Sunday News
28 Feb 2010
By Mehluli Sibanda and Stanford Chiwanga

RAINS failed to put a damper on the Twenty20 Cricket Festival held at Petra High School last weekend as the tournament proved a success despite wet weather.

Prince Edward(PE) beat Churchill by one wicket in a thrilling final to be crowned champions last Sunday. Eight top cricket-playing schools in the country took part in the carnival.

The festival that started late on Friday afternoon was supposed to end on Saturday but had to be extended to Sunday to accommodate the semifinals and the final.

Rains rendered the B-field at Petra unusable for the first two days and the matches were subsequently moved to Bulawayo Athletic Club. From there on, it was smooth sailing as the matches went ahead despite the drizzling that came on and off.

As the matches meant for Friday morning could not take place, the festival organisers resolved that the festival continue up to Sunday.

Defending champions Falcon College started off well with a five-wicket victory over Christian Brothers College. From there, however, Falcon despite their big name stars found the going tough and were clobbered by St Georges. They later lost to Churchill by 10 runs ending their account at the quarterfinal stage.

CBC were the most disappointing of the Matabeleland schools as they lost all their three matches at the festival, while Milton accounted for hosts Petra by 26 runs in their first match at BAC. Milton booked their place in the semifinals with a three-wicket win over St Johns College.

Petra were unfortunate not to make it into the last four as they left it till late to find their winning formula.

The John Burgess captained Petra edged St Johns by 14 runs and they followed that up with a tied match against PE in what was one of the most exciting matches of the festival. The encounter headed for the super over, a requirement in Twenty20 cricket to decide a tied match and Petra won by six runs. Left arm spinner Saleem Manuel took two wickets in the first over to seal the win. The super over win over PE was late since Petra had lost to Milton who proceeded to the semifinals.

Petra have shown lots of promise this year and they are now a force to reckon with on the schools cricket arena. Burgess, vice-captain Manuel and Atish Chouhan who is the favourite for the captaincy next year starred for Petra at both bat and ball.

Despite failing to make it beyond the group stages, Petra can take courage from the fact that they at least beat the champions PE in the preliminary stages.

In the semifinals, Milton scored 123 for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs, the highest score coming from Farai Murehwa who had 28 runs.

Sloppy fielding cost Milton as Churchill reached their victory target in 16.4 overs, losing just four wickets. Kudakwashe Huni top scored for Churchill with 55 runs to lead his school to a six-wicket win.

PE all but sealed their place in the final when they posted 150 runs for the loss of just two wickets against St Georges in the other semifinal. St Georges however did not easily surrender but eventually fell 25 runs short.

A final between the two Harare schools was always going to be a close encounter whose winner was difficult to predict.

PE won the toss and sent in Churchill to bat first. Huni top scored with 44 runs, Dean Mazhawidza, who represented Zimbabwe at the International Cricket Council Under-19 Cricket World Cup, chipped in with 37 runs to take Churchill to 142 for five in 20 overs. Needing 7.15 runs an over, PE looked on course for a comfortable victory but Churchill did not make it easy for them.

PE needed 12 runs in the last over with three wickets in hand. Spinner Wellington Masakadza was tasked with bowling that crucial over and he picked up two wickets with the first two balls without conceding a run. Kudakwashe Musarurwa held his nerve to hit a four, a six and with two runs required off the last ball. He cracked a four to seal the match.

For their effort, the Lesley Murombedzi-captained PE took back home a shield while Churchill also got a shield for being runners up.

James Bruce of St Georges took the Player of the Tournament award; Baxton Gopito of Churchill won the Best Batsman accolade while Kieren Keyle of St Johns was adjudged the Most Outstanding bowler.

Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart, who was the guest of honour during the three day festival, presented the prizes to the winners.

Coltart was full of praises for the spirit displayed by the schoolboys saying it was encouraging that government schools PE and Churchill battled it out in the final.

“I am delighted that two government schools made it into the final. It is good for me as Minister of Education because they were competing with private schools that have all the resources. I was particularly impressed with the spirit in which these young cricketers played the game and I hope they carry on with this spirit when they go on to represent the country,” said Coltart.

One of the tournament organisers David Connolly said he was happy that they managed to have all the matches played despite the rains.

“I am glad we managed to have all the matches played which was our main objective. I was impressed with the level of cricket displayed especially in the final. To score 142 runs and lose it during he last ball was just unbelievable. I am sure all the schools would be back again next year,” said Connolly.

The festival was well supported by the corporate world with Duraline Paints being the main sponsors of the event. They contributed T-shirts and caps for all the eight participating teams and provided kit for the match officials.

Other companies that sponsored the cricket fiesta were Kingdom Bank, Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls, Whitestone Chapel, CB Richard Ellis, Croco Motors, Auto World, Senator Transport, Sasol Nitro and Bathroom Boutique.

The Manuel family, owners of Papa’s restaurant and takeaway donated warm up T-shirts and caps for the Petra team.

Excitement was added to the event with an auction for all the eight teams on the eve of the festival.

Petra fetched the highest bid of $675, second were St Johns who went for $600, Falcon College attracted $300, while St Georges, PE, Milton, Churchill and CBC fetched $275, $275, $200, $150 and $125 respectively.

A total of $2600 was raised through the auction and Henry Welsh, who bought PE, pocketed $520. The rest of the money raised went into the school coffers to cater for sports tours.

It was certainly an exciting three days of Twenty20 cricket and organisers pledged to make it even more exciting next year by inviting schools from South Africa while holding it at a convenient time for more local schools to attend.

Sunday News
28 Feb 2010
By Vincent Gono

SIKHOSANA Ncube treads his way to school early in the morning like other pupils. He is in grade two although gauging by his age he is supposed to be in grade four.
He is intelligent, determined and focused but comes from a poor background.

His class teacher always contemplated taking custody of him had it not been for the paltry salaries that are supplemented by the incentives they get from parents.
The class started by the teacher asking pupils what they would want to do when they grow up.

The pupils named various professions but to the teacher’s surprise no one expressed the desire to become a teacher.

Sikhosana said he wanted to be a pilot when he grew up despite his absenteeism from class because of the failure by his grandmother to pay the ever called for incentives.

In the middle of the session, the headmaster stormed the classroom with a book in his hand and quickly apologised to the teacher for disturbing the class for what he decided to term “a worthy cause”.

He quickly shuffled the pages of the counter book before announcing the names of the students who had not paid the incentives to the teachers, some of them backdating to the second and third terms of last year.

Skhosana was no doubt one of them and without wasting time they were all chucked out of the class and told never to come back to school until they settled their outstanding debts with their class teacher. He moved out of the classroom with a group of other underprivileged students and walked home insolently. His dreams of flying high in an aeroplane were shattered by the events that were unfolding in his life.

His grandmother had to weed a field to get the US$20 for the four months she had not paid the teacher.

Just when he was happy that he would attend class after paying the teacher on a Monday it was announced that the teachers had gone on an indefinite strike.

That threw young Sikhosana’s wishes of being a pilot into the sea.

The incentive business that was given the nod by the Government to cushion the teachers in view of their meagre earnings has become a thorn in the flesh of both parents and students as in some cases the teachers are abusing the facility.

Teachers seem to be quick to forget that had it not been for the innovativeness and the willing spirit of the parents as the initiators of the incentives there was going to be no such facility.

As it stands right now it will not be enough to mention and or talk of the education system of the country without mentioning the term incentives. The word has become so popular in education cycles to the extent that one may be forgiven for mistaking it for the name of the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture.

The term has been coined to legitimise the requirement that forces pupils to pay extra amounts of money on top of school fees and levy, which goes towards the welfare of teachers.

However for education to be denied to the less privileged Sikhosanas of the country on the basis of failing to pay incentives is just not fair. Worse still if it is primary school education.

Concern has, however, been raised over what many believed to be the demise of the country’s education system and the abuse of the incentives by the teachers in some schools. They said it was not fair for teachers to abandon classes over incentives. They added that teachers should always engage their employer whenever they feel they were getting a raw deal than make the parents shoulder the burden.

In the same vein they concurred that it was not fair for Government to give its employees such paltry salaries and expect them to be presentable and impart knowledge energetically on an empty stomach.

“We want the education system of the country to return to its glorious past where we used to pride ourselves as one of the best in the region. The Government should act as soon as yesterday to ensure that everything is sorted out before the situation gets out of hand again. The strike by the civil servants especially the teachers is not healthy for the country. It dents the reputation of the country’s education system, which used to be the envy of many. We want our children to go to school and we also want the teachers to get reasonable salaries,” said a concerned parent Mr Simon Madzimure.

He said it was not fair for the Government to award a housing allowance of US$8 and a transport allowance of US$7 to the educators. There was consensus between the parents that the concept of education as a right and education for all that was adopted as a policy by the Government in 1980 soon after independence seemed to have lost track and the same Government seemed not to be doing enough to ensure the important right was restored.

“While the commercialisation of education is acceptable, the degree at which it is now being commercialised is a cause for concern to every sane and serious Zimbabwean. People invest in education and it has been taken as a bridge between the poor and the rich but the current situation if allowed to persist, will see the bridge being removed and the gap between the rich and the poor widening considerably.

“Politicians should therefore stop politicking about such national investment as education. The writing of a new constitution for the country presents a fertile opportunity for the country to ensure the right to education is not stifled,” said another parent Ms Pauline Ncube.

She reiterated that the idea of education being a preserve for the elite should be abolished forthwith and politics should not creep into the path of education.
“Politics is not a profession, so they say, it is only a privilege bestowed on a certain individual based on trust by a group of people in a democracy. No one has gone to school to be Member of Parliament (MP). There is no school for MPs neither is there a school for presidential aspirants. Therefore the idea of politicising the education system or any attempts at that will not be tolerated because Zimbabwe is surely looking forward to having bright leaders and professors who will stir the country out of the economic quagmire hence the need for the Sikhosanas to be accorded a right to decent education,” she said.

Prior to the introduction of the incentives teachers had left the country in droves in search of greener pastures due to the harsh economic environment that was characterised by hyperinflation.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, recently said the country was in need of about 10 000 teachers. He added that there was an acute shortage of teachers of Mathematics, English and Science subjects in schools strewn around the country. The subjects are, however, the most important ones in the school curricula and the shortage of the educators in these areas should be taken seriously as a pointer to the demise of the education system of the country.

Those who returned after the inception of the inclusive Government were frustrated by the a tedious process with most of them spending the better part of last year not getting their salaries. Some of them decided to quit and went back where they were because of the frustrations they experienced.

Senator Coltart confirmed the frustrations but said his ministry was doing everything in its power to rectify the problems that were dogging the education sector and bring it to a sound footing.

He said it was important that the country be taken back to its glorious past in the education system, as it was not in a healthy state.

The Minister of Public Service, Prof Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, however, maintained recently that the Government had no money to pay the amounts that were demanded by the civil servants especially teachers.

“It is not in the best interest of the Government to pay the teachers allowances. We want them to get their salaries and we hope as soon as there is fiscus space we will pay them. We still want to engage them, they have not exhausted all the channels of negotiations on their disposal,” said Prof Mukonoweshuro.

He described as premature the action taken by the civil servants — going on strike pressing for better salaries. The civil servants unions decided to go on industrial action arguing that the Government was not being sincere in the negotiations.

Prof Minister Mukonoweshuro admitted that the strike paralysed the education delivery system in the country.

“The Government is not sincere in the negotiations, it is not serious. Teachers have been taken for a ride. They have been taken as a punching bag for too long. We have stretched our patience to the last degree and we cannot be seen stretching any further. The strike, though not in the best interest of the interested groups is the only language that the Government we hope will understand. Giving the teachers a housing allowance of US$8 and a transport allowance of US$7 is just a curse to our intelligence,” said Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) President Mr Takavafira Zhou.

Zimbabwe Teachers Association chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said the Government did not show any hint of seriousness in its negotiations as evidenced by unashamedly announcing the meagre housing and transport allowances, something he said was a true sign of the Government’s arrogant attitude.

They blamed government ministers for their propensity to spend on international trips that they said were of no substantive benefit to the country as a whole.
He warned that the strike might intensify depending on what the Government would offer as they go for a new round of negotiations.

The strike and the events of the past decade that preceded it, however, confirms the notion that the country’s education system is dying a natural death and there is need for the stakeholders to strike a balance before the country is like its regional counterparts whose education systems are non-existent.

Zimbabwe Times
27 February 2010
By Our Correspondent

HARARE – The Zanu PF-dominated Senate has forestalled the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Amendment Bill through proposed amendments apparently meant to water it down further.

Zanu-PF on Wednesday adjourned debate on the bill – which seeks to curtail the Reserve Bank governor’s wide-sweeping powers – to March to allow themselves time to further study it.

This is despite last year’s adjournment ostensibly to give the legislators in the Upper House, again, time to study the same bill.

The latest adjournment on Wednesday was caused by Chimanimani Zanu-PF Senator, Monica Mutsvangwa, who tabled proposals to amend 10 clauses. The aim is, apparently, to water the bill down, analyst said.

RBZ governor Gideo Gono has been accused of overstepping his mandate. The MDC led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai wants him removed from the post.
Mutsvangwa alleged the bill sought to settle personal scores. She alleged, in its present form, the bill was a “law of the jungle.”

“If people have axes to grind with a sitting governor, let us leave that to the executive, GPA negotiators and principals or courts for that matter,” Ms Mutsvangwa said.
“Arguments on whether Gono did right or wrong can be handled through other avenues not the bill,” she said.

MDC Senator David Coltart called Senator Mutsvangwa to order, telling her to stick to the clauses, as the House was not yet taking comments, which could only be presented during the second reading.

There are apparent efforts by Zanu-PF legislators to scuttle plans to reduce the powers of the central bank governor. Already Zanu-PF has incorporated a clause giving immunity to the bank governor and employees “for anything done in good faith and without negligence.”

If the bill is passed in its current form, Gono will be exempt from prosecution. Gono has also been accused of corruption and taking money from bank accounts without the authority of the account holders.

The RBZ Amendment Bill was seen as the first major law to be passed by parliament since the unity government was formed. But progress is being stifled.

Senate resumes sitting on March 9 and it is not clear if it will immediately go on the order paper.

According to the bill, Gono’s powers will be reduced by appointing an independent chairperson and board for the bank. The amendments are aimed at ensuring the bank reverts to its core function of price and financial sector stability and stops quasi-fiscal operations that saw inflation reaching trillions percent.

The Bill was originated by Finance minister Tenadia Biti, and Zanu-PF believes the amendments are meant to contain and weaken the Reserve Bank governor, who the MDC also accuses vandalising the economy and recklessly minting cash, a situation that spawned record-beating inflation.

Gono rejects the charges and says he resorted to minting cash to bust sanctions imposed by Western countries at the instigation of the MDC.

The MDC also rejects the sanctions argument in turn, blaming instead repression, rights abuses and economic mismanagement for the economic recession.

Sources say Zanu-PF did not want the bill enacted any more. It seems Zanu-PF is intent on railroading massive amendments to the Bill in the Senate, where the party enjoys a working majority, elevated by appointed senators and chiefs, in the hung Parliament.

The amendments are also aimed at addressing corporate governance issues at the RBZ, which is not financially sound.

The bank’s indebtedness to local and international bodies is in excess of US$2 billion; it is facing crippling litigation from creditors. The central bank has been stripped bare and currently has no reserves, yet its gold and foreign assets must be around 40 percent of its liabilities, seriously compromising its role as the lender of last resort.

The amendments also seek to ensure that the central bank will never again dabble in fiscal activities.

The amendments will also ensure that a Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is established, which will be chaired by the Governor, but who would be subject to control by the board.

Chronicle
26 February 2010
By Busani Ncube and Discent Bajila

THE Zimbabwean Government was fully formed on 13 February 2009 after the signing of the historic Global Political Agreement and the swearing in of 32 Cabinet ministers charged with a duty of serving the interests of the people of Zimbabwe at policy creation, implementation and fundraising matters.

Three months after our Government was formed, the new President of South Africa Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, announced and swore in his Cabinet. Like any other in the world, the cabinets of South Africa and Zimbabwe were welcomed with great expectations and the world of today revolves around information dissemination and moistly via internet.

One of the key duties of the Cabinet is to keep the electorate well informed about the goings on in their various ministries and this they do via publications. One means of publicity used and encouraged for 21st century leaders is internet and one critical area of focus is the use of websites which contain many details that can be posted and managed at any time of the day or night.

A thorough search of all websites of ministries in Zimbabwe have revealed that something is indeed NOT right in information management at Cabinet level and some people must be fired for incompetence – hereunder we detail the worrying facts of only five examples.

To begin with, the ministry of Information and Publicity which is led by Honourable Nelson Chamisa who recently made an interesting announcement that his ministry is committed to seeing a development in the ICTs nationwide has failed, neglected and or chosen not to create manage its website, contrally to the performance grandstanding and posturing that Hon Chamisa is known for. Hoe does Hon Chamisa or any of his information cops justify the absence of a website of such a central ministry in the 21st century communications.

A factual old adage goes the fish rots from the head and if this ministry which is espoused with a duty of championing electronic governance in our fatherland has failed for more than 365 days to establish its own website, what then are others expected to do?

Secondly there is the very interesting website of the Ministry of Science and technology whose minister is Professor Heneri Dzinotyiwei.
One of the key things from page One of that website that is striking is that it wrongly indicate that the minister of Science and Technology is still Dr Olivia Muchena the now minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development.

The same website is infested with many old press statements of the former minister, most of which still have Government policies and positions that have long changed. This may suggest that information officers in the said ministry are either unaware who is their minister or are ignorant of the fact that their website is a powerful form of communication and nation branding. Or they do not know that it exists.

Thirdly there is the website of the ministry of Education Sports Arts and Culture. This website shows Cde Annias Chigwedere as the minister instead of Hon Senator David Coltart. Again one wonders whether the press officers or whoever manages the ministry s website is unaware of who his or her boss is or of the fact that Cde Chigwedere is now a headman in Wedza, Mashonaland East and no longer a minister, let alone a parliamentarian.

How his name is still there and face still features in the website truly will confuse many innocent school kids out there, for reasons we do not understand. One cannot doubt the individual capacity of Senator Coltart in information dissemination because his personal website (http://www.facebook.com/l/3df43;www.davidcoltart.com ) is running and well updated far much better than that of his ministry. So is not working?

Fourthly is one of the most interesting website, which falls under the ambit of co-ministers of Cde Kembo Mohadi and Giles Mutsekwa the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs. If one follows links that appear in the main Government website, which is better managed, to join the ministry of Home Affairs, it shows that the website is inactive. However, if one looks for the Department of National Archives in the same main Government website, they find everything about the ministry of Home Affairs.

This then suggests that in the knowledge of certain information officers in Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs is either a sub-department in the department of national archives or an obsolete part of our important national history.

Furthermore the same website informs the unsuspecting world that in present Government of Zimbabwe there is just one Minister of Home Affairs by the name Kembo Mohadi who is deputized by Cde Reuben Marumahoko.

This information seized to be true more than 365 days ago and we wonder what whoever is in charge of updating these websites does every day of the week at work. It puzzles any inquisitive mind how such information officers justify the daily presence of Hon Giles Mutsekwa at the ministry s headquarters and the daily absence of Cde Reuben Marumahoko at the same building and offices.

A comparison of the South African case with ours becomes further justification that heads must roll in Harare. We are a nation whose main project for now is a public relations one in line with our international relations and national brand positioning.

However the shoddy and no job being done by information officers in Harare compared with their counterparts in Tshwane (Pretoria) and elsewhere in the world is intolerable in this day and age of information dissemination.

This is worsened by the fact that the Ministries of Regional Integration and International Cooperation, Media Information and Publicity and Tourism and Hospitality Management which are Government s public relations organs have absolutely no websites and the ministers in charge are Hon Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Cde Webster Shamu and Cde Walter Muzembi respectively.

Also interesting to note is that the websites of the Ministries of Mining, Industry and Commerce, Water and Transport last had their websites updated between 2007 and 2008. Two years of idleness of information officers at these ministries at the expense of the tax payer is surely intolerable and a waste of national resources.

It is pleasing to note that some people are not wasting tax payers money and are doing their job as information officers as evidenced by their working websites. Information officers at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deserve specific mention and congratulations in this regard. The website clearly shows its two present leaders, Minister Cde Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and his deputy Hon Moses Mzila Ndlovu.

Physical addresses of all Zimbabwe embassies world over are clearly shown together with emails and phone numbers and the website is well updated in all respects. Other key people in Zimbabwe s diplomatic relations are the Head of State and Government President Robert Mugabe and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Joey Bimha and the roles and responsibilities of these office holders are clearly stated ion the website.

We call upon the respective ministers to reign on their information officers as they depict a false image of our nation, its history, present and future. Our children, who are doing research, should never be exposed to this kind of misinformation and no information at all, at times and indeed this is bad.

The Holy Bible clearly says that where there is no knowledge, people perish. Our nation is at the brink of perishing at the hands of some idle information officers, if not misinformation officers. Even soccer clubs like Manchester United and Kaizer Chiefs have better, active and up to date websites.

Sadly in our country, this trend of idle information officers seems to have cascaded to soccer teams like Highlanders and some companies whose websites are moribund. We implore those responsible to do their job or leave for those who know and understand the important of a working website in information dissemination and marketing. The rot must stop.

Busani Ncube is a freelance journalist whereas Discent Bajila is an analyst. They both work at the National Youth Development Trust.
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Zimbabwean
Written by Grace Chirumanzu
Friday, 26 February 2010

To many a basketball fan the raging feud between Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) chairman Addison Chiware and one of the local game’s powerbrokers, Roderick Takawira, might appear fuelled more by a clash of personalities than issues pertinent to the game.

But in an interview last week with The Zimbabwean on Sunday’s Grace Chirumanzu, Takawira maintained that at stake in his wrangle with Chiware was the future of the national game itself. Takawira insisted that bad governance at the national union was the root cause of his quarrel with Chiware.

Excerpts:

Grace Chirumanzu (GC): A big concern for both teams is whether their players are eligible for inclusion in national sides and whether they can take part in international matches but the teams in your league appear not to have been swayed by these considerations. To what do you attribute this unwavering support by the teams?

Roderick Takawira (RT): We have gone to great lengths to advise teams in our league with aspirations to play in the BUZ league and players wanting to turn out for the national teams that we are not going to stand in their way. But basketball cannot continue to be run like a “tuck-shop,” only good governance and transparency will translate to better basketball for all. It may be more enticing for the younger players who feel they may be losing out by not participating in these competitions; but it would be like taking a painkiller for a broken leg to get temporal relief which does not fix the fracture which is the cause of the pain. There are claims that basketball has improved since the current BUZ committee took over about six years ago? But this is not supported by the facts on the ground.

GC: What exactly do you mean?

RT: There is a difference between playing more international matches and playing competitively in those matches. We have more international games played by Zimbabwean teams but if one asks the question which team in Zimbabwe has significantly improved from participating in these internationals? Not one!
In fact, Zimbabwe now has only two provinces playing basketball as opposed to five back in the days when (Bobby) Chivaviro, (Admire) Masenda and Andrews were BUZ chairmen. The national teams selected from these provinces used to compete very favourably against the regional teams. Countries like Zambia and South Africa were no match. Zimbabwe could give Mozambique and Angola a run for their money. In the 1995 All Africa Games, Zimbabwe lost to a full strength Angola by 12 points. That is the best performance by any Zimbabwean team ever against Angola. Now our national teams are just whipping boys; we even struggle against Zambia and we are no match to South Africa.

GC: The Sports and Recreation Commission and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee recognise the Chiware-led BUZ committee which in turn does not recognise your league, a situation that clearly should make your league less appealing to players and teams but this is not quite the case because you still have good teams playing in your, why?

RT: It maybe that the teams have noted that if they allow this slide to continue Zimbabwe basketball will become a joke and our teams will continue to be nothing more than tourists on regional shopping trips. I believe the teams have stayed (with us) so far because they recognise the need to take a stand against bad governance and lack of transparency and go back to basics to fix the fundamentals that will make this sport successful. I am sure there are many teams in our league that would like to play in the club championships and have their players in the national team, but not with the current set up at the national level. Former Gunners Football Club coach Moses Chunga clearly said if Zimbabwe is going to send any national team for any international matches, it must be a team that comprises the cream of the country with good preparation. Cream means any Zimbabwean endowed with great skills, so BUZ should not blackmail players with threats of exclusion. It is unacceptable in any sport and the powers that be must take a stand against anyone and any sport that uses blackmail to win support.

GC: In your view what needs to be done tackle the problem of bad governance in basketball?

RT: It is up to the minister of sport, David Coltart, to look at the situation and issues in basketball and take measures to bring the sport back to normal. He needs to find out how a national association (BUZ) can go for six years without (ever producing audited accounts for a single year)? How one man can be coaching virtually all the national teams? How an AGM is conducted with representatives from provinces where there is no basketball?

GC: What do you say to suggestions that you and Magezah (Gilchrest of the other league) should to sit down and iron out your differences for the sake of the game?

RT: It is important that you understand that Magezah has never been the problem at all, only a result of it. The problem of basketball is the current BUZ. When you focus on Magezah you turn away from the problem and invariably from where the solution lies. For basketball to survive and flourish once again it is important that we fix the fundamental problems. The issues of good governance and transparency will erode the soul of a sport. You can go and unite the leagues but you will be further from fixing the problem that bedevils basketball.

Zimbabwe Independent
By Bernard Mpofu
25 February 2010

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates could soon be called in to mediate on the emerging gulf that is dividing Zimbabwe’s inclusive government.

Cabinet ministers and some government bureaucrats seem to be now divided. But this time it is not on outstanding issues of the global political agreement the pact that formed the government currently running Zimbabwe.

Instead new media platforms developing at breakneck pace have separated President Robert Mugabe’s mixed bag of ministers — those with technological savvy and the techno-phobes.

For some cabinet ministers clicking is more synonymous with humming along to Motown tunes than using a mouse. With the same click, others are browsing music of days gone by on YouTube.

An observation by the Zimbabwe Independent this week shows that most senior cabinet ministers seem reluctant to be part of new social media, which could be critical in interaction with their various constituencies.

Ironically, this development emerges at a time when the Office of the President and Cabinet presented an e-Learning package as a birthday gift to Mugabe who turned 86 last Sunday.

The gift, according to the office, was in recognition of Mugabe’s efforts to equip rural schools with computers while some of his lieutenants still dread using the seemingly alien machines.

Thanks to the “oath of secrecy” taken by civil servants we could not compile the list of ministers who still write speeches in longhand. A cursory view of how government officials often make presentations at seminars paints a picture of computer usage in central government.

The use of e-mail is still limited in cabinet despite its numerous advantages. Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, Education minister David Coltart, Finance minister Tendai Biti, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi, Industry and Commerce minister Welshman Ncube and Information Communication Technology minister Nelson Chamisa are among some of the ministers using social media like Facebook.

On the other hand, ministers that are either “secretive” or yet to catch up with the new trend include Media, Information and Publicity minister Webster Shamu, Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo, National Housing and Social Amenities minister Fidelis Mhashu, Lands minister Herbert Murerwa, Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere. Economic Planning minister Elton Mangoma and Small and Medium Enterprises minister Sithembiso Nyoni both have e-mail addresses but have not become part of social media like Linkedin or Facebook.

Typical of this new media, some cabinet ministers also have “imposters” on the Web.

A Facebook search of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa profiles different personalities not linked to the two. Perhaps this justifies why some ministers are sceptical in using the interactive media.

Mzembi says he is an avid user of social media. For him social networking through twitter, Xing, flickr and StudiVZ can achieve both his government and political goals.
“I have 1 000 fans offering me advice on tourism plans,” Mzembi said. “I’m enjoying it (Facebook). I no longer gather people under a tree every week. We can network through dot.com.”

On fears of the new media, the Zanu PF Masvingo South MP said: “I’m told they have a downside but I’m yet to see them.”

Chamisa this week launched a four-year ICT strategic plan. He confirmed that ICT literacy continues to be a challenge both within and outside government.
He said his ministry would however transform society to “digital citizens”. Government, Chamisa said, would this year contribute to ICT proficiency by assisting government ministries and departments “upgrade their capacities and skills by 20% annually”.

On electronic governance (e-governance) which entails the use of new media in running government business, the ICT minister said government would “develop and implement functional websites with communication portals for each ministry by June 2010”.

Websites for some government departments and parastatals were last updated more than four years ago.

“The ICT revolution is the only revolution that is being led by young people,” Chamisa said. “All the others like the agrarian were led by the old. But this one is being led by the young ones.”

These are his words for those not on social media: “If you are not on Facebook, Twitter, an email address and YouTube, then you don’t exist.”

With 50% of Zimbabwe’s fixed lines in Harare alone and 3G technology operating only in urban centres, it could take a while before internet density spreads to the rural areas.

Government, according to the policy document, aims to develop broad-band fibre optic links to all major cities and towns by December 2014.

The ICT ministry has also set a target of 10% growth in teledensity each year.

Zimbabwe Open University professor Gabriel Kabanda contends that economic growth is linked to ICT world. He cited the economic growth of India as being driven by new technologies.

The Herald
25 Feb 2010
Herald Reporter

Government will, in the next four months, distribute some 10 million textbooks to primary schools countrywide, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart has said.

He said the programme is expected to ease shortages of reading materials in schools.

Accepting 17 000 lap-desks worth US$240 000 donated to Zimbabwe by the Australian government at Blackfordby Primary School in Harare yesterday, Minister Coltart said the programme will subsequently spread to secondary schools.

He said Government, through its partners, had raised US$30 million for the project and was in the process of finalising contracts with local printers.

“Many schools do not have enough textbooks and with this programme we look forward to reducing the student-book ratio from the current 17 students per book to 1:1 or 1:2,” he said.

One hundred and seventeen schools will receive the lap-desks with some having already received the desks.

Lap-desks are small, portable desks that fit on a student’s lap whether they are seated on a bench, chair or on the floor.

The platform is wide enough to accommodate a textbook and a writing pad or notebook.

The desks, made of plastic materials, are relatively cheaper compared to conventional desks.

They are believed to be the solution to the unavailability of furniture in rural and farm schools.

Minister Coltart welcomed the gesture by the Australian government.

Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr John Courtney said his country would offer assistance in areas such as food security, water and sanitation and education.

He said Australia has contributed US$1,8 million to the Education Transition Fund being run by Unicef for textbooks, teaching equipment and stationery for primary school children.

Lap-desk Company country representative Mr Munyaradzi Javangwe said his company had noted that infrastructure and resources at Government and private schools were overstretched.

He said his company would play its part in improving the quality of education in Zimbabwe.

Swimming sensation Kirsty Coventry, the Lap-desk Company country ambassador, also attended the handover ceremony.

Global Security Institute
www.gsinstitute.org
23 February 2010

The Global Security Institute and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament extend their most heartfelt congratulations to PNND Friend Laura Chinchilla for her successful election to the Presidency of Costa Rica.

GSI and PNND have worked closely with Costa Rican leadership in San José and in international fora on a number of initiatives in which Costa Rica has taken a lead role, includingdisarmament for development and the implementation of the UN Secretary-General’s five point plan for nuclear disarmament. We are honored to have outgoing President Oscar Arías on the Advisory Board of GSI, and leading parliamentarian Edine von Herold on the PNND Global Council to advise and assist us in this collaboration.
PNND Global Coordinator Alyn Ware was in San José recently for meetings with President Arías, Ms. Chinchilla and other parliamentarians on furthering such initiatives. We are elated that PNND Member Laura Chinchilla will become Costa Rica’s first female head of state. We are confident that she will continue to strengthen Costa Rica’s important leadership in advancing our shared goals of a more peaceful, sustainable security for us all.

With over 700 members in more than 70 countries, the network of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament continues to grow in size and impact. Over a dozen of our members hold cabinet positions. These include:

Australia:
Peter Garret, Minister for the Environment
Warren Snowden, Minister for Indigenous Health, Rural and Regional Health, Associate Minister for Defense
Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Education
Robert McLelland, Attorney-General

Finland:
Anni Sinnemaki, Minister of Labour

Ireland:
John Gormley, Minister for the Environment

Netherlands:
Bert Koenders, Minister for Development Cooperation

Norway:
Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Education (former Minister of Finance)
Auden Lysbakken, Minister of Children and Equality

Japan:
Katsuya Okada, Foreign Minister
Mizuho Fukushima, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Social Affairs and Gender Equality

New Zealand:
Georgina te Heuheu, Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control
Nick Smith, Minister for the Environment

Scotland:
Keith Brown, Minister for Lifelong Learning

Uruguay:
Felipe Michelini, Minister of Education

Zimbabwe:
David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture (PNND Global Council member)

We have also had a number of other cabinet ministers participate in our events, including our annual assembly, and who continue to engage in our organization but who have not officially joined as members. These include the Defence Ministers of Norway and Canada.

In addition, there are a number of PNND members who serve as chairs or deputy-chairs of the foreign affairs and/or defence committees in their parliaments, including in Italy, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and Portugal.

The Chronicle
By Qhubani Moyo
22nd February 2010

THERE has been a lot of hullaballoo and noise emanating from the MDC-T circles regarding what they term a deadlock in the Global Political Agreement negotiations.
The noise arises from their belief that Zanu-PF is being insincere in the talks as it is said to be dodging the fulfilment of some issues that have already been agreed on.
Part of the key demands that form the basis of the alleged deadlock are around the delayed appointment of provincial governors, the continued occupation of office by the Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono, the Attorney General Mr Johannes Tomana and what they term the alleged persecution of their treasurer-general Mr Roy Bennett.

In the MDC-T circles these issues are so important that if they are not resolved all the gains made in the GPA so far can be kicked out of the window and a fresh election called in the shortest possible time. But given the current Zanu-PF position that there would be no further concessions until the sanctions are removed and the current extension of the sanctions by the European Union for another year, it is apparently becoming clearer that the negotiations will indeed be protracted.
The Zanu-PF loud calls that the MDC-T should take the lead in the calling for the removal of sanctions seem to be falling on deaf ears as the MDC-T has chosen to conveniently call these restrictive measures.

While in the past, the sanctions have been viewed by many as a Zanu-PF campaign gimmick, that perception has changed after the current pronouncements by Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband that the sanctions are indeed in existence and that they can only be removed after a thumbs up from MDC-T.
However Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his crew have continued to conveniently call these devastating sanctions as mere restrictive measures in a bid to water down their impact.

PM Tsvangirai can of cause be forgiven for not knowing that sanctions are by their nature restrictive measures because it is public knowledge that the good prime minister is a certified academic dwarf. But when the same statement is parroted by Mr Gorden Moyo, the Minister of State in his office (who in real terms is a mere personal assistant), the public gets worried because he has at least seen the doors of a university and has two degrees up his sleeves.

Mr Moyo, in a typical fashion that has become synonymous with unelected public officials singing for their supper has been making all sorts of claims about the non-existence of sanctions when it is clear for all to see, including children, that they have become the biggest stumbling block to our way forward.

When the enlightened like Mr Moyo, who are supposed to be the torch-bearers in the understanding of international affairs become purveyors of such misleading rhetoric for the sake of protecting their positions that came as Christmas presents, the public gets concerned on their ability to hold public offices. Maybe this explains the 100 or so votes that Mr Moyo, as a Zapu candidate got against Mr David Coltart’s 23 000 or so in Bulawayo South in the 2000 parliamentary elections. His current defence of his appointed position is therefore not surprising given that he knows that he has no electoral stamina. Matabeleland definitely deserves better representation than boot-lickers.

The impasse in the negotiations and the call for an election by MDC-T raises a lot of questions as to whether this was a well thought-out decision given the political questions like the one confronting us can never be solved by an election but only by negotiations.

Also it is important that the MDC-T people know that negotiations are taxing and can be prolonged and that you don’t get everything you want — it is a trade off. Their continued fixed position does not help them and their followers.

But assuming hypothetically that the elections were to be held as they demand, what guarantee is there that they will emerge victorious when the conditions that existed and led to a GNU have not changed. What if we have another hung parliament, necessitating another GNU.

Evidence on the ground point to little change in the political landscape and this might work against them. The same laws that existed before are still in place and the State security apparatus have not changed their attitude towards PM Tsvangirai, one wonders if they can hand over power to him if by some miracle he wins.

There are also indicators that the African Union and Sadc now see MDC-T’s refusal to call for sanctions removal as a stumbling block to progress.

Some quarters rumour that these institutions and the rest of the world now prefer a reformed Zanu-PF than an amateurish MDC-T. The recent expose by Mr Miliband really placed the MDC-T in a very weak position as it came towards the start of the AU summit, which on hearing such revelations spoke with unanimity on the need to remove sanctions.

If the election were to be held now, I believe the MDC-T will be at its weakest position given the glaring reality that divisions in the party, especially in Bulawayo, Beitbridge and Chitungwiza, just to name a few, have risen to critical levels.

MDC-T’s position in Matabeleland has also been further weakened by their selective awarding of ministerial positions.

It is well documented that after the March 2008 elections in which MDC-T scored some 41 percent votes compared to the Arthur Mutambara formation’s 38 percent in Bulawayo (but winning all seats) they went on to appoint only one minister from Matabeleland, and that was Mr Eddie Cross of all the people.

It took serious protests from the region for PM Tsvangirai to revise his list to include Joel Gabuza and Sipepa Nkomo. In the eyes of many PM Tsvangirai was so disrespectful to his supporters that he went on to appoint Abednigo Bhebhe — a Mutambara faction MP — and hired Gorden Moyo from Bulawayo Agenda as if to confirm that all his MPs have no capacity to be Ministers.

The continued strategy of isolating Matabeleland continues up to now with revelations that in the current appointments to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Media Commission and the Human Rights Commission, most strong candidates from this side who were in the backing of the MDC-T were dropped in the last minute. This is also true of the composition of the people constituting the constitution-making outreach teams.

The serious allegations of corruption by many MDC-T councillors and some of their ministers have further weakened their position in public. Also we have heard some serious overspending by the Prime Minister at the time when the civil servants are living in abject poverty, earning unimaginable salaries which in reality are just a curse and insult to their profession.

Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, the minister in charge of civil servants, has been running in sixes and sevens failing to handle the strike, forgetting that in the recent past it was them who were using these workers as a ladder to get to power. Now that they are in power they want to pretend that all is well and that civil servants are unreasonable when their demands are genuine. Workers need decent wages, they don’t eat slogans.

It is important that before we engage in useless talks about elections we also look at the reality of whether we have the resources to run the election. Given the pathetic state of the national coffers, where does the MDC-T imagine the money to run elections will come from.

It is my proposition that before anyone can talk of an election, the following area addressed:

l A new people driven constitution;
l Removal of sanctions;
l Media freedom;
l Security reforms;
l Economic stabilization;
l Government institutions reform.

It is my conclusion that the country does not need an election now and that the political parties in GNU should stop being alarmist and negotiate patiently. Political posturing will not help the country move forward.

Qhubani Moyo is based in Bulawayo and specialises in Public Policy and Developmental Affairs. He is contactable on qmoyo2000@yahoo.co.uk.