The Guardian

By Matt Scott

10 September 2010

• Foreign Office warns visit would ‘send out wrong signals’
• Setback to Zimbabwe’s hopes of returning to Test arena

Zimbabwe’s hopes for a return to the international fold have suffered a setback after the cricket establishment followed government advice not to travel there. Marylebone Cricket Club will not even enter the country to conduct a fact-finding mission after receiving advice from the Foreign Office over the “inappropriate” message it would send. A planned tour of Zimbabwe by one of MCC‘s representative teams is now out of the question until the advice changes.

“There has been insufficient progress in the fundamental issues of political reform to justify sports tours to Zimbabwe by British teams, including county sides,” said the sports minister, Hugh Robertson, in a letter to governing bodies through their umbrella organisation, the Sport and Recreation Alliance. “The positive signal such tours would send would not be appropriate.”

The government is particularly concerned about the involvement of Peter Chingoka as the head of Zimbabwe Cricket. He has appeared on an international sanctions list and is seen as too close an associate of the discredited president Robert Mugabe to justify the approval of tours to the country. MCC’s decision follows Cricket Scotland’s cancellation of an Intercontinental Cup fixture there next month and is a blow to Zimbabwean ambitions of returning to Test cricket.

The Lord’s fact-finding mission had been due to take place following a request from Andy Flower, the England coach and former Zimbabwe Test player, to explore the reopening of formal links. New Zealand are believed to be due to send their ‘A’ team there in October, with Australia hosting a Zimbabwe ‘A’ side next year. This followed South Africa’s decision to take the first step, when they warmed up for England’s visit last year by hosting their neighbouring state in two one-day internationals.

Earlier this year MCC’s head of cricket, John Stephenson, met with David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s minister of sport and culture, and Andy Whittall, the former Zimbabwe Test bowler and MCC member. Discussions centred on sending an MCC representative team to Zimbabwe and to conduct further investigations while there.

“We were advised by the government not to go at the present time,” said a spokesman for MCC. “We are monitoring the situation as closely as possible in Zimbabwean cricket. As soon as the advice changes we’ll act on it very quickly.”

Zimbabwe’s tour to England last year was cancelled in June 2008 at the request of the then prime minister, Gordon Brown. Since then the progressive Morgan Tsvangirai has become Zimbabwe’s prime minister and cricketing figures such as Alan Butcher, the father of the former England opener Mark Butcher, have begun to take up senior coaching posts in the country.

Those developments seemed to point to Zimbabwe’s return from pariah status. But with political upheaval in Zimbabwe continuing, the Foreign Office believes sports tours would confer unjustified legitimacy on Mugabe’s regime.

Timeline

February 2003
England and Wales Cricket Board pulls England out of World Cup game in Zimbabwe because of fears over the players’ safety.

June 2004
International Cricket Council suspends Zimbabwe’s Test status for the rest of the year

January 2006
Zimbabwe cricket board bans the team’s Test status for the remainder of the year, but announces the side will still play one-day matches.

May 2007
Australian Prime Minister John Howard orders Australia to pull out of a scheduled September tour of Zimbabwe.

June 2008
ECB cancels Zimbawe’s tour of England because of continued political unrest.

July 2008
Zimbabwe pull out of 2009 World T20 tournament in England.

July 2008
ICC meets in Dubai to decide whether to ban Zimbabwe but does suspend them.

October 2009
South Africa host Zimbabwe for two one-day internationals.

June 2010
Australia A appear set to host a Zimbabwe A team next year.

July 2010
Following a plea by Andy Flower, the England coach, the MCC will send a ‘fact-finding’ team to Zimbabwe with the view of re-opening cricketing links.

July 2010
The exiled fast bowler Henry Olonga speaks out: “I think what Zimbabwe needs now is a slow and steady reintroduction to Test cricket.”

September 2010
New Zealand A appear set to tour Zimbabwe next month. The Kiwis postponed a tour to the Zimbabwe last year and again this year amid concerns of health and security.

NewZimbabwe.com

9 September 2010

ZIMBABWE began a major distribution of textbooks and other learning materials as schools opened this week – the result of a partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund.

All the country’s 5,575 primary schools will receive textbooks for core subjects, bringing the pupil-textbook ratio to 1:1, down from the current one textbook per 10 pupils, UNICEF said in a statement.

Recent statistics from the Education Ministry showed 20 percent of primary schools had no textbooks at all for English, Mathematics and local languages.

Education Minister David Coltart said Thursday: “This week children went back to school because of this visionary partnership between the inclusive government, international donor community and the UN.

“Children will go back to school with books and learning materials for the first time in years. It is a profound recognition that education is the foundation of Zimbabwe’s recovery.”

In the next three months, the Ministry hopes to disburse 12,000 tons of school supplies, including stationery and 13 million textbooks.

Some 20 percent of the textbooks are being printed in Zimbabwe and the remainder in other countries in Southern Africa. A supply chain will ensure that textbooks, stationery and other school supplies from the UNICEF distribution centre are distributed to 22 hubs across the country and further transported to every school, officials said.

“The distribution exercise we launch today is undoubtedly an enormous endeavour. Yet, we relish the challenge as it is a crucial first step to restoring Zimbabwe’s education system to its former glory as well as restoring the pride Zimbabweans have in educating their children,” said Peter Salama, UNICEF’s Representative in Zimbabwe.

The second phase of the US$70 million programme — the first large-scale, external support to the education sector in the past decade — will target secondary schools as well as focusing on providing teacher guides and textbooks for marginalised indigenous languages approved by the Education Ministry, as well as Braille texts for the visually impaired.

Zimonline

By Sebastian Nyamhangambiri

9 September 2010

HARARE – A donor-sponsored programme to provide books and stationery to Zimbabwe’s schools will see the number of children sharing a textbook dropping from 10 to one, officials said on Wednesday.

The programme that saw 13 million textbooks and other learning materials worth US$52 million bought for distribution to Zimbabwean schools is backed by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), the European Commission and other international donors.

Speaking at a ceremony yesterday to handover 13 million books bought under the education support programme, UNICEF head in Zimbabwe Peter Salama said the country’s education sector  — once the envy of many in Africa – remained in dire straights and in need of further help.

Salama said:  “We will be able to exceed the original target of bringing the textbook to pupil ratio down from one-to-10 to 1-to-2. Within a few weeks, every child in primary school will have a set of core textbooks. This may make Zimbabwe one of the only countries in sub-Saharan Africa with a 1-to-1 ratio of textbook to pupil.

“There are of course still major outstanding issues for which solutions must be found including the motivation and conditions of teachers as well as the need for the physical rehabilitation of schools.”

Speaking at the same occasion Education Minister David Coltart said Zimbabwe’s public school system continues to face problems including collapsed infrastructure, teacher shortages and children dropping out of school because of hunger and poverty.

Zimbabwe’s education sector that was once revered as one of the best in Africa is a shadow of its former self because of a severe economic crisis over the past decade that has seen government fail to pay market level salaries to teachers, maintain schools or provide learning materials such as chalks and books.

Teachers in Zimbabwe’s public schools earn an average US$236 monthly wage as the power-sharing government struggles to revive an economy battered by years of hyperinflation, lure back investors and pay its workers.

Many of Zimbabwe’s best trained teachers left the country a long time ago for foreign lands where salaries and living conditions are better.

The power-sharing government of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and President Robert Mugabe has promised to restore basic services such as education and health.

But the administration is hamstrung by a shortage of funds because rich Western nations able to provide required grants and soft loans will not do so insisting Harare must first step up the pace of democratic reforms, do more to uphold human rights and the rule of law before they give support.

www.un.org

UN News Centre

8 September 2010

A major distribution of school supplies got under way today across Zimbabwe in an effort by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Government and international donors to ensure that every primary school student receives a textbook for all core subjects.

All 5,575 primary schools in Zimbabwe will receive the supplies thanks to support from the Educational Transition Fund (ETF), a multi-donor funding mechanism launched a year ago to mobilize resources for the education sector with a view to improving the quality of schooling for the country’s children, UNICEF said in a press release.

The fund responds to numerous shortages of teaching and learning materials, textbooks and supplies in schools. Currently, around 10 pupils share every text book, while 20 per cent of primary schools, have no textbooks at all for English, mathematics or local languages.

“This week children went back to school because of this visionary partnership between the Inclusive Government, international donor community and the UN. Children will go back to school with books and learning materials for the first time in years,” said David Coltart, the country’s Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture. “It is a profound recognition that education is the foundation of Zimbabwe’s recovery.”

Over the past decade, Zimbabwean communities managed to keep their children and maintained high national enrolment, despite a declining economy, rising unemployment, an orphan crisis and an under-resourced education sector, which was near collapse.

The ETF is the first large-scale, external support to the education sector in the past decade and will provide learning resources to every primary school.

The distribution will see a total of 12,000 tons of school supplies, including stationery and 13 million textbooks, distributed in the next three months.

Some 20 per cent of the textbooks are being printed in Zimbabwe and the remaining in other countries in Southern Africa. A supply chain will ensure that textbooks, stationery and other school supplies from the UNICEF distribution centre are distributed to 22 hubs across the country and further transported to every school.

“The distribution exercise we launch today is undoubtedly an enormous endeavour. Yet, we relish the challenge as it is a crucial first step to restoring Zimbabwe’s education system to its former glory as well as restoring the pride Zimbabweans have in educating their children,” said Peter Salama, UNICEF’s Representative in Zimbabwe.

The next phase of the ETF will focus on providing teacher guides and textbooks for marginalized indigenous languages approved by the education ministry, as well as Braille texts.

ZBC

www.zbc.co.zw

8 September 2010

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has reiterated the inclusive government’s commitment and determination to deliver on its promises and to rebuild the economy.
Addressing guests at the launch of the Education Transition Fund, Mr. Tsvangirai said the inclusive government was formed on a commitment to stabilise the economy and to restore basic social services and the launch of the fund is testimony to the government’s commitment to fulfilling its promises.
“We have the Work Programme in which we have prioritised education funding within our national budget and this, together with the enormous support we have received from the international community, is now having tangible results,” the Prime Minister said.
Government, in conjunction with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the international donor community have embarked on a nationwide drive that will see all the 5 575 primary schools receiving educational supplies, stationery and text books for all the 4 core subjects.
The exercise will see a total of 12 000 metric tonnes of school supplies and 13 million text books being distributed across the country during the next three months.
Speaking at the same occasion, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart expressed optimism that the programme will be extended to secondary schools.
UNICEF country representative, Dr Peter Salama said the initiative will see the pupil-to-book ratio being reduced from 1 book for 10 pupils to 1 book per pupil.
Other speakers at the function included Norwergian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Gunnar Foreland, who was representing the donor community and the Minister of Labour and Social Services, Ms Paurina Mpariwa.

Braille textbooks and equipment for blind pupils have also been sourced under the fund.

20% of the textbooks are being printed in the country, while the remaining 80% are printed in the SADC region.
The next phase of the fund will focus on providing teachers’ guides and textbooks for marginalised indigenous languages like Venda, Shangani, Tonga and Nambya.
Zimbabwe’s education sector was one of the areas hit hardest by underfunding by the Zimbabwean Government during the last 20 years. The country, according to the UNDP, now boasts of having the highest literacy rate in Africa.

Newsday

By Fortune Moyo

6 September 2010

With just a day to go before schools open, there is confusion on the payment of teacher incentives by parents as education officials have dismissed the practice as tantamount to corruption.

This is a stark contrast to Education minister David Coltart’s assertion that incentives should stay as they are a form of supplementary income for teachers to stem the mass exodus of professionals.

Bulawayo provincial education director Dan Moyo last week lashed out at teachers and schools still demanding incentives and has ordered that they should stop the practice forthwith.

Addressing a five-day workshop on HIV and Aids, gender, life skills and counselling for secondary school teachers at Hillside Teachers’ College in Bulawayo last week, Moyo told teachers to stop demanding incentives as it is corruption.

“Teachers should immediately stop demanding incentives from parents as this is corruption and fraud. One can actually get arrested for that as it is a crime,” he said.

Moyo said most qualified teachers were avoiding applying for higher positions in the education system as they were enjoying incentives at schools.

“We always advertise posts for deputy headmasters and mistresses, but we hardly receive any responses, despite the large number of qualified teachers,” he said. “One of the reasons is that they look at the advertised post and then if they realise it will be difficult to get an incentive in the post, they decide not to apply.”

He said the practice should be stopped. “The issue of incentives has greatly corrupted our education system and it should be stopped immediately,” said the veteran educationist.

However, in an interview with NewsDay, Coltart said incentives were there to stay until teachers started to earn reasonable salaries.
“Incentives are still there and have to remain until we are able to start paying teachers a reasonable salary,” he said.

Coltart said totally stopping incentives would cause a major disruption in schools.

“If we are to cut out incentives, it would cause a major disruption in schools as we would lose thousands of teachers,” he said. Coltart pointed out that he was eager to stop incentives as soon as teachers were paid reasonably.
The issue of incentives has been a bone of contention since last year, with some parents totally refusing to pay, while in some schools, parents agreed to so that their children get adequate education.
Between 2007 and 2008, Zimbabwe lost about 20 000 teachers, mostly to neighbouring countries.

NOTE  FROM SENATOR DAVID COLTART:

There is in fact no contradiction in these positions. Incentives demanded by teachers themselves, ie on an ad hoc, individualistic fashion, are illegal. Incentives have to be agreed upon by parents through the payment of levies and they can then lawfully be paid to teachers. In that way there is a transparent, lawful and equitable process to assist teachers and keep them in the classroom. It is regrettable that Newsday did not seek comment from me regarding PED Moyo’s comments so that they could be put in context.

Radiovop

6 September 2010

Harare, September 6, 2010 -There was drama on Monday morning at the Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture headquarters in Harare when the Deputy Minister of Education, members of the President’s office who were visiting, senior officials and the entire staff stampeded to get out of 18-floor building after a malfunctioning elevator developed an electrical fault which caused fire at the building.

So hectic were the corridors of the building as senior staff and ordinary members of staff jammed the corridors in an enduring physical exercise climbing down the stairs to safety.
No-one was hurt during the incident because the fire was immediately put out by Harare City Council Fire Brigade whose response was swift.
The electrical fault occurred in the 18th floor around mid-morning. Ironically the floor houses the offices of Education Minister David Coltart who is said to have been out of office when the fire broke out. But his deputy, Lazarus Dokora was not as lucky as he had to endure the climb down using the stairs from his high rise office.
Dokora was said to have been forced to abandon the meeting with members of the President’s office when the fire broke out.

Staff from the ministry could be seen milling outside the building telling tales of how they escaped after the fire started.
“I was in the lift that jammed for some 15 minutes before we were rescued by people from the company that made the elevators,” an unidentified man could be heard saying. “The smoke actually came into the lift.” The lift was later fixed by EICCO, the company which installed and maintain lifts at the ministry’s offices.
The staff later refused to get back into the building after the fixed lifts malfunctioned again.  government offices have malfunctioning elevators which are always down. Maintenance at the government offices is sub-standard. Last year at the inception of the Government of National Unity (GNU) the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Health teamed up to lead a group of volunteers to clean government offices at Mukwati Building in Harare.