Zimbabwe Guardian
Friday 22 January 2010

ONE year on, Zimbabwe’s inclusive Government Ministers are more interested in amassing wealth, perks and political posturing and have so far neglected their ministries to the detriment of ordinary Zimbabweans. More often than not, Ministers are traveling abroad on supposedly government business and yet results of all this shuttling are at a near nil.

Many of the ministers are also involved in political squabbles within their parties or with opposing party members.

What have Zimbabwe’s ministers yielded during this part year?

Morgan Tsvangirai – Prime Minister
As the Chief Minister in President Mugabe’s cabinet, Tsvangirai leads his Ministers in failure. He spent more time engaging in political squabbles with Zanu PF, and travelling abroad on party business. His promise to pay civil servants a decent salary still remains a promise. His official tour yielded nothing and many believe he is sabotaging the recovery process in order to come up on top come election time. He is yet to say the word sanctions and denounce them.
Verdict 0/10

Arthur Mutambara – Deputy Prime Minister
The Deputy Prime Minister while very educated has been caught with his foot in his mouth a few times. With his intelligence he should be bringing leadership and direction that the PM lacks. Unfortunately, his progress is hampered by lack of support from the other MDC, which sees him as an obstacle to their power ambitions. Overall his ideas are sound and practical.
Verdict 7/10

Thokozani Khupe – Deputy Prime Minister
The former train ticket clerk has moved up in society but she lacks the depth needed for her office. There is a need for her to brush up on her public speaking especially when addressing foreign dignitaries. On the overall she is good window dressing but this does not translate into productivity on her official capacity.
Verdict 1/10

Tendai Biti – Minister of Finance
The Minister of finance has failed to articulate the fundamentals of Zimbabwe’s economy and the needs of Zimbabweans. His arrogance and know it all attitude will be his downfall. Awarded a dubious Africa’s Best Finance Minister by an equally dubious Western Group no one has heard off Biti’s budget rewarded political allies but did not address civil servant salaries, was lacking in terms of agricultural sector funding, could not even provide money for cloud seeding, lacked priority and failed to consult stakeholders. He seems more interested in dislodging RBZ Governor Gono.
Verdict 2/10

David Coltart – Minister of Education, Sport and Culture
Coltart bit more than he could chew in terms of exams and the day to day running of schools. Teachers have been on a perpetual strike since he became minister. He has had to ask parents to give teachers incentives as he has failed to bring relief in terms of salaries. His continued bugling at Zimsec has seen delays in marking of exams, and the very late release of results. Grade 7 results are a shame and rural schools have borne the brunt of the minister’s failure, as parents do not have to subsidize teachers in rural areas.
Verdict 2/10

Elias Mudzuri – Minister of Energy and Power Development
The erratic supply of electricity by ZESA, lack of customer service and continued fraud and extortion by ZESA employees’ leads one to believe that Mudzuri has no idea as to what his job is. ZESA employees are among some of the highest paid and yet their service is the worst right after that of Harare City Council. Consumers’ reports on faults are ignored unless ZESA employees are given bribes. One wonders where ZESA gets its meter readings because its meter readers are non-existent on the ground.
Verdict 3/10

Eliphas Mukonoweshuro – Minister of Public Service
Civil servants are some of the poorest people in Zimbabwe. Their Minister was last heard of when he was sworn in, he has made no efforts to address their needs, and instead he has taken a backseat approach to his employees needs. The so called audit proved just how inadequate he is, not only did the audit fail to prove the claims of ghost workers it instead frustrated and inconvenienced civil servants. The dignity of civil servants is in the rubbish bin and all their minister does is zoom around in his E240 Mercedes Benz.
Verdict 0/10

Elton Mangoma – Minister of Economic Planning and Investment
Mangoma sounds very intelligent on TV and in the newspaper but we are yet to hear of the investments that he has attracted to the country. Mangoma is instead at the forefront of alienating the few investors that others within the government are attracting. The look West approach that his political party has been advocating for which he has tried to implement has failed because of the current indigenization laws that do not allow the grab everything tactics of western corporations.
Verdict 2/10

Giles Mutsekwa and Kembo Mohadi – Ministers of Home Affairs
Where does one begin when it comes to the ministry of Home Affairs? The police in Zimbabwe are some of the most corrupt world over. It has become a common occurrence for police officers to be given bribes at roadblocks, at police stations, for the correct amount a docket can disappear or a prisoner can be released by mistake. The registrar’s office and passport office are a haven for corrupt practices where for the right amount one can get an authentic forged birth certificate and passport.
Verdict 1/10

Henry Madzorera – Minister of Health and Child Welfare
It has become expensive to be sick in Zimbabwe. While hospitals and clinics are open the important question remains “how many people can afford hospital charges?” while donors have provided medications, equipment and even supplemented salaries many people are dying in their homes because treatment at hospitals is beyond their reach. Madzorera has done nothing to address the plight of the consumer of his service in this case: the patient.
Verdict 2/10

Igantius Chombo – Minister of Local Government
Whitehead as he is popularly known has a knack for attracting the wrong attention. Many of the urban councils have been engaging in criminal corrupt activities while short-changing the ratepayers and Minister Chombo has been slow to act. Council workers are some of the highest paid in the country and yet many communities have no clean water, their garbage is never collected. Streets have no lights; the roads have ditches and potholes.
Verdict 5/10

Theresa Makone – Minister of Public Works
Aside for her tour of the National Sports Stadium last year Theresa Makone has not been visible in her ministerial capacity. On the political front the opposite is quite true, she is the First Lady of the MDC Tsvangirai faction. If she spent as much energy attending to her ministerial duty she would be a star but instead she is famous for being one of the drivers of the MDC-T disengagement form government last year.
Verdict 0/10

Nicholas Goche – Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development
Where is the toll gate money? That is what the public wants to know. The state of Zimbabwe’s roads remains a sticking issue. Dualization projects are gathering dust so to speak.
Verdict 3/10

Olivia Muchena – Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development
For a ministry representing over half of Zimbabwe’s population, the Ministry of Gender has made modest gains. Muchena like Makone made more news on her political aspirations and less on her ministerial duties. For a reserved person, it is a wonder why the Mujuru faction pushed for her to be Zanu PF Women’s League Political Commissar, she has not been forth coming on the official platform and now she will under perform at party level.
Verdict 0/10

Nelson Chamisa – Minister of information and Communications Technology
Most people claimed to have no idea what Chamisa does in the government and claim to know him as the MDC spokesperson. It would seem Chamisa has no interaction with the public and many question the relevance of his Ministry.
Verdict 2/10

Walter Mzembi – Minister of Tourism
Mzembi got off with a wrong start but the public supported him when US President Obama mischievously left him out of meetings during the Prime Minister’s tour of the West. Mzembi has shown his understanding of the tourism sector to an extent where he is among the few Ministers who are actually doing something in the government.
Verdict 6/10

Stan Mudenge – Minister of High and Tertiary Education
Mudenge like Coltrat is a highly confused individual and should retire. Students have failed to attend classes, sit for exams and collect results. Colleges are in a shamble and Zimbabweans deserve someone more responsible to address higher education.
Verdict 1/10

Welshman Ncube – Ministry of Industry and Commerce
The man has more brains than several of the other ministers’ put together. It must be quite a challenge working with retards but he is one of the few who have managed to bring some improvement into his ministry. Local products are finding their way on to store shelves all that remains is for our goods to compete with the South African goods that are cheaper.
Verdict 6/10

Joseph Made – Minister of Agriculture
Made is well remembered for his helicopter ride which was the precursor to a disastrous agricultural season some years back. Experience has taught him well and despite the spanners thrown by Finance Minister Tendai Biti, Made tried as much as possible to rally government behind Zimbabwe’s farmers. It is a shame that the forecasted drought will translate badly on his ministry.
Verdict 8/10

Emmerson Mnangagwa – Minister of Defense
The service conditions of Zimbabwe’s defense forces are deplorable. Many believe that the old guard has abandoned the rank and file and as such can no longer relate to the foot soldiers that are the true keepers of security in Zimbabwe. Like their counterparts the defense forces have come up with unorthodox measures in order to survive.
Verdict 2/10

Obert Mpofu – Minister of Mines and Mining Development
Two words “Marange diamonds” the majority of Zimbabweans fail to understand why the government is failing to realize revenue from the Marange fields and yet there is evidence that individuals illegally mining the diamonds have amassed great wealth from diamond trade. Marange diamonds are an answer to Zimbabwean prayers and not for a few select individuals and as such Mpofu has a lot to answer for.
Verdict 1/10

Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga – Minister of Regional Integration and International Cooperation
Possibly the only success story of all the women in Zimbabwe’s Cabinet Minister Misihairabwi-Mushonga suffered the loss of her husband but has persevered in
administering her duties. COMESA and the One Stop Border are some of the projects that fall under her scope and she leaves others wanting as they concentrate on politics and not their official duty.
Verdict 8/10

Eric Matinenga – Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs
Matinenga who stands accused of using his office to further the MDC-T agenda in the constitution-making process received more funds in the budget than more strategic ministries and has succeeded in fermenting polarization among Zimbabweans over the constitution-making process. Besides the constitution-making process he has done nothing else and many have suggested his ministry should be merged with the justice ministry.
Verdict 2/10

Saviour Kasukuwere -Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment
Tyson as he informally known could do much more for the youth of Zimbabwe. The accusations by the MDC-T of partisan awarding of funds and National Youth Service program could have used a stronger defense, which was not forth coming from the ministry.
Verdict 4/10

Joel Gabuza-Gabuza – Minister of State Enterprise and Parastatals
Another man we last heard of during the jostling of posts by the MDC and Zanu PF. When it comes to parastatals all we have is Biti telling Zimbabweans that government need to be selling all state owned companies because they are not being run efficiently. One wonders exactly what Joel Gabuza-Gabuza is doing and why the few resources that government has are wasted on this in name only Ministry.
Verdict 0/10

Zimbabwe Times
January 21, 2010
By Warren Dennis

The cloudless skies of Harare, with the sun shining brightly in the sky, especially at this time of the southern summer, brings out the best picture of a city pregnant with blessings – when it comes to its perfect climate – that charms its peaceful residents and provides a unique romantic attachment to its visitors.

It’s on days like these, deep into the summer, when the rains have stopped briefly and usher in blue skies and sunny mornings that Harare shows its true colours as possibly the best city one could possibly live in the world – especially when you take into account the virtually negligible crime rate.

I should know because it has been my home for 50 years now, from the time that I was born in the then Rhodesia, to migrant British parents forever charmed by the beauty of the climate of this town, to this day when I am about to celebrate my Golden Jubilee as a proud father of three beautiful kids.

You could possibly say I have seen it all because I was six, and fully aware of what was going on around me, when my parents celebrated England’s World Cup success story in football with that defeat of Germany at Wembley in 1966 and was already a schoolboy when George Best and company helped Manchester United to European Cup success two years later.

It was probably strange that, against a family background embedded in football, the round ball didn’t become the game that charmed my heart as I grew up into someone whose mind could make decisions – sporting or otherwise – without the due influence of my father.

Maybe the frustration of not having a local team, which I could watch week in and week out, that challenged the world in football contributed to this movement from a family tradition of being the game’s supporters to my decision to fall in love with a game that was as different as it was complex.

I’ve been a loyal disciple of this game since those days when the world welcomed the ‘70s – with Pele and his Brazilians winning the World Cup in the Mexico sunshine with an artistry that took the global football audience to new levels.

Two things have made a big impression in my life since then – the mystical beauty of the city that I call home and the exploits of a merry band of players, from my country, who have used both bat and ball for the cause of my little Zimbabwe.

When Duncan Fletcher and his crew beat mighty Australia at the World Cup in 1983, it made headline news across the globe and, just like my father before me, gave me a team, a sporting discipline and heroes that I could identify with, the same way he had toasted England’s World Cup win in 1966.

Over the course of time things have changed, as they inevitably do, and my country has suffered a lot and, sadly, the game that is very close to my heart has also suffered immensely – battered by a conflict that had its roots in the politics that engulfed my nation.

It’s on days like these, deep into the summer when the sun is shining brightly over Harare, when the reminder comes – just like an alarm timer – of the changes that have happened to the game that will always be a part of my life.

Had everything been normal, Zimbabwe would be playing a home Test series against one of the powers of the world’s game, Andy Flower would probably have been in the coaching corner and – while chances are that we might have lost – it’s virtually guaranteed that we would have made a good fight of it.
So what happened?

Martin Williamson, a man whose articles I read a lot about on Cricinfo, recently painted a picture of the last decade of Zimbabwe cricket. I have my own painting, which might not be vintage Cricinfo, but which I believe is relevant.

There is no doubt that the sun is beginning to filter through the dark cloud that hanged over Zimbabwe cricket since we limped into the new millennium and the willingness of the administration, led by Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute, not only to accept but also to take an active part in the creation of a new dispensation, is refreshing.

The tragedy is that there appears to be a deliberate attempt, once again, by the forces that almost destroyed the game – individually and collectively – to try and sow the seeds of “divide and rule tactics” that almost took my sport into its graveyard.

Cricket in Zimbabwe wasn’t taken on the road into the doldrums by a group of black guys whom we believed didn’t know how to play a game, which has always been a big part of our lives, let alone manage its affairs.

The game was taken down that road by our collective failure – both black and white with the Indians playing a shadowy role in dividing us – to realize that our combined efforts were better put into development rather than the trenches we dug for a war that was not necessary.

Change is difficult to accept and when it appeared to be coming on the horizon, a number of people – mostly my fellow whites and their Indian counterparts who had been embedded in their comfort zones – did not read the signs well and, instead of the olive branch that could have worked wonders, we ran into the trenches.
Neither did the blacks read the situation well, too, because – in their naivety – they believed that cricket was just another game to us.

The truth is that it was not.

It was a big part of our lives and it defined who we were as a people – a small community united by bat and ball – that used the game’s trials and tribulation, over five days of a Test, as a mirror of our lives and, crucially, ability to defy the odds.

The pride that stemmed from being Rhodesians, a small community that believed it was so special it defied mighty Britain to declare UDI in 1965, it defied the odds to survive the barrage of sanctions that followed and it beat mighty Australia at the World Cup at the first time of asking.

The pride that stemmed from producing Kevin Curran and Duncan Fletcher, from producing a run-machine called Graeme Hick, a rugby superstar called Ian Robertson and a team of white ladies that would win the Olympic Games in hockey at the first time of asking in 1980.

Yes, in our small world – locked away from the razzmatazz of the globe – we believed we were God’s country, the little nation that had an economy to rival the best on the African continent, even under the barrage of sanctions, and live through it all without a sweat.

The white farmers, who controlled the economy, controlled cricket and, it became a part of their lives – the last thing within their control, dating back from the pre-independent days, when everything was changing.

So when the politics of this country touched agriculture and dramatic changes started taking place in that sector, ironically at a time when black players and administrators were knocking on the doors of cricket, it created a situation loaded with volatility that was just waiting to explode.

Williamson rightly points out that it did not help Zimbabwe cricket that the biggest supporters of those who went into the trenches, defending everything that was white, were the white countries like England, Australia and New Zealand. It split the argument into colours – black and white – and the fact that the powerful white media, fronted by Williamson and company, openly sided with the latter, only worsened a situation that was already terrible because genuine arguments were lost in the process.
At times the arguments bordered on racism, which is common when issues are split into black and white, and sober voices – which should have shaped opinion and helped the cause – ended up worsening a situation that was crying out for a helping hand.

There was a tendency to just go on the side of the rebellion, simply because it was fronted by whites and for a white cause, without looking at the merits of the case and the effect such articles were having on a situation that was desperate.

Cricket became the sporting face of Zanu-PF and Robert Mugabe, simply because he was the mere patron, and a tool that was being used to suppress the very whites that were being chased away from the farms.

It was easy to write that, as Wiliamson and company found out, at a time when global emotion was running high against Mugabe and the international media was feasting on Zimbabwe and challenging the Mugabe regime for every step that it took. White journalism had a field day, during a period when facts lost their relevancy and all that mattered was giving that Mugabe spin, and some good people had their images soiled simply because they found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I was part of the readership that took everything that was written hook, line and stick, because I believed that as a community, we had to accept all the helping hands that were coming to help us fight a regime that appeared bent on destroying our identity as Zimbabweans.

It was a period of madness, when the truth mattered little and probably hurt, and we saluted Henry Olonga when he joined Andy Flower in his protest against the death of democracy – using a cricket game for that – even when no one cared to remember Olonga after that.

It was lost to all of us that Flower, who was older than Olonga, was coming to the end of his playing days and, as a white man, he would be readily accepted in a British society that he had planned for himself – and his family – after his playing days. No one cared about Olonga, the black face that gave the message its weight, because once he had drummed it into the ears of the world, his part had been done.

Flower would soon carry a British passport, coach the English cricket team – something that gives me pride – while poor Henry, a product of an immigrant family like myself lured to Zimbabwe by the promise of the country, would fade into the horizon.

Bvute and Chingoka, either because of their naivety or their streak of stubbornness, were wrong to try and engage in a battle with the international media because, if an entire country like Zimbabwe had failed to win such a battle, what chances did two administrators dream of to get their hour of triumph?

So when Heath Streak fell out with the establishment the merits of his argument mattered little because, to Williamson and company, he was fighting the right war.
When his fellow white players joined him, there was no reason it appears, for a balance of the stories because they represented what was right.

So Andy Blignaut was owed money, as we were told by Cricinfo, and that was the reason he walked out. Fair and fine. Interestingly when the same player makes a move to return, as reported by the same website, all that money issue is not included.

Why?

Of course, the landscape has changed and the people who were fronting the war – especially the international journalists – have run out of steam and, crucially, out of the reason for the fight since Streak is back in the fold, Houghton is back in the fold and Alistair Campbell is back.

As long as the right faces are back, in terms of colour, there is no need to keep the war and the little paragraphs that were doing the damage, like claiming that Blignaut was owed money and taking it as a fact, have disappeared from the reports filed by Williamson and company.

It has been a long war and the game has suffered but, as they say, after every storm, there comes a period of calm. As we prepare to welcome the new era, which is pregnant with promise, my appeal is that we shouldn’t quickly forget the mistakes of the immediate past. Having been a Zimbabwean all my life, and a local cricket supporter for 40 years, I know what I am talking about when I say that there is huge potential, even among the black players of this country, to take this game to a new level.

The Zimbabwe we want, just like the Zimbabwe Cricket that we want, cannot be determined by a decade of one-sided articles from international journalists who used to push a certain cause nor by Bvute and Chingoka and all those who fought them, going back into the trenches and waging a war.

It can only be found by respect for each other, irrespective of the colour, and a frank admission of everyone – including Williamson, myself and fellow supporters who took sides, the players who rebelled, the administrators who didn’t read the story well, that we are all to blame for the mess that our game found itself in.

The key issue here is that in the moment of conflict we all helped to create a situation, pregnant with falsehoods, which was meant to ensure that the game wasn’t going to be governable, that the team that was going to be produced from that system would be weak and that everyone would use that alarming drop in standards to cry foul and paint a picture of a game crying out for help.

The game’s administrators like Bvute and Chingoka became the sorry pawns who were thrown into the frontline, in an international battle, where all the spoils were scheduled to go to the victors and the tragedy was that the international media did not help the situation with their blinded and one-sided coverage of the events.
Neither did the men who were at the centre of the onslaught, especially Bvute and Chingoka, read the politics well and – without a voice where they could be heard – they became soft targets who were thrashed day in and day out while their stubborn streak only hardened the resolve of their opponents to fight even harder.

Now, as the dust begins to settle and hope emerges on the horizon, it is important that we take the events of the last 10 years in their true context, for the sake of a better future for the game and our children, and that can only be helped by everyone accepting the terrible role that he or she played in that turmoil.

As light flickers, we have begun to see the true picture of Bvute as a media-friendly and competent chief executive officer of Zimbabwe Cricket – something that Williamson acknowledges – and something that has been key in getting back some of the old guard into the system.
A man who, in the past decade of conflict was labeled a hopeless character, has now emerged as the one with the hand of reconciliation who is not only a capable leader but appears to be working hard to ensure that the interests of this game override everything else.

The franchise system has ushered in hope, the return of the old guard has brought a dosage of promise, even Kepler Wessels’ son is now playing in the domestic game here in Zimbabwe and, for a country that was deemed a pariah state not so long ago, it is refreshing that we even have English professionals.

The political picture of Zimbabwe is changing for the better, day by day, and so is the game that was used as a pawn during a vicious decade in which its heart was almost ripped out of its body.

No one sees the black and white picture of yesterday anymore and that is why the Zimbabwe Under-19 captain at the current World Cup in New Zealand is a white teenage star and the coach is also white – showing to the world that the days when race was used to fight certain wars, which were bigger than the game, are over.
Even the minister, who is now in charge of sport, is a white lawyer and the touching moment came when Mugabe, upon receiving the Fifa World Cup Trophy at Harare International Airport recently, challenged David Coltart to produce local teams that will bring such trophies home.

That there was no global outcry, when the Zimbabwe’s teenage cricket stars were given visas to enter New Zealand for the World Cup, should have given all of us a lesson that things are really changing and the impasse of the past decade – which almost destroyed the game that I love dearly – is gone.

I’m told that the list of the people who have applied for the post to coach the national team alone shows the changes sweeping across the game and the confidence that has seeped back into a lot of minds that the game that I love is on its way back to life.

If I had the power, I would appoint Grant Flower, because he always appeared to be the one who was level-headed to me all the time.
That can wait for the future.

What is key now is that the sun has been shining brightly over Harare in recent days, they are playing cricket everywhere you go and the mood in the country is one of optimism rather than pessimism and, crucially, the experienced hands are back to play a part.

After a decade of turmoil, the point is that we can only get better and next month the national team will go to West Indies for five One Day Internationals, which I believe they have a good chance of winning, if they can keep their composure.

The surprising thing, it appears, is that after all the yokers that have been bowled at us, on such a sticky wicket in the past 10 years that were worse than Bodyline, we are not yet out and it’s something that the world needs to give credit to us for our resilience.

The future, which is important, should embrace the challenges of the past decade and we will see that the game – just like our lovely country – is bigger than the combined egos of all the people involved in it.

Amnesty International US
By Sarah Hager
January 21, 2010

Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) took to the streets recently demanding education reform in Zimbabwe. In areport published by the organization, WOZA calls for teachers to quit demanding extra money from parents to supplement their income, the Education Ministry must improve the quality of the curriculum including the addition of human rights education, the examination system must be re-vamped and no increase in school fees in 2010.

Over 800 WOZA members marched in Bulawayo on January 13th, singing and chanting the WOZA MOYA! slogan. The demonstration proceeded without violence or arrests but they were not able to deliver their report at the government complex as police dispersed the demonstrators upon arrival. On January 18th-MLK Day, the members of WOZA marched to the Education Ministry offices in Harare and were dispersed, this time by riot police. One WOZA member, a journalist and a bystander were arrested. The demonstration was broken up before WOZA members were able to deliver the report to education minister David Coltart.

The journalist, Andrison Manyere, was released that same afternoon with a caution. Mr. Manyere was previously disappeared and tortured by state agents in December 2008. The bystander was detained most of the day before being released and WOZA member Thabita Taona spent one night in jail without charges before being released. She was interrogated by police during her detention for the identities of fellow marchers.

In other Zimbabwe news, President Mugabe continues to rail against the West as the root cause of all Zimbabwe’s troubles while 2 million peoplewill need food aid this year due to drought conditions harming the summer harvest. Reports continue of arrests and harassment of MDC political activists, and the Central Bank is reportedly near collapse.

Last but not least, the constitutional reform process continues to limp along a very bumpy road. The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) charges that government officials are receiving $350 a day during the revision process while the process has been delayed and is behind schedule due to budget deficits. The NCA firmly opposes government involvement in the constitutional revision prcoess and believes it should be a people driven effort.

South Africa’s President Zuma, in his role as negotiator of Zimbabwe’s unity governemnt, said this past weekend that Zimbabwe should have new elections in 2011. Which means nothing because Zimbabwe must complete it’s constitutional reform process before new elections can be held; but it does signal growing regional irritation with the constant squabbling between Zimbabwe’s political parties.

In response, Prime Minister Tsvangirai stated “The elections will be defined by the GPA. The GPA says after the referendum the president and prime minister will set a date for the election.”

Which is disconcerting because the GPA, the Global Political Agreement under which the unity government was established, says no such thing. Perhaps Mr. Tsvangirai should read the GPA. If he likes, I can provide him a copy.

Zimbabwe Times
20 January 2010
By Takarinda Gomo

THE pay dispute between the Government and civil servants took a new twist this week when, for the first time, civil servants appealed directly to both the State President and Prime Minister to intervene.

This dramatic action by representatives of the Public Service Association (PSA), the Zimbabwe Teachers Union (ZIMTA) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), under the umbrella of the Apex Council, followed an inconclusive meeting last week between the unions on one hand, and Finance Minister, Tendai Biti; Education Minister, David Coltart and Public Service Minister, Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, on the other.

In the 2010 Budget, Minister Biti allocated US$600 million for the civil service wage bill.

The unions have given government an ultimatum of 14 days to resolve the salary dispute failing which they will go on a nationwide strike until their demands are met. The unions also rejected an offer of US$122 for the least paid and US$236 for the highest paid civil servant.

School teachers are demanding US$600 a month.

The poverty datum line is around US$500, according to the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, which has also said the cost of living for a family of six had decreased by one percent to US$488.11 from the November 2009 figure of US$492.10.

A closer analysis of the above scenario, given that the current revenue collected by Government is at least US$100 million a month, many economists may dismiss the wage demands by government workers as unreasonable and beyond the means of the government.

It is from the same coffers where Government is expected to meet all its expenditure including importation of essential drugs and medicines; fuel, electricity and foodstuffs.

On face value, the pay demands by civil servants may appear grossly inflated but the reality on the ground shows politicians, top civil servants and high ranking military and police officers spending money with wild abandon. So the rest of the civil servants believe the money is there somewhere.

Cabinet ministers have been allocated huge non-salary fringe benefits inclusive of local and foreign travel and subsistence allowances; free fuel and a minimum of two luxury motor vehicles each.

As a result ministers are hardly in the country. Civil servants also see the huge entourage accompanying the President when he travels out of the country and the lavish shopping by the First Lady. They are only asking for a living salary.

Ministers are so conspicuous in local hotels where they entertain their friends and guests. People are watching and wonder why ministers are not living by example by tightening their own belts as well. If resources are scarce, and there is no fiscal room to maneuver, then ministers should also be seen to exercise frugality.

With the Budget now approved by Parliament, revising the figures to accommodate demands by civil servants would be tantamount to breaking the law, according to Minister Biti.

The Apex Council, chaired by Tendai Chikowore, which is negotiating with Government on behalf of civil service unions, did not mince its words in their letter to President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

“The Government offer has agitated public servants and we urge you to decisively intervene in order to urgently address the situation before it is too late. It is in the interest of government to address this matter and we urge you to influence change of scenario.”

David Coltart, the Minister of Education conceded that there was need for government and the teachers to revise their priorities:
“As of now, I cannot revise the figures. I cannot revise money that I do not have,” he said.

The inclusive government faces a crisis of alarming proportions if the civil servants carry out their strike threat.

This is a Catch 22 situation, which neither President Mugabe nor Prime Minister Tsvangirai has any clue to find a lasting solution, especially if their ministers are unashamedly seen basking in luxury.

The Chronicle
Chronicle Reporter
20 January 2010

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart will today meet the Minister of Finance, Tendai Biti, to discuss the burning issue of teachers’ salaries.
Minister Coltart last week promised to table the issue of teachers’ salaries before Cabinet, which was expected to resume sitting yesterday.

However, Cabinet did not sit and according to Minister Coltart, its first meeting this year will be sometime in February.

This means that the first meeting of the Cabinet falls beyond the 14-day ultimatum that civil servants gave the Government on Wednesday to intervene on the issue of salaries.

Speaking in a telephone interview from Harare yesterday, Minister Coltart said he would discuss with Minister Biti grievances that were presented to him in a meeting with leaders of teachers’ associations on Thursday.

“I will discuss with Minister Biti the grievances that the leaders of the teachers’ associations presented to me regarding their salaries last Thursday,” he said.

Contacted for comment, the Apex Council chairperson, who is also the president of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta), Mrs Tendai Chikowore, said they were still waiting for formal communication from Minister Coltart.

“I can not say what form of action we will take now because we have not heard anything from the Minister. We deal with official communication so until he convenes a meeting with us I can not comment,” she said.

Mrs Chikowore, however, said nothing had changed since civil servants gave the Government a 14-day ultimatum to address their grievances.
“After 14 days we will go back to the people to discuss the way forward,” she said.

This was after negotiations between the Government and the civil servants’ representatives ended in a stalemate on Tuesday.

The unions rejected US$236 per month offered by the Government for the highest paid civil servant and US$124 for the lowest paid.

The workers want their salaries to be raised to at least US$600 a month.

Teachers and the majority of civil servants are earning between US$155 and US$180 depending on one’s grade.

In a joint statement, the Apex Council, a body that includes Zimta, Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and the Public Service Association (PSA), said what the Government was offering was too little.

Zimbabwe Journalists.com
19 January 2010
By a Correspondent

Freelance photojournalist Andrison Manyere was on 18 January 2010 released without being charged following his arrest and detention at Harare Central Police Station while covering a march by members of the Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise pressure groups.

Dzimbabwe Chimbga of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights confirmed Manyere’s release together with Comfort Nyakura, and Tabeth Chatanda.

Chimbga said the police had failed to establish any reasonable suspicions that three had committed an offence. The police wanted to hinge their case against Manyere on the grounds that he did not have an accreditation card.

This was, however, countered by the fact that the accrediting authority – the statutory Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) is still to be established.

Manyere was arrested while filming a demonstration by the Members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise who marched to the Ministry of Education in Harare around noon on 18 January 2009 to hand over their report on the education system in Zimbabwe entitled – Looking Back to look Forward. The report contains recommendations and a list of demands that parents wanted addressed by the Minister of Education Senator David Coltart.

Manyere is also currently on bail in a separate matter in which he is being charged together with six other alleged MDC activists under Section 23 (1), (2) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which criminalises acts of insurgence, banditry, sabotage or terrorism.

SW Radio Africa
By Gerry Jackson
19th January 2010

Thabita Taona, who was arrested Monday during a peaceful WOZA demonstration, will spend another night in Harare Central Police Station as an investigating officer has not been assigned to the case. Until this happens charges cannot be formally brought against her.

Police have been engaged in their normal delaying tactics but she has seen her lawyer and has received the food brought to her. WOZA report that Thabita has also been ‘extensively interrogated’ about who else was in the demonstration with her.

A WOZA statement says: ‘The man caught ‘in the cross-fire’, Comfort Nyakura, was released last night (Monday) after his employer confirmed that he had been at work at the time of the demonstration and was merely on his lunch break’.

Freelance journalist Shadreck Manyere was the third person arrested Monday, but he was not held for long.

Members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise were protesting the exorbitant school fees and the destruction of the education sector and had tried to present a report on the failing education system to Minister David Coltart. Their report contains recommendations and a list of demands from parents, but riot police disrupted the demonstration.

Radio VOP
18th January 2010

Harare. Three members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) including a journalist were on Monday arrested in Harare after marching to the Ministry of Education to hand over their report on the education system in Zimbabwe entitled – Looking Back to look Forward.

The report covers recommendations and a list of demands that parents want addressed by the Minister of Education, Senator David Coltart.

“Police interrupted the peaceful demonstration, arresting three people, a woman and two men. One of the men is an accredited journalist that was covering the march. It is possible that there may be more arrests however as at the time of this release, riot police were still actively stopping any group of people walking together in central Harare and interrogating them,” said a statement by WOZA.

“As is standard WOZA practice, three separate demonstrations started simultaneously and converged on the Ministry of Education offices. Two of the groups, approximately 250 people, managed to reach the Ministry offices; the third demonstration was broken up by riot police before it could arrive at the Ministry. It is still unclear how many people, if any, were arrested during this process.”

“On arrival at the Ministry, a small delegation went to meet with the Minister, Senator David Coltart, to give him a copy of the report. Before he could come downstairs to address the peaceful group outside, a truckload of riot police arrived, beating their baton sticks on their shields. The journalist and the man were arrested at this point and the rest of the group dispersed. The woman who is currently under arrest was arrested near Parliament, over a block away from the Ministry of Education,” continued the statement.

Lawyers had been informed and were expected to go to Harare central Police Station.

Teachers have threatened a strike, with some having been on go-slow last week. They are demanding a salary increase of USD 600. The government says it is in the red and cannot afford such salaries.

SW Radio Africa
By Violet Gonda
18 January 2010

Freelance photo-journalist Shadreck Andrison Manyere, plus two other people, were arrested in Harare on Monday after police broke up a peaceful demonstration organised by the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise. WOZA was protesting against exorbitant school fees and the crumbling education sector.

Previously Manyere was among a group of individuals, including activists and civic leaders, abducted from their homes by state agents in 2008. The political detainees spent several months in detention on charges of plotting to destabilise the former ZANU PF government. He is currently out on bail together with six other co-accused, including MDC officials Ghandi Mudzingwa and Chris Dhlamini.

This time around, the photo-journalist is being accused of filming the WOZA demonstration. The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said in a statement: “The police are also accusing Comfort Nyakura, who is employed by Jameson Hotel, of taking pictures using his mobile phone during the demonstration, while Tabeth Chatanda, who claimed to have been on her way to Parirenyatwa Hospital is accused of taking part in the demonstration.”

Members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise had marched to the Ministry of Education to deliver their report on the failing education system in Zimbabwe entitled: Looking Back to look Forward.

Such is the level of decay in education even the state controlled Sunday Mail had no choice but to report that rural schools recorded a zero percent pass rate for Grade Seven exams. It is not known how the bankrupt government is going to achieve the mammoth task of resuscitating what used to be one of the best education systems in Africa.

WOZA says it wanted to present the report on the crisis in the education sector (containing recommendations and a list of demands from parents) to Education Minister David Coltart, but riot police disrupted the demonstration. The pressure group said: “On arrival at the Ministry a small delegation went to meet with the Minister Senator David Coltart, to give him a copy of the report. Before he could come downstairs to address the peaceful group outside, a truckload of riot police arrived, beating their baton sticks on their shields. The journalist and the man were arrested at this point and the rest of the group dispersed. The woman who is currently under arrest was arrested near parliament, over a block away from the Ministry of Education.”

The media watchdog, MISA-Zimbabwe, said the disturbing development ‘comes barely three days after a senior freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda fled the country after he was allegedly phoned and threatened with death by a senior police officer’. It is reported the journalist fled the country after he was called on his mobile by the police officer, over a story published in The Zimbabwean newspaper.

The arrests and intimidation of journalists and activists are in gross violation of the Global Political Agreement signed in September 2008 by ZANU PF and the MDC formations, which guarantees freedom of assembly and association, and all parties also promised to provide a free media environment.

Kumbirai Mafunda, the communications officer for Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told SW Radio Africa that like most media practitioners in Zimbabwe, photo-journalist Manyere holds expired accreditation, issued by the now defunct Tafataona Mahoso led, Media and Information Commission. The MIC fell away with the signing of the GPA in 2008 and it has taken well over a year to appoint the Zimbabwe Media Commission to replace it. The list of commissioners was only confirmed on 22nd December 2009 and they are still to be sworn in. Nonetheless Mafunda said the police were asking Manyere why he was moving around with an expired card, even though the new accreditation process has not started and journalists have no option.

A WOZA statement issued late Monday said Manyere had been released with a caution, but the other two will spend the night in police custody at Harare Central Police Station. The group said it is unclear what the two will be charged with.

In other news, the terrorism trial of MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett continued in the High Court on Monday, where the prosecution is making moves to impeach its own key witness, Peter Michael Hitschmann, for allegedly making contradicting statements. Hitschmann is saying there are no inconsistencies as he was tortured into implicating the MDC official. High Court Judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu deferred a ruling on the matter to Thursday.

The Zimbabwean
Written by Natasha Hove
Monday, 18 January

Education Minister, David Coltart, has referred the issue of teachers’ salaries to the country’s Cabinet to avert strike action.

Coltart told The Zimbabwean that he was referring the issue to Cabinet when it resumed sitting today to avoid strike action that would cripple the education sector. “We cannot afford to have another industrial action at a time when we are still trying to revive our education sector. 2010 cannot be another wasted academic year,” said Coltart.

Teacher unions, the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) last week dismissed the government’s wage increase to US$230 as inadequate and paltry. Teachers and other civil servants are currently earning salaries ranging between US$150 and US$180 depending on grade, yet the poverty datum line stands at US$495