Mail and Guardian
By Neil Manthorp
Comment
March 26 2010

Zimbabwe Cricket deserved to be criticised during the 2000s and it was. Such was the decay in administration and performance that no place on the international stage could be justified. The decision to withdraw from Test cricket was wisely taken — and in the nick of time.

Having reported on virtually every incoming tour to the country from the inaugural Test against India in 1992 to 2000, I became passionate about cricket in Zimbabwe. It wasn’t easy to sit back and watch the decade of misery which followed and, though the criticism may have seemed easy to dish up, it wasn’t pleasant.

Zimbabwe’s refusal to sanction my return to report or commentate undoubtedly soured relations and inevitably increased an already biased slant on events. The trickle of information which came from the country was almost inevitably from the disenfranchised and a balanced perspective became impossible.

The story of Zimbabwe Cricket’s attempt to reintegrate meaningfully into the world game is too long and complex to fill a novel, let alone this page, but for me it began with an invitation from a man I had labelled a tyrant, among other things.

ZC managing director Ozias Bvute is certainly not perfect, but welcoming several hours of finger-pointing, chest-jabbing questioning from a hostile journalist is unusual behaviour for a dictatorial, self-serving administrator, as I had called him (based on the information I had been able to gather).

Every question was asked and answered. The ICC spent more than $500 000 on a forensic audit of ZC’s financial affairs following allegations of theft and corruption by Bvute and chairperson Peter Chingoka. The results were never published. Bvute swears he wishes they had been. They revealed some incompetence, outdated accounting systems and naivety about such things as broadcasting costs.

Whether either man also profited from the economic collapse of the nation’s financial system is undecided. But many businessmen did — just ask the tobacco and property industries how much money was made by currency trading during the freefall of the Zim dollar.

But if Bvute did benefit personally then he is giving back to cricket at an extraordinary rate. And he already has an American green card guaranteeing residency, so why is he risking his personal fortune by bank-rolling Zim cricket’s debt of close to $4-million?

Ultimately, however, the most pertinent question may be this: Why should the country’s many, many aspiring cricketers be denied the chance to compete at the highest level because of allegations against their bosses and, even more pertinently, because of the horrendous and abject suffering inflicted on millions of the population by the president of the nation?

South African sports teams of the 1980s knew more than most about the stigma created by isolation and the frustrations of a situation beyond the control of “mere” sportsmen. But the rest of the world was united in its condemnation of apartheid; and the abhorrence of anything that could be construed as indifference, let alone support, of the regime was universal. “No normal sport in an abnormal society.” The slogan was sharp and pertinent and the global sports media took eveery opportunity to use it.

The only debate about the slogan today concerns the interpretation of “abnormal”, but sports boycotts are few and far between, which, presumably, means that a nation’s imperfections and sometimes even appalling faults and abuses are expected, if not accepted, but are still no reason to cancel sporting contact.

South Africa deserved its isolation even if the innocent among its sports people did not. But since the overthrow of apartheid almost 20 years ago, international sporting sanctions have been marginal, localised, short-term and often even petty. Sometimes calls for sporting boycotts are ill-considered and based on emotion rather than analysis or fact.

Even for the most passionate, anticolonial pan-Africanist, for whom Robert Mugabe was, and always will be, a heroic freedom fighter, the president of Zimbabwe was a hard man to whom unconditional support could be given for much of the past decade while his tyrannically obsessed leadership dragged a once-prosperous country into economic ruin. Hundreds of thousands of his fellow citizens either fled or starved. Fact. Not fiction, not propaganda, just the truth.

Since the beginning of 2009, however, with the formation of a government of national unity and the official adoption of the rand and the US dollar as national currencies in place of the laughable local equivalent, the people of Zimbabwe are gradually hauling themselves and their life prospects back from the abyss.

Yet, extraordinarily, there are calls for the Zimbabwean cricket team to be banned from international competition. The national team has an average age of 24 and is full of passion and determination. They long to recreate the era of the early and mid 1990s when Zimbabwe, always the underdog, was a team to be, if not feared, then respected at all times and costs.

Zimbabwe Cricket is still cursed with racial tension and misunderstanding, but there are many differences today from the early 2000s when national captain Heath Streak led a walk-out by 15 white “rebels”. There is a genuinely shared vision among the players, with the return of Test cricket at its hub.

There is a powerful belief that politics — and its influence — can no longer extend into the professional lives of the players. Ten years ago they would not speak outside of cricketing affairs because they were cautious, even fearful, of the consequences. Today they see that option as a right rather than a necessity. Whereas they once considered political talk a hazard, they now see it as an irritation.

Zimbabwe is, in the words of the life-long human rights lawyer and current minister of education and sports, David Coltart, “a country in transition, but one which is working hard to resolve its own problems”.

Coltart (52) has suffered things in his life that many of Zimbabwe’s critics would be unable to digest mentally, let alone physically. Houses of colleagues burned down, staff terrorised and multiple imprisonments. Yet he declares, unbowed: “Zimbabwe needs all the strength it can get and, believe me, I know for certain that a strong cricket team gives people some hope and belief that we are still heading in the right direction.”

Bvute says: “I wish more of our critics would come and see us, come and see for themselves. Our books and accounts are a matter of public record. Anybody with an interest is welcome to come and be our guest. Hopefully they will also have time to see the work being done across the board in Zimbabwe cricket, the franchise system, our development programme and everything else.”

Streak, the “rebel” leader, is now national bowling coach. “Things aren’t perfect, but the will and desire is undoubted. It’s simple to me: You either want to be part of the problem or you want to be part of the solution. It didn’t take me long to decide. I have a son and I want him to be able to play for Zimbabwe.”

Bvute has given another former national captain, Alistair Campbell, the task of “making the rebirth of Zim cricket happen”. He chairs the selection panel and heads the national cricket committee.

“It’s time to draw a line in the sand,” Campbell says. “Whatever happened in the past is gone; it’s time to move forward. We struggled as a nation for a decade and, whilst there’s still plenty for the politicians to sort out, it’s time for cricket to put the crap behind us and head into the next decade.”

Neil Manthorp ended a seven-year banishment from Zimbabwe by accepting an offer to commentate on the country’s inaugural, domestic T20 tournament last month before travelling with the national team to the Caribbean as media liaison officer for the five-match ODI series against the West Indies

The Herald
By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
26 March 2010

From big names in music to the hot faces of the small screens, from businesspeople to top Government officials, all walked on the red carpet rolled out at the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel for the Celebrity Dinner Dance on Thursday night.

Given the glitter and the glamour that characterises overseas events graced by “filthy rich celebs” one could be forgiven for thinking that such was a preserve of Hollywood stars.

While that might well be true due to Hollywood’s megabucks, however, that does not necessarily follow in Zimbabwe. It was a night to remember as Zimbabwe’s A-listers made their way into the Great Indaba Room, the venue of the fundraising dinner dance hosted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.

You could have been anywhere in Harare but if you were not part of the audience at the dinner dance, then you don’t know what you missed.

It was an experience to cherish and for once, musicians, comedians, poets, filmmakers, actors and actresses took time off their busy schedules and converged under one roof.

Such a rare gathering brought some fond memories when artists gathered to share not just food but even jokes over a glass of wine.

You could tell that there is unity among Zimbabwe’s celebrities — or is it public figures? — as some of them exchanged numbers while others posed for photographs for posterity.

Some of the celebrities were star-struck and cheered among themselves whenever the master of ceremonies Lovemore Banda introduced a late comer. Banda simply rose to the occasion making sure the programme was flawless.

However, most of the celebrities turned up early for the dinner, which was something of a rare spectacle.

If anything, Zimbabwe’s celebrities know how to dress for the occasion.

The first couple of gospel and elegantly dressed Baba naMai Charamba were seated on the same table as the Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart, Dr Thokozile Chitepo, who was re-appointed the chairperson of the NACZ board and Dr Stephen Mahere, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.

Other celebrities included Zimbabwe Tourism Authority executive, Gift Chidzidzi and his wife Tabitha was at the same table as Fungisai Zvakavapano-Mashavave and her beau Courage, actress Chipo “Eve” Bizure and hubby Kashweka Mapanda.

Of course, the delectable Eve admitted the “storm was finally over” following rocky times in her marriage.

Theatre practitioner Daves Guzha, popular drama actor and author Aaron Chiundura Moyo and ballet dancer Mathius Julius and Jerusarema drummer Douglas Vambe also graced the dinner dance. As usual, businessman-cum-musician Prince Tendai was at his best showing how much swag he has. He emerged from his Mercedes Benz S350 and was quickly whisked into the venue by the ushers.

Somewhere at the back of the venue were Wallace Chirumiko popularly known as Winky D, stage theatre actress Eunice Tava as well as man-of-the moment, Desmond “Stunner” Chideme.

Winky D received special mention from the emcee for his eye-catching white suit, red shirt and matching woollen hat. Thank God, Stunner showed up nicely dressed in a grey suit and a black shirt something that was different from his usual baggy jeans, T-shirts and caps.

Stand-up comedian Edgar Langeveldt, with wife Raquel, was slightly beside himself as the couple was on separation for months.

Langeveldt donned a black tuxedo and a fedora hat just like his late idol Michael Jackson.

Of course, the dinner dance would not have been complete without Langeveldt’s theatrics. His rendition of the song Heal the World which he titled “Heal My Nose” sent the crowd including Minister Coltart into gusts of laughter.

In the song Langeveldt poked fun at the reports that Michael Jackson’s nose once popped out.

The chorus went something like this:

Heal my nose,

Make it a better face for you and for me and the entire human face.

There are people blogging, Hi-Five, You Tube and Facebook

Heal my nose

Bass guitarist Alick Macheso and his wife Nyadzisai who has a ‘big bump’ on her tummy turned heads as they arrived rather late for the dinner dance. However, they made it in time for introductions as well as the opening speech.

This time around Macheso did not suffer from wardrobe malfunction. He even had a fresh haircut and his grey suit went well with his wife’s long but colourful dress. However, the red wine bottle was three quarters full; maybe Macheso is not a big fan of red wine or that he was seated on the same table as Delta Beverages officials who kept the waiters busy.

Suluman Chimbetu was immaculately dressed in a designer grey suit and necktie while songstress Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana wore a traditional black haute courture dress. Afro-jazz diva Dudu Manhenga also sent the audience in stitches when she introduced some of her band members including her drummer and husband Blessing Mparutsa and his cousin and bass guitarist James Buzuzu.

She jokingly said she was married to her band as a way of keeping it intact.

“The band has been with me for a long time because I decided to marry them. It is easy to work with the people who are close to you,” she said.

Like Prudence, Dudu wore a nice traditional sleeveless outfit.

Acclaimed sculptor Dominic Benhura and one of his two wives were seated in front on the same table as Her Excellency, Gladys Kokorwe, the Ambassador of Botswana.

The Botswana Embassy was one of the sponsors of the event. Other sponsors included Econet Wireless, FBC Bank, Portnet and Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe.

Highlights of the evening included a performance by Dudu and the Colour Blue in which Prudence joined her on stage. The two divas serenaded the audience into the night after some lovely dessert of fresh fruit salad or cake.

“I’m singing for my supper now and I want to see everybody on the dance floor,” Prudence said before belting a yesteryear hit song by the late James Chimombe.

Later, Macheso and Suluman — who laced their vocals over a lingering jazz beat — joined the divas. It was interesting to see Minister Coltart leading the celebrities on the dance floor sweating it out like never before.

Ambassador Kokorwe also showed a thing or two on the dance floor while Benhura who said he had never danced in the past 10 years did so with verve and pride.

The food was tasty and the music was good and the party continued with everyone singing and dancing.

As this was a fundraising dinner dance, there were four sculptures that were auctioned including one by Benhura titled “Welcome” that was sold for US$320. About US$1 000 was raised at the auction. The auctioneer did a splendid job to entice bidders.

The dinner dance sought to raise money to enable the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe to start a revolving fund, which will be given as grants or loans to upcoming artists.

Minister Coltart thanked the NACZ for taking the initiative to identify and nurture talent saying the arts were important in branding Zimbabwe.

Dr Chitepo also reiterated the good work done by the NACZ in championing the arts in Zimbabwe.

The Herald
By Robson Sharuko
25 March 2010

Harare — THE Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, has taken his gospel — in support of Zimbabwe Cricket — to the New Zealand public with a passionate defence of this country as a safer place to visit for the Black Caps than either the United Kingdom or South Africa.

The New Zealand cricketers postponed their tour of Zimbabwe, scheduled to get underway on June 10, because of claims they were concerned about the safety of their players in this country.

It’s the second time, in as many years, that the Black Caps have postponed the tour of Zimbabwe and the New Zealand Cricket board now want the matches delayed until next year or played at a neutral venue.

“It is clear from our recent discussions that the Government’s assessment of the security situation in Zimbabwe has not changed from that of a year ago, when the scheduled tour was postponed,” said New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan.

Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Ozias Bvute described the decision taken by the Black Caps as one based on incorrect information and insisted his organisation would not agree to shift the matches to a neutral venue.

World cricket powerhouse India have agreed to tour Zimbabwe in June.

Yesterday Coltart, whose ministry is in charge of sport in this country, took his battle to the New Zealand public with a passionate letter — which was published in yesterday’s issue of the New Zealand Herald — questioning the decision to postpone the tour.

Coltart said he found it strange that the Black Caps could decide to stay away from Zimbabwe, on the basis of imaginary security and safety concerns, when it was clear that this country was a safer place to visit than the United Kingdom, South Africa or even the Indian sub-continent.

The minister said New Zealand was wasting a golden opportunity to be remembered as a nation that helped Zimbabwe Cricket during its journey back from the darkness, after years in which the sport was torn by internal strife.

There were concrete signs that Zimbabwe Cricket is stepping back to life — after a lengthy period of paralysis triggered by boardroom battles that were entrenched in race complications — and key figures have returned to help the game.

Coltart believes domestic cricket had the potential to play the same unifying role that was played by rugby, in the sensitive period shortly after Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, in bringing South Africa together. “Clint Eastwood’s recent film Invictus about Nelson Mandela’s efforts to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to forge unity in post-apartheid South Africa is a powerful reminder of the positive role sport can play in assisting countries in transition,” wrote Coltart.

“Whilst there are obvious differences between South Africa in the early 1990s and Zimbabwe today, there are many similarities. “We are in transition; we too have to forgive those responsible for terrible things done in the last decade; there are still those who will do all in their power to derail the peaceful process. “Just as rugby was able to bind a nation together then I believe cricket can play a similar role in Zimbabwe today.

Furthermore, when it is the clear wish of former Zimbabwean cricketers such as Heath Streak and Grant Flower, now both national coaches who have also suffered in the last decade, that this tour should go ahead, they too should be listened to.”

Coltart said it was unfortunate for New Zealand to use concerns over player security as the reason to delay the tour.

“What I am absolutely convinced of is that by asking the New Zealand team to travel there are substantially less safety and security risks involved than there are in touring the United Kingdom, the subcontinent or indeed South Africa,” wrote Coltart.

“We do not have any terrorist or Al-Qaeda threat in Zimbabwe — bombs have not gone off in Harare as they have in London or Mumbai in the last decade. Crime rates in Harare and Bulawayo are far below those in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

“In short, Zimbabwe is one of the safest places to travel to and the apparent safety concerns of the New Zealand government are simply misplaced and not based on fact. “I have no doubt that if the New Zealand team decides to honour its obligation to tour Zimbabwe in June they will find they will be welcomed by all with remarkable warmth and friendliness. “In the process they will help Zimbabwe cricket in its quest to regain Test status, bring much joy to the Zimbabwean cricketing public and greatly help our peaceful transition to democracy in Zimbabwe.

“I hope that the New Zealand government will have the vision and boldness to enable this to happen.”

Coltart feels there was more to the developments, surrounding New Zealand’s decision, than just player concern.

“I cannot help but feel that there are unspoken reasons behind the New Zealand government’s decision to discourage the New Zealand cricket team from touring Zimbabwe in June 2010,” he said.

“Prime Minister John Key is reported as stating that the main concern was for ‘player safety.’ But I fear there is more to it than that. “I believe, in particular, there are deep-rooted concerns about human rights abuses within Zimbabwe, scepticism regarding the transitional agreement and its chances of survival and, perhaps, distaste for the fact that certain personalities are still in office. “If I am correct in this assumption one understands why this has not been stated openly — because New Zealand may then become liable to pay damages to Zimbabwe Cricket. “Be that as it may I believe there are compelling reasons why the tour should go ahead. I write this in the context of being a human rights lawyer who has opposed human rights abuses in Zimbabwe for the last 27 years.”

Coltart believes that people like him, who live and work in this country, had a better judgment of what was unfolding.

“Firstly, those of us in the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) are ourselves deeply concerned about human rights abuses and our collective failure as a transitional government to fully implement the transitional agreement,” wrote Coltart.

“However, putting it negatively, this agreement is the only viable non-violent option we have. The agreement has a positive side, too. Despite our failure to implement it fully, we have made remarkable progress in the last year. “The economy has stabilised. Schools have been reopened. Hospitals and clinics now have drugs and the cholera epidemic of 2008 stopped. There has been a massive downturn in the number of human rights abuses. “Importantly, maladministration in cricket is being addressed, racism and tribalism in team selection has ended and former doyens of the sport, such as Heath Streak, have been re-integrated.

“Secondly, for all the political rhetoric, the fact is that the political agreement is functional and is gradually being implemented in its entirety (and) as demonstrated by the successful visit of President Zuma to Harare this week there is progress and in my view there is no danger of the agreement collapsing in the near future.

“Thirdly, and most importantly, our friends in the international community have an obligation to help those of us acting in good faith to make this peaceful process work and sport has a critically important role to play in this regard.”

Reuters
24th March 2010

HARARE (Reuters) – The European Union (EU) on Wednesday gave $10.6 million to Zimbabwe to buy textbooks for primary schools, promoting revival of an education sector which a cabinet minister said was in a dire state.

Government schools closed at the height of the country’s economic and political crisis in 2008 re-opened last year after formation of a power-sharing administration between rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

But pupils remain without books while classrooms in most rural schools are dilapidated and teachers threaten to boycott classes to press for higher pay.

“The situation in schools remains dire. The physical fabric is in a shocking state and the basic necessities are missing,” Education Minister David Coltart said at a ceremony to receive the EU donation to a fund for revival of schools.

The education trust fund was set up last September to raise $50 million to buy books for government primary schools.

Zimbabwe’s education sector had, since independence in 1980, been hailed as the best on the African continent, but its quality has been compromised by a decade of economic collapse.

In 1980 the government spent up to $6 every month per pupil, a figure which fell to $0.70 in 2009.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) head in Zimbabwe Peter Salama said half of the 3.2 million primary school pupils in the country dropped out before secondary education.

He said UNICEF would next month start distributing exercise books and learning materials to more than 5,000 primary schools around the country and will sign contracts this week with local publishers to print 13 million textbooks.

“This means that we will surpass our goal of getting a textbook to every two Zimbabwean children. Now every Zimbabwean child will receive a full set of textbooks,” Salama said.

NZherald.com
By David Coltart
Wednesday March 24, 2010

I cannot help but feel that there are unspoken reasons behind the New Zealand Government’s decision to discourage the New Zealand cricket team from touring Zimbabwe in June 2010.

Prime Minister John Key is reported as stating that the main concern was for “player safety”. But I fear there is more to it than that.

I believe in particular there are deep-rooted concerns about ongoing human rights abuses within Zimbabwe, scepticism regarding the transitional agreement and its chances of survival and, perhaps, distaste for the fact that certain personalities are still in office. If I am correct in this assumption one understands why this has not been stated openly – because New Zealand may then become liable to pay damages to Zimbabwe Cricket.

Be that as it may I believe there are compelling reasons why the tour should go ahead. I write this in the context of being a human rights lawyer who has opposed human rights abuses in Zimbabwe for the last 27 years.

Firstly, those of us in the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) are ourselves deeply concerned about ongoing human rights abuses and our collective failure as a transitional government to fully implement the transitional agreement. However, putting it negatively, this agreement is the only viable non-violent option we have.

The agreement has a positive side too. Despite our failure to implement it fully, we have made remarkable progress in the last year. The economy has stabilised. Schools have been reopened. Hospitals and clinics now have drugs and the cholera epidemic of 2008 stopped. There has been a massive downturn in the number of human rights abuses. Importantly maladministration in cricket is being addressed; racism and tribalism in team selection has ended and former doyens of the sport, such as Heath Streak, have been reintegrated.

Secondly, for all the political rhetoric, the fact is that the political agreement is functional and is gradually being implemented in its entirety. Zanu PF has been desperately holding on to whatever power it can and has resisted implementing certain aspects of the agreement. But as demonstrated by the successful visit of President Zuma to Harare this week there is progress and in my view there is no danger of the agreement collapsing in the near future.

Thirdly, and most importantly, our friends in the international community have an obligation to help those of us acting in good faith to make this peaceful process work and sport has a critically important role to play in this regard. Clint Eastwood’s recent film Invictus about Nelson Mandela’s efforts to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to forge unity in post-apartheid South Africa is a powerful reminder of the positive role sport can play in assisting countries in transition.

Whilst there are obvious differences between South Africa in the early 1990s and Zimbabwe today, there are many similarities. We are in transition; we too have to forgive those responsible for terrible things done in the last decade; there are still those who will do all in their power to derail the peaceful process.
Just as rugby was able to bind a nation together then I believe cricket can play a similar role in Zimbabwe today.

Furthermore when it is the clear wish of former Zimbabwean cricketers such as Heath Streak and Grant Flower, now both national coaches who have also suffered in the last decade, that this tour should go ahead, they too should be listened to.

What I am absolutely convinced of is that by asking the New Zealand team to travel there are substantially less safety and security risks involved than there are in touring the United Kingdom, the subcontinent or indeed South Africa. We do not have any terrorist or al Qaeda threat in Zimbabwe; bombs have not gone off in Harare as they have in London or Mumbai in the last decade. Crime rates in Harare and Bulawayo are far below those in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

In short Zimbabwe is one of the safest places to travel to and the apparent safety concerns of the New Zealand Government are simply misplaced and not based on fact.
I have no doubt that if the New Zealand team decides to honour its obligation to tour Zimbabwe in June they will find they will be welcomed by all with remarkable warmth and friendliness.

In the process they will help Zimbabwe cricket in its quest to regain test status, bring much joy to the Zimbabwean cricketing public and greatly help our peaceful transition to democracy in Zimbabwe.

I hope that the New Zealand Government will have the vision and boldness to enable this to happen.

* Senator David Coltart is Zimbabwe’s Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.

Zim Telegraph
By Getrude Gumede
March 20, 2010

The political stalemate in the coalition is blocking reforms and economic recovery and may force a snap election – if South Africa can’t forge a deal

President Jacob Zuma’s suggestion that fresh elections might offer a way out of the current impasse has sparked off a complex game of ‘call my bluff’ amongst the parties to the power-sharing government. It seems clear that Zuma and his advisors would prefer some form of power-sharing to continue in Zimbabwe, even after polls.

The timing will depend on whether Zuma’s 16-18 March mission to Harare can secure a deal on the key battles between the parties: appointing provincial premiers, the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney General, and President Robert Mugabe’s unilateral decision to strip four ministers from rival parties of any effective powers. Otherwise, it will be back to the election gambit. None of the parties really wants elections now but they are happy to pretend that they do, in the hope of extracting concessions from their rivals.

If opinion polls mean anything, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai would benefit most, winning a decisive majority in free and fair elections. Yet without electoral and security reform, there is little prospect of free elections: present conditions, with growing political violence in areas such as Epworth near Harare, favour Mugabe and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara’s faction, MDC-M, has most to fear. It was already punching well above its electoral weight in the division of jobs in the unity government. Since then, it has expelled three of the initial ten members of parliament and not one of those remaining holds office; only Senator David Coltart, the Education Minister, has a popular mandate. Yet MDC-M holds the parliamentary balance of power between ZANU-PF and MDC-T, each having won 100 seats in 2008.

Dumiso Dabengwa’s Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) is expected to siphon off MDC-M support in Matebeleland; only Coltart has a good chance of winning, thanks to a personal following in Bulawayo. Industry and Commerce Minister Welshman Ncube would face a tough choice: does he keep the faith or revert to Tsvangirai or ally himself with Dabengwa, Simba Makoni or even ZANU-PF?

MDC-T would prefer to fight an election under a new constitution, with a properly verified electoral register and a new delimitation of constituency boundaries under independent monitoring. That process has hardly started: even without delaying tactics, preparing for credible polls could take at least another 18 months. MDC-T fears that without these changes, ZANU-PF will repeat the military tactics of 2008 to win, even if that risks finally alienating most governments in the region.

The long serving Registrar General, Tobaiwa Mudede, had ensured that the chaos in electoral registers favoured ZANU-PF, on whose Central Committee he served. Over the past decade, the ratio of urban to rural seats has systematically fallen, although the urban population has risen. On the basis of population distribution, urban areas are under-represented by 15-20 seats, most of which the MDC would have won. South Africa has offered its expertise in cleaning up the register but this has been politely rejected as impinging on Zimbabwe’s national sovereignty.

Having reasserted his authority after reversals last year (AC Vol 50 No 21) Mugabe can live with the status quo but has said that if God and the party want it, he will happily be a candidate for the next election. Using his extensive presidential powers, he can continue implementing controversial policies such as business indigenisation (see Box), on the basis that the enabling legislation predates the February 2009 unity agreement, so the regulations he approves are purely administrative. He can also delay post-agreement reforms and appointments.

Fear of elections and losing power also galvanises ZANU-PF and dampens the faction-riddled race to succeed the 86-year-old Mugabe. Those within ZANU-PF who fear the party is in terminal decline will want to delay polls to maximise revenue from the current sources of patronage: farm seizures, diamonds, rhino horn and now, compulsory takeovers of foreign/white-owned businesses.

If Zuma is unable to speed up electoral and constitutional reform, elections next year are likely. When asked in London this month whether he would support credible external monitors from the United Nations and Commonwealth for Zimbabwe’s elections, Zuma avoided the issue. Holding elections with a flawed register and few credible monitors amid rising violence would be disastrous for Tsvangirai’s MDC.

Now the MDC-T lacks a majority in the lower house, it cannot use its parliamentary weight to push through reforms. In the Senate, ZANU-PF still has an unelected blocking majority. Elections would be organised under the existing flawed system, as would a referendum on any new constitution. Even before the outreach teams started setting out options for a new constitution, ZANU-PF had been mobilising the rural areas against any option other than its Kariba draft, with a strong centralised presidency.

If elections prove too problematic for all sides, the parties might agree to hold the 20 or so outstanding by-elections, now that that moratorium (agreed as part of the Global Political Agreement) has expired. It would be a relatively low risk strategy and might allow the likes of Dabengwa and Makoni to return.

Sunday News
20 March 2010
By Lulu Brenda Harris

IT would not be right to remove teacher incentives at this stage and Government needs to prioritise education as the US$1 per student per year is a far cry from what the sector needs, a Cabinet minister has said.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, who is a member of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC formation, was speaking at an MDC party rally in Bulawayo’s Barham Green suburb recently.

He said he was like a man walking on thin ice over the issue of incentives that parents have been forced to dole out to teachers.

Sen Coltart said as much as he hated incentives, he was aware that removing them would be reversing the progress made by both teachers and parents in resuscitating education.

The minister said teachers were earning paltry salaries and removing incentives would force most of them to abandon the profession.

Sen Coltart admitted that the issue of incentives was a problem of deep concern for parents and that the Government was not paying teachers enough, which was one of the causes of the country’s brain drain.

“Skilled personnel migrate to other countries where they can earn more. In South Africa a waitress earns more than a teacher here,” he said.

The education minister said he wanted people to understand that given the chance he would put a stop to incentives but the Government had no money to pay teachers.
“I want to end incentives. I need to end incentives but my problem is this if I end incentives, teachers will leave tomorrow and it would worsen education. Incentives will only end if we get money to pay teachers properly,” he said.

The minister said he could take the easy route as a politician that would make him popular with parents but the problem would be how to keep teachers in schools.
“As soon as I can get rid of them (incentives), I will end them, I don’t like them,” he said. Sen Coltart said the problem was that the Government had no money and it was of no use to tell teachers to stay when they earned peanuts.

“We need to find money to pay them. When I took office the policy of incentives was there to keep teachers in schools. Incentives are a problem they are very divisive between parents and teachers and discriminatory between rich and poor parents,” he said.

Sen Coltart said incentives were discriminatory in the teaching profession as well.

“Incentives are showing the difference between teachers based in rural and urban areas. Teachers in rural areas are less likely to get incentives from parents than teachers working in urban areas. The issue is a problem within the teaching profession as well,” he said.

The minister said the quality education system which existed over the last decade, had disappeared because education was no longer being given priority in the country.
“The big problem is that we as Government are not making education our priority. The education sector received US$276 million from the national budget. A total of US$240 million was for the payment of teachers and the remaining US$36 million was for educational programmes.

“I want you to calculate the money left versus the demands that have to be met. We have 3 million schoolchildren and eight thousand schools. If we divide that, each child gets a dollar. One dollar is not enough to meet a schoolchild’s demands. With a dollar you can’t buy learning materials for a single child, let alone repair toilets, classrooms and so on. I cannot educate children on a $1,” he said.

Minister Coltart said the message he passes on to his colleagues, whether it is in Cabinet or in party, was that if the country is to be serious in terms of its education, the politicians had to change their priorities in Government.

He said parents and other guardians place education, as their number one priority and it made sense for Government to follow suit.

“We have to remove money from other sectors and pour it to the education sector,” said Sen Coltart.

The minister said another answer in improving the education sector lay with the teaching professionals who imparted the knowledge to their students. He said if the teachers were not motivated there would be no quality education.

“The problem is that our teachers are not being paid enough. We need intelligent people and we have to reflect it in how teachers are paid,” he said.

The minister said the conditions of service of teachers were deplorable.

He illustrated his point through what he witnessed on a recent trip to Nkayi where he came face to face with the squalid living conditions of teachers.
“There were seven teachers, some of them married, living in one house. That is unacceptable,” he said.