Tukkies 16 #
• Australia A To Tour Zimbabwe In July http://t.co/pUUdC7E via @smh_news #
• Wonderful afternoon watching Zimbabwe Under 19s play the British Independent Schools Barbarians in Harare. Great rugby, nice to host them #
• Just told by MDC spokesman that Healing Minister Moses Mzila Ndlovu has been arrested in Lupane for attending an illegal healing meeting!! #
• "For evil men will be cut off. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them they will not be found." Ps 37:9-10 #
• Moses Mzila Ndlovu – Healing Minister arrested! http://goo.gl/N1Xjr #

Newsday

Comment

16 April 2011

Pronouncements by David Coltart, Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture that the Government is putting in place measures to ensure gifted but disadvantaged children are given the chance to complete their education is welcome news.

Coltart told members of the House of Assembly this week that every province was expected to have at least one boys’ and one girls’ high school to cater for disadvantaged children.

“We will focus resources on those government schools, restore and rehabilitate them and identify the best possible headmasters and teachers and then develop a scholarship programme working with primary schools headmasters and headmistresses, as well as the local community leaders who will identify the talented, disadvantaged children in their communities,” Coltart said.

This move by the Government is laudable given that the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) has had little impact in assisting gifted children that are unable to pay school fees.

As a result, a lot of potential academic talent has gone to waste especially in rural areas and high density suburbs.

Gifted children come from all backgrounds and it is important to note that the Government has recognised the need to cater for such children from disadvantaged communities.

Children from poor backgrounds are normally helped “through education” in a manner that can best be described as token, with the benefactors’ main target being to keep them in school with little regard of the quality of education they receive.

It is therefore heartening to note that under the proposed programme, quality is also an important factor as the children are to be “nurtured and developed to get the best education”.

While the mooted programme is cause for celebration, experience counsels caution.

We have seen how corruption, nepotism and political partisanship have got the better of such programmes so that the intended beneficiaries ended up the losers.

There have been concerns over how the Presidential Scholarship and the BEAM programmes have been abused.

Accusations of corruption, nepotism, patronage and partisanship, from the lowest level to the highest level, have dogged the programmes.

In such cases the intended beneficiaries lost out.

In order for this new programme to have the intended impact, foolproof structures and mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that unwelcome internal and external variables such as corruption do not eat into the intended beneficiaries’ pie, otherwise this noble idea will end up as one of the multitudes of government programmes whose intended benefits have been eroded through vice.

A number of significant programmes in this country have succumbed to political interference.

Our politicians have this knack for politicising everything, including schools and the entire education system and the moment they dip their noses into noble programmes they go to waste.

We hope that for once, politicians stay out of this programme so that those from disadvantaged backgrounds benefit.