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Posted By Own Staff
Friday, 12 March 2010

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, David Coltart has said the main challenge his ministry was facing was restoring basic education for all children, a position that once existed in the 1980s.

Minister David Coltart said although the county’s education was improving he hoped the sector would revert to the 1980s era where the quality of education was admirable.The minister said he often joked in public and in private that while he has had disagreements with President Robert Mugabe, there was one item they both agreed on.

He said it was how during the first decade after acquiring Independence, the Government made great strides by developing a sound education system, which was arguably one of the best in the world.

“Our education was one of the first to grow in Africa and arguably one of the best in the world. It was good for Zimbabweans, as it didn’t remain a preserve to be looked at later but was developed so that everyone could enjoy its benefits regardless of creed, race or status. Our country had one of the leading literacy rates then,” he said.

However, the minister said tragically that trend dropped as the country failed to allocate sufficient resources needed for the sector.”Education needs a lot of funding and we have not been allocating it the needed funds,” he said.

The minister said the ministry was looking beyond the Education Transition Fund, which aimed at restoring acceptable levels of textbooks in all primary schools, as the books were soon to be distributed. He said the focus was on motivating teachers and learners.

“The important ingredients in producing quality education is having highly motivated teachers,” he said. Minister Coltart said the country had highly qualified staff but they were struggling to show themselves due to poor remuneration.

“There is no quick solution to that as we need the economy to pick up. What I am doing as minister is building a good relationship with the teachers.

Next week, the respective trade unions and I will attend a workshop in Eastern highlands, sponsored by the World Bank,” he said.

He said despite teachers concerns and with limited resources available, it was important to have a good working relationship with teachers.The minister said parents and teachers had the same worries that led to the high levels of stress.

“We have to show respect and kindness to each other, both parents and teachers by so doing we can reduce the high levels of stress we have as a nation,” he said.

Media Global New York
By Rachel Pollock
11 March 2010

On 8 March 2010, 600 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe (WOZA) gathered in the city of Bulawayo to protest Minister of Education David Coltart and his stance against banning parents’ incentives for teachers. Coltart told parliament last week, “There has been lawlessness in the education sector and demanding incentives, unless approved as levies, is illegal because it is extortion, but if incentives are to be scrapped off, I have no doubt there won’t be any classes because teachers will leave the profession.”

While it is illegal in Zimbabwe for teachers to accept payment incentives from parents, a recent decline in civil servant salaries due to the Mugabe administration, have resulted in insufficient compensation and the loss of many teachers. Christian Karega who is the President and Co-founder of Zimbabwe’s Education Fund told MediaGlobal, “Education is just one of the many resources that has been severely impacted by Zimbabwe’s socioeconomic and political situation. When we started the Zimbabwe Education Fund in 2008, the majority of rural schools were closed. When schools finally reopened, the government had a difficult time supporting schools, so parents were left to rebuild the devastated school system on their own.”

In recent years, there have been numerous strikes and school closings as a result of poor teacher salaries. Teachers are complaining that salaries are not even close to providing livable wages and many teachers are demanding to be paid in U.S. dollars because of high inflation. Just last November a teacher strike was called off pending a wage deal with the Mugabe administration; however, the issue was not resolved and continues to cause conflict and turmoil within the education system.

According to UNICEF, school attendance dropped from 80 percent to 50 percent in 2008 in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, exam scores have shown that grade seven pass rates have declined rapidly from 53 percent in 1999 to 33 percent in 2007. Tsitsi Singizi from UNICEF told MediaGlobal, “Zimbabwean children have lost much of the last two academic years. Between long running industrial actions, strikes, limited learning materials, political violence and displacements, Zimbabwe’s education sector has been struggling.”

Despite these problems, the education system was not always in crisis. Robert Mugabe was once praised for the advancements he made to the education system, boasting one of the highest literacy rates and the most esteemed educational institutions in Africa. In 1980, education was made free, but since 1988, parents have seen a steady increase in school fees. While the fees ensure steady employment of teachers, incentives have also been used as a tool of corruption, with teachers demanding outrageous sums of money from families who can’t afford it.

UNICEF has developed several projects devoted to rebuilding the education system in Zimbabwe. This includes a $50 million multi-donor educational transition fund, which will provide textbooks and learning materials to 5,300 primary schools in Zimbabwe. UNICEF also supports the Basic Education Assistance Module, which is a government program that pays the school fees for children in need. In 2010, this program aims to ensure that 560,000 children are not turned away from school because they can’t afford their fees. Finally, UNICEF provides monetary support to the Schools for Africa Programme, which enables construction and furnishing of primary schools in the most vulnerable districts.

Programs like those supported by UNICEF are crucial to the future of education in Zimbabwe; however, most organizations agree that cooperation from the local government is essential to the long-term success of these programs. Karega told MediaGlobal, “The Zimbabwe Education Fund (ZEF) believes that a long-term holistic approach is necessary to improve the education system in Zimbabwe. In the end, repairing a once thriving education system is not a short-term project. Instead, it will take decades of careful implementation to have a meaningful impact. We strongly believe that any effort to revitalize Zimbabwe’s schools must start with a long-term commitment to Zimbabwean students.”

Baltimore Sun
8th March 2010

Many Zimbabweans regard handicaps as signs of sorcery. So singer-songwriter Mabhena and her bandmates in the Afro-fusion marimba group Liyana were stigmatized at birth. Not every band member has an affliction as visible and extreme as Mabhena’s: She suffers from arthrogryposis, a condition that deforms joints and cost her both her legs.

But they all the band members survived brutal or apathetic treatment at the hands of parents and/or siblings who regarded them as stains on the family’s reputation or drags on the family’s fortune.

They found their individual and group voices only when they landed at the King George VI School & Centre for Children with Physical Disabilities in (Khumalo Constituency – my addition) Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It’s not just an academy but an institution devoted to their physical and psychological care.

In the King George VI School environment, Mabhena was able to dream of reaching an international audience with her singing.

On Oscar night, that audience got a glimpse of her gliding across the red carpet in a green dress, with the film’s producer-director, Roger Ross Williams.

Another school, Baltimore’s MICA, was instrumental in bringing her story to the Academy’s (and now the world’s) attention. Last week, Williams said, “MICA was amazing. I couldn’t have done the film without them.”

Early on, the film’s producer, Elinor Burkett, who first thought Liyana should be captured in a movie, put Williams in touch with Patrick Wright, the chair of MICA’s video and film arts department. Wright lent his own equipment, and some of MICA’s, to Williams for a critical period of early shooting. Wright found seed money for the project, cut trailers to win long-term backing, enlisted students as interns and recommended, as a cinematographer, Errol Webber Jr., who graduated from MICA in 2008 and immediately went to work on the movie.

Recent MICA graduate Matt Davies, who received a credit as production assistant, said that after spending countless hours logging footage, he thought every minute of footage was essential. But when he saw the completed film, he thought it was “marvelous that they packed so much into a short-film format. You get a really good sense of what life is like there, the hardship and what you have to deal with. You could do a half-hour on each member of Liyana, but Prudence’s character, who she is, what she has to deal with, her striving to be positive about her future despite her past, is overwhelming.”

“We all did this because we love Prudence and Liyana,” Wright said at the time of his nomination. “Here were all these young kids, physically disabled, making music in a country falling apart around them. And, here, in the middle, is this beautiful woman who sings like Aretha Franklin.”

Tonight, Prudence Mabhena and her friends got respect.

The Zimbabwean
Monday, 08 March 2010
Written by WOZA

Six hundred members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) marched to the High Court in Bulawayo today in protest against the utterances of the Minister of Education, Senator David Coltart, made in Parliament last week.

The Minister said that he would not stop teachers from receiving the illegal incentive payments demanded from parents. Minister Coltart had been invited to receive a petition that the peaceful demonstrators were delivering but could not attend due to a prior commitment. A clerk at the court received the petition instead.

WOZA vigorously oppose the practice of teachers refusing to teach children until their parents provide them with cash incentives. These ‘top-ups’, over and above the usual school fees and school levies which most parents are unable to afford anyway, are just another nail in the coffin of the education system in Zimbabwe. In a recent report on education released in January 2010, entitled ‘Looking Back to Look Forward – a WOZA perspective on education in Zimbabwe’, WOZA demanded that the Ministry of Education stop this practice immediately. It is therefore incredibly disheartening for the Minister to publicly state that they have no intention of doing so.
Four simultaneous protests began and converged upon the High Court.Police officers and clerks at the court merely watched the peaceful protest, listening to the song sung by the demonstrators – “women are crying for an education for their children. Their tears are sorrowful.” WOZA chose International Women’s Day for the protest as the education of their children is an issue close to the heart of every mother.

WOZA National Coordinator, Jenni Williams addressed members outside the Court, explaining that Minister Coltart’s utterances in parliament were unfortunate as they promoted illegal incentives and corruption.Magodonga Mahlangu lead the singing and sloganeering that finally dispersed the peaceful group.After the protest dispersed, two plain-clothed police officers cornered Williams and Mahlangu outside the Post Office. As they called for back up the activists calmly walked away.

WOZA leaders were recently summoned by the co-ministers of Home Affairs and instructed to notify police of any processions despite the fact that WOZA does not need to notify police under the current exceptions as it is not a political organisation. Before being dismissed, Minister Giles Mutsekwa of the MDC delivered a subtle threat that they could be ambushed on their return to Bulawayo that day. It is unclear as to if it was intended as an active threat but in the current security situation, activists remain vigilant about continued reports of threats on civic society leaders.

Comment/letter to Woza from Senator David Coltart in response:

Dear Woza,

Senator David Coltart

NRC Handelsblad
8 March 2010
By Peter Vermaas in Harare

The sanctions against Zimbabwe are supposed to hurt the clique surrounding president Mugabe. They may be having the opposite effect.

Two young men with dreadlocks hung around idly near a mall in Eastlea, one of the better suburbs in the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, waiting for a potential employer to pick them up. They had folders filled with references and resumés with them and approached every car that rolled onto the parking lot, hoping to find work. “But there is no work,” Jason Chivunga sighed. “Because of the sanctions.” His former classmate Blessing Kwaramba nodded in agreement. “We are suffering for it. If there was no boycott, Zimbabwe would reach for the stars. Why are we still being punished?” he asked.

The two were no fans of President Robert Mugabe – who was elected to Zimbabwe’s highest office exactly thirty years ago last week. Like almost everybody else here, they support opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who became prime minister in February last year as a member of a government of national unity. But the two unemployed Tsvangirai aficionados were anything but immune to Mugabe’s political propaganda. Like many of their compatriots throughout the country, they believe the European Union and the United States are leaving Zimbabwe little breathing room. “We want to trade internationally again,” Kwaramba said. “Then we will be able to get back to work.”

Sanctions extended

In the past few weeks the EU and the US announced they would be extending the sanctions against Zimbabwe by another year, because the governing parties there have made too little progress implementing the power-sharing agreement reached after the disputed elections of 2008. The Netherlands and the UK were most vocal in their support of the extension. Human rights, media restrictions and land reform have seen the least improvement. The prospective deputy minister Roy Bennett of Tsvangirai’s MDC party has yet to be inaugurated by Mugabe, and other ministerial appointments have also led to disagreements. “But Zimbabwe can trade as it pleases,” a European diplomat emphasised. The “restrictive measures,” as the sanctions are known officially, “only apply to a small clique of Mugabe loyalists. The man on the street is not hurt by them at all,” he added.

The president, his family and a number of prominent members of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party are not allowed to travel to Europe and the US, and a small clique of entrepreneurs affiliated with Mugabe is not allowed to do business in the US. The trade embargo only applies to arms, but Mugabe has been able to portray the sanctions as the cause of all Zimbabwe’s problems in the public eye, especially in rural areas. When the International Monetary Fund refused to grant Zimbabwe, a country that owes billions in debt, any further loans, people were quick to blame the sanctions. A food shortage caused by a local drought and the collapse of the country’s agricultural sector? The sanctions at work.

“Ironically enough, the sanctions have ended up serving Mugabe’s interests,” said David Coltart, minister of education on behalf of the opposition. “The president can blame the West for the economic crisis and all Zimbabwe’s other problems. In cabinet, he has used the sanctions as an excuse for the lack of progress with the implementation of the power-sharing agreement.”

South Africa wants end to sanctions

The sanctions have also led to “pointless irritations” within government ranks, said Hasu Patel, a political analyst and the former ambassador of Zimbabwe in Australia. “A very trivial matter is undermining personal relationships,” he said. He also argued the sanctions did little good for the EU and the US. “The European Union and the United States give Zimbabwe millions of dollars worth in humanitarian aid. But thanks to the sanctions they get no recognition whatsoever in return.”

Last week , while meeting with prime minister Gordon Brown on a formal visit to England, the South-African president Jacob Zuma argued the sanctions against the Zanu leadership be lifted. What have sanctions done to help the situation?” Mr Zuma told the Financial Timesin an interview. “Zanu-PF says [it is] in a cabinet of this unity government. But part of the cabinet can go anywhere in the world for their work and part [the Zanu PF members] can’t go out of the country. This unity government is being suffocated. It is not being allowed to do its job by the big countries.”

Zuma’s argument was greeted with protest in London, but sources surrounding the negotiations in Harare said the South African president’s remarks, made so shortly after sanctions were extended, mostly served a strategic purpose. Zuma was only trying to get on Mugabe’s good side in an attempt to lure him back to the negotiating table with the opposition, they claimed.

Mike Mataure, a former parliamentarian for Mugabe’s Zanu party, wondered if a “creative solution” could not be found to fix the problem. “I understand that revoking the sanctions so shortly after an extension would be a hard sell in Europe and America,” he laughed sitting in his Harare office. “But wouldn’t it be possible to suspend them for a few months? Or take a few names off the list? The West cannot do business with the MDC and Tsvangirai alone. This government will never work without Zanu,” he said.

Weak sanctions yield little power

Prime minister Tsvangirai has also implied he feels the sanctions should be lifted to allow negotiations over thorny issues to proceed more smoothly. “But control over the sanctions is the only weapon the MDC has at the negotiating table,” a European diplomat protested. “If you take that away, Mugabe will be back in full control again.”
“In reality, these sanctions are actually very weak and of little consequence. So how much power does that really give us?” asked MDC minister Coltart. The travel embargo has irked the Zanu leadership the most. “But I wonder what will happen once Mugabe is allowed to fly to London again,” Coltart asked. “Will he gain influence? Of course not. I think his reputation will only suffer if his wife Grace can shop at Harrods as she pleases again.”

VOA
8th March 2010
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare

Zimbabwe’s president strips power from three MDC ministries; move seen as deliberate attempt to provoke party into leaving power-sharing deal

Zimbabwe’s unity government has suffered its worst blow since its formation a year ago, according to the Movement for Democratic Change and several Zimbabwean political analysts and commentators. President Robert Mugabe has stripped effective power from three ministries, and assigned them to ZANU-PF ministers.

University of Zimbabwe political scientist Eldred Masungure says the move stripping power from three MDC ministries was a “unilateralist” action and deliberate effort to tempt the party to quit the unity government.

He said there was no rational basis for the new law announced by the government on Friday. He said the move was a violation of the political agreement which brought the unity government into power and is designed “to induce the MDC to walk out as they did in October last year.”

The MDC disengaged from the unity government when its treasurer, Roy Bennett was arrested.

Tendai Biti, secretary-general of the MDC who also serves as finance minister, said the political agreement of September 2008 did not “give anyone the right to unilaterally alter a mandate.” He said there had been a “serious breach of the political agreement and that the MDC would not take this lying down.”

Biti said the MDC will meet on Wednesday to address the matter.

David Coltart, an executive of the smaller MDC party which split from the main branch and is also in the unity government said “at first glance this is a very serious breach of the political agreement because there was no consultation.”

He said he hopes that this latest directive was not a decision of Mr. Mugabe’s and that it can eventually be reversed.

ZANU-PF justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa, who has inherited some of the powers previously held by MDC ministries, was not available for comment Monday.

Sunday News
Sunday News Reporter
7th March 2010

A Non-governmental organisation named Art Of Living (AOL) donated learning materials to Khami primary school yesterday.

The goods were donated at a ceremony graced by the minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, who was the guest of honour.

The Provincial Education Director (PED) for Bulawayo, Mr Dan Moyo, the officer commanding Khami Prison, Senior Assistant Commissioner Rhodes Moyo and other prison officials, also attended the occasion.

Speaking on behalf of AOL, Mrs Leena Naik said in the year 2000, Zimbabwe agreed to fulfil eight Millennium Development Goals, as a result the organisation wanted to play its part and assist in the achievement of universal primary education.

“To this end, we have a donation of textbooks, educational aids and stationery, including two computers with accessories, printer and extra toner to help teachers teach effectively, library books, both fiction and reference for children to achieve basic primary learning,” she said.

AOL, founded in 1982, has run programmes successfully with inmates and prison officers at Khami and Chikurubi prisons.

“The Prison Smart Course particularly aims at rehabilitating prisoners by equipping them and prison officers with techniques and skills to deal with the mind when under stress,” said Mrs Naik.

The organisation also handed to teachers’ grocery hampers and footwear to 32 children who walk five kilometres to school.

Garden equipment was also donated plus 50 indigenous saplings to be planted around the prison complex.

Minister Coltart said it was important to assist schools and facilities such as prisons because they were in a “distressing state”. He said it was depressing when a nation does not treat its vulnerable citizens — children and prisoners. “Our children are vulnerable because they are small and physically weak. The prisoners are vulnerable because they have their operational rights taken away, they cannot exercise freewill in prison,” he said.

The minister said the nation had a duty to make sure vulnerable people in society were catered for and that he was deeply concerned that Government had no sufficient resources to back projects yet it spent US$28 million on state travel.

He said there was a need for Government to prioritise that children were educated and guarantee prisons were catered for.

Zimguardian.com
Written by Farai Masawi
March 6, 2010

Bulawayo- The Minister of Education, Sports and Culture, David Coltart has said that the poor school results in Matabeleland are rooted in poor education infrastructure that was last developed in the 1980s.

Coltart said inequitable development policies of the early independence years caused a lack of good quality education in the provinces. He said this was reflected by the low proportion of students from Matabeleland being admitted at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). Mr. Coltart is currently working on equitable distribution of resources in the education sector.

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) fears that the indigenisation and empowerment policy that became effective this week will stifle economic recovery and investment in the country. Bulawayo coordinator of the ZCTU, Mr. Percy Mcijo said that there should be a tripartite forum of workers, company owners and government to discuss the implementation of the act. Mcijo said unless there is sanity in the implementation, workers will be affected by job losses as the factories will close down. He said that this may affect the manufacturing sector and hinder economic growth.

Herald
6 March 2010
Herald Reporter

Government will not stop teachers from receiving incentives from parents even though it is sometimes illegal because discontinuing them is tantamount to destroying the entire education sector, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart told Parliament on Wednesday.

He said the sector was insufficiently funded, adding that the incentives had kept the teachers at work.

Responding to a question by Goromonzi House of Assembly Member, Cde Beatrice Nyamupinga (Zanu-PF), Minister Coltart said incentives could not be stopped at this time.

“The ministry of education was allocated US$240 million for teachers’ salaries, while US$36 million is to cater for other administrative issues; that is less than US$ 1 per child per month.

“There has been lawlessness in the education sector and demanding incentives, unless approved as levies, is illegal because it is extortion, but if incentives are to be scrapped off, I have no doubt there won’t be any classes because teachers will leave the profession.

“The incentives can only be done away with if Government improves civil servants salaries, that way we will have a basis for stopping them,” Minister Coltart said. He added that School Development Committees could raise levies to provide incentives, but emphasised that they were expected to follow laid down procedures.

“They should call for a meeting with parents and guardians and in that meeting if 50 percent of the attendants vote in favour for it to be forwarded to the permanent secretary, that is legal.”

Herald
6 March 2010
By Augustine Hwata

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart has said the Government will do everything in its power to ensure that Zimbabwe’s four representatives in the Confederation of Football club competitions do not pull out because of financial constraints.

Gunners, Dynamos, CAPS United and Lengthens held a crisis meeting with Zifa on Wednesday where they sent out a big SOS message saying that failure to get help may see them pulling out.

The clubs also took their begging bowl to the Sports Commission and the Ministry of Education, saying they needed at least US$700 000 among them to survive the early stages.

Coltart said he was aware of the backlash from Caf in fines as well as the embarrassment it could bring to the nation.

He said a withdrawal would be detrimental to the efforts being made to develop football in Zimbabwe.

Gunners are set to meet Egyptians giants Al-Ahly in the first round on March 20 in the Champions League after pulling off a 6-1 aggregate win over FC Mafunzo of Zanzibar in the preliminary round.

Dynamos travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo to play FC Lupopo after getting a bye in the preliminary round of the same competition.

Lengthens host Simba Stars on March 19 in the Caf Confederations following a 2-1 win over AS Adema of Madagascar while CAPS United laboured to sail past Mbabane Highlanders of Swaziland.

The Harare giants won 8-7 on penalties in Mbabane after both legs had ended in 1-0 win for the hosting team in each leg.

Responding to questions from journalists on the plight of the clubs, Coltart said he might approach Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, on the possibility of a short-term solution and then put in a place a long-term plan.

Coltart was the guest of honour at Rufaro on Wednesday where he took time to address the Warriors players and their technical team after a 2-1 win over Malawi in an international friendly.

“I have been told about the issue raised by the clubs over finances. Football has a great following in Zimbabwe and the world over,” said Coltart, a devoted fan of Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic.

“Here, people pay real money, hard currency ranging from US$3 for rest of the ground, US$5 and US$10 for VIP.

“This shows that football as a business can be able to generate money to pay for itself but this has not been happening,” he said.

Coltart said the onus was on Zifa to make the game attractive and show transparency so that they get corporate support.

“Faced with this situation, it’s best that we get the teams playing because national pride is at stake here,” he said.

The Government, Coltart said, was hard pressed by other commitments that needed money and it would be hard to share the several activities from the same small cake.

“Right now I have to run the education sector with just one dollar per child from the budget and this is far from being enough,” he said.

Coltart said he hopes to get a positive response from Biti.

“We could approach the Ministry of Finance as we have done before ahead of the Cosafa Senior Challenge,” he said.

Biti unveiled US$1 million for the hosting of the Cosafa event last year.

“We could talk to Biti and see if he can find the resources but if he does, I know that they will be certain stringent conditions attached to the funds.

“I also call on Zifa to make football an attractive product for corporate investment,” he said.

In his address to the Warriors, he said his ministry was on a path to revive all sports in Zimbabwe.

“We are in a transition period in our country to rebuild sport.

“We want to revitalise all sporting disciplines football included,” he said.

The Warriors, Coltart said, should be regarded as regulars at Nations Cup finals after having been to the 2004 and 2006 editions.

He said the new benchmark should be qualifying for the World Cup while maintaining a regular place and doing well at the Nations Cup finals.

But Coltart lamented that this has not been the case for the Warriors.

“I look at football and say we should qualify for every Nations Cup and then get to the World Cup,” he said.

“Do not lose heart after losing. The Zimbabwe Cricket side lost three wickets for no runs and many people thought that they had lost the game but the players dug deep and annihilated the West Indies.

“That’s the same never-say-die spirit needed to transform sport. I hope you have the same feeling when you wear a shirt with a Zimbabwean flag right on your chest.

“The flag is on your heart and every second you are on the field remember you are playing for your country.”