The Chronicle
By Owen Gagare in Bulawayo and Dumisani Sibanda
29 June 2009

THE public has responded overwhelmingly to the constitution-making process with some organisations already presenting their own drafts of the supreme law of the land for consideration, an official has said.

In an interview by telephone yesterday, the co-chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee steering the constitution- making process, Senator David Coltart, said Zimbabweans had responded well to the invitation by the committee to attend provincial consultative meetings meant to identify stakeholders to be called for the first stakeholders conference set for next month.

“In Harare and Bulawayo there was a huge turnout. What I’ve heard so far, is that the attendance was the same in other provinces although I can’t really confirm that because I have not received the official reports,” he said.

“What is clear though, is that there is a lot of interest and a wide range of organisations are keen to take part. The churches have met in Harare and have come up with a very detailed draft. The Bulawayo Legal Practitioners Association in conjunction with the Law Society (of Zimbabwe) have also given us their draft document,” he said.

Sen Coltart said women and children’s groups as well as other sectors of society also came out in large numbers so that they could be included in the process of crafting a new constitution for Zimbabwe to replace the Lancaster House Constitution which has been amended 19 times.

“People are very anxious about the process and they want to be heard,” he said.

The select committee has assured people during the provincial consultative meetings that the constitution would not be doctored, as people’s views would be taken seriously.

Addressing people who attended the Bulawayo provincial consultative meeting on Saturday, the co-chairperson of the committee, Mr Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said the public would be involved in every step of the process and would get a chance to see the draft before being finalised.

He said each thematic group would keep three copies of their reports so as to ensure transparency until the draft was presented.

The select committee is made up of 25 Members of Parliament, nine from MDC-T, nine from Zanu-PF, three from MDC, three appointed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly and Senate President to represent special interest groups and one to represent chiefs.

According to article V1 of the Global Political Agreement, the role of the select committee is to facilitate the writing of a new constitution of Zimbabwe by the people of Zimbabwe for the people of Zimbabwe.

In Lupane, the issue of the Kariba Draft that was put together by Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations during the inter-party dialogue took centre stage at the Matabeleland North Provincial Consultative meeting on Saturday held at Mabhikwa Secondary School near Lupane Business Centre.
The meeting was attended by mostly representatives of various civil organisations in the province including churches and political parties as well as farmers, academics, professionals and traditional leaders.

Before the start of the meeting, members of Lupane Youth for Development distributed pamphlets demanding “a people-driven constitution”.

“No to Kariba Draft; Yes to devolution of power, shared power, recognition of minority groupings and proportional representations,” read the message on dozens of pamphlets distributed at the meeting.
In an interview after the meeting a representative of LYD, Mr Alfred Sihwa, said his organisation did not want the Kariba Draft to have a special place in the constitution-making process.

“All documents should be used as drafts. What we need is a framework to work on and nothing more,” he said.

Earlier during the meeting, one of the participants, Mrs Rhoda Ncube, asked why the Kariba Draft was being mentioned in the constitution-making process.

“Let us be clear here. Are we amending the Kariba Draft or making a new constitution,” she asked.
A woman from Tsholotsho who identified herself as Mrs Mlevu,also raised similar sentiments.
“I believe we are mature now. Why should we talk about the Kariba Draft?” she asked.

Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee who were at the meeting, Minister of State in Vice-President Joseph Msika’s Office, Flora Bhuka, Matabeleland North Governor, Sithokozile Mathuthu and MDC-T legislator, Mr Brian Tshuma were at pains to explain the connection between the constitution-making process under way and the Kariba Draft.

“Article Six of the Global Political Agreement acknowledges the Kariba Draft and by the way this is the section from which our select committee is derived. In addition to the draft there are other drafts. The Kariba Draft is one draft among many others,” said Mr Tshuma, who is also a lawyer.

President Mugabe is on record as saying that in line with the GPA, the Kariba Draft should be used as the reference point in this constitution-making process.

Governor Mathuthu, who is the leader of the five-member group from the select committee covering Matabeleland, urged participants not to lose sight of the “onerous responsibility” at hand by overplaying the Kariba Draft issue.

“The Kariba Draft is not a Constitution. It is not the Constitution. You can have views on the draft. It is not cast in stone. We are coming up with the supreme law of Zimbabwe. The Kariba Draft issue should not worry us. We are not amending the constitution but we are coming up with a new one,” she told participants.

Earlier Minister Bhuka had urged people of Matabeleland North not to be “left behind as the constitution-making train is taking off”.

She said the process of coming up with the blueprint was a lifetime opportunity that they should not miss.

“You all know that the Lancaster House Constitution we have was crafted during the war. It was a transitional arrangement from the war. We were still fighting, our children dying, Smith had his own pressing issues. That constitution did not capture our views and aspirations hence the 19 amendments that have been made on it so far.

“If that constitution were a pair of trousers you can imagine the amount of patchwork that would have been done on it. I do not think you would be proud of it and I bet you would want a new one, hence this exercise,” she said.

“Let us be clear that the National Constitutional Assembly Draft is not a Constitution. The draft produced by Senator David Coltart is not a constitution and the Kariba Draft is not a constitution. Let us find out about the contents of those drafts so that we contribute from an informed point of view.”
Minister Bhuka said each province would provide 500 delegates to the First Stakeholders Constitutional Conference to be held in Harare next month.

“We will also look at your proposal that you want equal delegates from each constituency or district in the province,” she said.

Minister Bhuka said “there will be no teaching as your representatives will be involved at every stage of this process” and the select committee was merely “facilitating or co-ordinating” the exercise.
Some participants were overruled as they wanted to raise issues of “content” on the constitution yet the select committee’s mandate at this stage was to look at issues of process.

Several Government officials from Matabeleland North led by the Provincial Administrator, Ms Latiso Dlamini attended Saturday’s meeting as well as most legislators from the province including the Minister of Small to Medium Enterprises, Sithembiso Nyoni.

The Herald
29 June 2009

Tuition fees at State schools for the second term have been waived and pupils have to pay only the admission fees of US$5 for primary schools and US$10 for secondary schools plus levies agreed to by a majority of parents.

In an interview last week, Education, Arts, Sport and Culture Minister David Coltart said the Government agreed that the admission fees already stipulated were enough for tuition, and no more payments would be made other than levies.

In May this year, Government pegged admission fees for primary and secondary State schools while the Cabinet was considering what pupils should pay as tuition fees.

Minister Coltart had hinted then that the new school fees would be less than the US$20 for primary and US$50 for secondary set for the first term.

But Cabinet had now sat to consider school fees and felt that the admission fees that it set were enough.

“Cabinet did consider what parents should pay as tuition fees, but came to the conclusion that it was not necessary to burden them with another demand for money,” said Minister Coltart.

“The admission fees we announced were deemed as enough for this term, what school authorities then need to do is to determine levies that should be collectively agreed by parents in a meeting,” he said.
The Minster emphasised that it was critical that school authorities consulted parents in coming up with figures that should be paid as levies.

“This is in terms of the law, no one is above the law, it should be complied with,” he said.
Asked when the Government would determine examination fees for November, the Minister said his ministry was still working on figures. “That is still being worked on, we are through with the June examinations, what now remains is examination fees for November.”

Parents and guardians were asked to pay US$10 per subject for their children to write Ordinary Level, an amount some struggled to find.

Many parents have struggled to raise the money, resulting in most pupils either registering fewer subjects or failing to register at all.

Two weeks ago, Education Arts, Sport and Culture Deputy Minister, Lazarus Dokora told Parliament that it was critical to peg fees that would enable the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council to conduct the examinations.

He was responding to questions raised by legislators on the examination fees which they said were too high.

The legislators had asked if it was not possible to stagger payments since marking usually begins in December and January, while fees are required to be paid during registration, mostly around March to May.

But Deputy Minister Dokora said marking was not the only cost related to preparing examinations, as there were other costs such as transport and preparing for question papers.

The Herald
29 June 2009

THE Government has saluted long-distance runner Stephen Muzhingi for winning the Comrades Marathon in South Africa last month, writes Ellina Mhlanga.

In his congratulatory speech, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said achievements being made by Zimbabwean sportsmen and women would play an important role in building a positive image of the country.

“It is good when Zimbabwean men and women raise the flag high and it is important to rebrand Zimbabwe through sport because the country has been associated with things that are not good.

“We are delighted with what you (Muzhingi) have achieved for the country and we are certainly proud of the achievement.

“I’m going to be watching closely next year’s race and hope you will break the record and with the 2012 Olympics coming you will focus on that. “I will be following your exploits very closely,” Coltart told Muzhingi.

Coltart also said it was important for the Government to seek out sporting talent.

“It is important that we as the Government identify sporting icons as they can achieve a lot in building Zimbabwe’s image.

“It also important to identify and nurture talent at an early stage — that’s why education is linked to sport.

“However, as the education system was deteriorating, it also affected sports and we will try and improve sport in schools,” said Coltart.

He, however, lamented the fact that sometimes people fail to realise the magnitude of such an achievement.

Muzhingi said his victory in South Africa was a great achievement for him as he had been participating in the race for the past five years.

“I’m very happy to be the first Zimbabwean to win the race and beating the defending champion.

“I would like to break the current record and set a record that will stand for more than 21 years,” Muzhingi said.

He encouraged upcoming athletes to work hard and focus on their careers and not countenance failure.

Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
28 June 2009

THE Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development and local women’s organisations are pushing for the Parliamentary Select Committee leading the crafting of a new Constitution to reserve a quota of positions on its sub-committees for women to ensure they are well represented during the process.

The Women’s Trust executive director, Ms Luta Shaba, said last week that a petition outlining this and other positions will be presented to the committee tomorrow.

She said delegates to the recently held Women’s National Constitutional Consultative Conference in Harare had resolved that women get 50 percent representation on all the committees’ sub-structures.

A list of more than 400 prospective members has already been compiled, she said.

“Without pre-empting much, the petition speaks to the committee to adhere to its commitment that women will constitute 50 percent of sub-committee membership.

“The issues in the document are women-specific,” said Ms Shaba, who was the conference co-ordinator.

The Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Dr Olivia Muchena, confirmed last Friday that she would present the petition tomorrow.

“We are still to get in touch with the select committee co-chairpersons ( Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana MP, Douglas Mwonzora MP and Senator David Coltart). However, the presentation (of the petition) will be done on Monday,” she said.

In terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Act (Number 19), the select committee is obliged to set up sub-committees that will assist in executing its mandate.

A total of 12 thematic sub-committees comprising 40 members each have been proposed.

The sub-committees are expected to collect and synthesise gathered information. Ms Shaba said the conference, held under the theme “Have Your Say”, drew participants from more than 26 different sectors countrywide.

She said delegates were drafted into thematic groups during break-away sessions.

This culminated in interested members in the respective groups submitting their names for consideration in the formulation of a new Constitution.

She said the names would be released upon the setting up of membership profiles for the sub-committees.

“The women agreed that the Constitution-making process was across the board; it is for everyone and everyone should be involved.

“Women are interested in the process,” said Ms Shaba.

The Standard
Sundayview
By Odrix Sithole Moyo
Saturday, 27 June 2009

ALLEGATIONS by teachers against the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) and its secretary general, Raymond Majongwe in particular have prompted me to respond. Studio7 aired a PTUZ meeting in Gweru where Majongwe was allegedly heckled. We were told that Majongwe and PTUZ had sold out on the teachers’ cause.

For us to analyse objectively the allegations against these people, we need to interrogate these two perspectives. We can only do that by also looking at past and current national contexts. We need the whole picture.

We are emerging from a period of extreme polarization. The polarization had human skeletons, real casualties. But the polarization only began after the 2000 Referendum on the Constitutional Commission Draft.

Given this background, where then do we place the PTUZ and Majongwe debacle? What are their credentials? Majongwe and the PTUZ are by-products of President Robert Mugabe’s rulership.
They surfaced as a reaction to Mugabe’s style of management. Majongwe earned his kudos as a staunch Mugabe critic from his early days at the University of Zimbabwe and he has been consistent. It was a mere expression of exasperation over perceived state heavy-handedness against voices of dissent.

At the helm of the state machinery was Mugabe. It was not by design that activists such as Majongwe found themselves at the mercy of security agents. It was an innate human reaction to perceived injustices.

Such voices of dissent were very few because of the obvious resultant violent response from the ruling elite. Majongwe bears permanent scars inflicted on him by state security agents. His crime has been to stand up for the cause of teachers.

When he and his colleagues were brutalized, it was not because they were leading an insurgency or a terrorist organisation. Their sin was to state the glaring facts. Not more than five among those now calling Majongwe and the PTUZ sell-outs were ever terrorized by state security agents. If you were never part of the real heart of the struggle, how then do you label the real legends of that struggle traitors?

Simply, the struggle has assumed another dimension. Just like the MDC/Zanu PF struggle has reached another epoch, so is the struggle by the likes of the PTUZ, Women of Zimbabwe Arise and the other progressive forces.

If the allegation is that they received material inducements, the question that should be addressed is: from who in this government and in what form were the alleged inducements? Are the alleged benefits tangible or assumed?

We know who is in control of the government institutions. Our teachers must look at the whole picture as the MDC and Zanu PF try to outwit each other ahead of the next elections.

It’s not in their interests for them to be fighting each other. At least in Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture teachers have an honest man.

My observation is that over three quarters of the teachers would rather they were paid handsomely, like their regional counterparts. If the criticism of Majongwe was coming from people with impeccable activism credentials I could accept them, but not from armchair critics. They are charlatans. We know the legends of past Uhuru struggles.

The Financial Gazette
By Njabulo Ncube, Political Editor
27 June 2009

PARTIES to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that gave birth to the inclusive government are heading for collision over plans to have the Kariba Draft used as the working document in crafting a new constitution for Zimbabwe, The Financial Gazette can reveal.
The contentious document was crafted in September 2007 by representatives of the three main political parties in Kariba at the height of the negotiations among the protagonists to the Zimbabwe crisis.
South Africa brokered the negotiations.
ZANU-PF has in recent weeks been trying to worm its way out of a constitutional making template being advocated by the larger faction of the Movement for Demo-cratic Change (MDC) citing all sorts of reasons.
Two weeks ago a ZANU-PF Parliamentary caucus recommended that the process be deferred because of an alleged lack of funds.
ZANU-PF has since galvanised its propaganda machinery to campaign for the use of the Kariba Draft in the constitution making process, courting the ire of the MDC-T.
A stalemate, however, appears inevitable at this very early stage as the MDC-T raised the red flag this week after ZANU-PF and the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC-M endorsed the use of the Kariba Draft as the starting point to the process.
The MDC-T this week said the draft should not be used as the focal point, alleging that using the document could render the process flawed.
Tapiwa Mashakada, the MDC-T acting secretary general, said his party rejected attempts to have the Kariba Draft adopted as the “Alpha and Omega of the constitution making process”.
“We believe in a truly people-driven constitution making process where the unfettered will of the people must be reflected,” said Mashakada.
Observers said President Robert Mugabe could have influenced ZANU-PF’s position when he intimated in February that the Kariba Draft would be a departure point in the constitution making process.
In a televised birthday interview at Zimbabwe House on February 25, the President said:
“There is already a draft that the three parties agreed on; they call it the Kariba Draft because that is where they came up with the document. We shall all look at it and when we are satisfied, it shall be put to the people in a referendum. If the people say yes, then the draft will be allowed to pass through Parliament. The schedule, the time frame that was agreed on by the parties, was within 18 to 24 months, we should have a referendum. We will then have elections thereafter.”
John Nkomo, the ZANU-PF national chairman, said the MDC-T was part of the initiative that led to the drafting of the Kariba Draft and therefore cannot all of a sudden abandon the document.
He said: “They (MDC-T) participated in the negotiations at the time of the GPA and all parties agreed that it was a joint effort. We are proceeding on that basis as stipulated by the GPA. The Kariba Draft is a document born out of negotiations among the three political parties.”
But Mashakada said the Kariba Draft should not be imposed on the people but used as a reference document along with other drafts such as the one prepared by the Constitutional Commission in 2000 and another one done by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).
“The Kariba draft must be one of the many resource documents to lead to a people-driven constitution,” said Mashakada.
“This includes the NCA draft, the Constitutional Commission draft, among others. Why should the process be confined to one document, the Kariba Draft?” he asked.
Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the MDC-M, said there was no way the parties could afford to ignore the Kariba Draft.
“The position is what we agreed in the GPA that we will use the Kariba Draft as the starting point to consult the people,” he said. “Remember we spent a year negotiating the Kariba Draft so that at least we have a starting point before consulting the people. It has to be used to see what is accepted or rejected. We are bound to present it to the people to either reject or accept all or certain portions of the draft,” said Ncube who also sits on the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Commit-tee.
The constitution making process began in earnest yesterday with the briefing of diplomats accredited to Harare by the Speaker of the House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo and the start of provincial consultative meetings by the Parliamentary Select Committee.
The proposed constitution is intended to replace the compromise Lancaster House Constitution that has been amended 19 times since Independence in 1980.
The crafting of the new constitution is a key component of the power-sharing deal brokered by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, the Southern African Develop-ment Community appointed facilitator in the country’s crisis.
Under the GPA, signed by President Mugabe and the two leaders of the MDC formations in September last year, the rival parties are required to ensure that a new constitution is in place before fresh elections are conducted.
Article 6 of the agreement mandates Parliament to appoint a Select Committee on a new constitution. The Standing Rules and Orders Committee recently appointed 25 lawmakers from the House of Assembly and the Senate to spearhead the process.
The Select Committee is co-chaired by Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (ZANU-PF), Doug-las Mwonzora (MDC-T) and David Coltart (MDC-M).
Moyo told diplomats and the consultative meeting at a local hotel yesterday that the Kariba Draft would not be shoved down the throat of the nation.
He said: “Let me assure you that the process will be people-based, people-centred, people led and therefore people driven. It is public knowledge that there are those who wish to prescribe what views Zimbabweans should have but it must be restated that the GPA speaks to the fact that it is the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a constitution by themselves and for themselves”.
Moyo said Parliament was guided by the provisions outlined in the GPA.
“However, it must be noted that any individual or organisation are free to submit their preferred document to the sub-committee during the national outreach after July 13,” the Speaker said.
. . . as SADC pencils meeting on Zim
THE Southern African Develop-ment Community (SADC) has agreed to call for a meeting next month to solve Zimbabwe’s outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), threatening to collapse the inclusive government.
South African President, Jacob Zuma, the current SADC chair, is understood to have informed the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) secretary-general, Tendai Biti, of the meeting in informal discussions the two held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum held in Cape Town a fortnight ago.
Tapuwa Mashakada, the acting-secretary general of the MDC-T, confirmed the proposed meeting to discuss the outstanding issues, but was not certain about the actual dates.
“What I know is that there will be another SADC meeting specifically to discuss the outstanding issues possibly in early July,” he said.
“The secretary-general has been in touch with the SADC chair and he (Biti) indicated to me that the meeting has been set for early July, 2009,” added Mashakada.
Biti was this week out of the country, drumming up financial and material support for the bankrupt coalition government that desperately needs about US$8,2 billion to turn around the economy.
The two MDC formations last month wrote to Zuma complaining bitterly about what it alleged was President Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF’s intransigence in implementing provisions of the GPA.
The MDC-T national executive also resolved at its extraordinary meeting on Tuesday to further refer to SADC and the African Union – the guarantors of the GPA – the alleged hate language in the state media and the arbitrary arrests of its party officials.
SADC this week held a summit to discuss the political fall-out in Madagascar, but left Zimbabwe out of the agenda. — Staff Reporter.

The Financial Gazette
Financial Gazette Reporter
27 June 2009

WALTER Mzembi, then deputy water resources minister, told the nation last year that the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) was to sink boreholes at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) to end a crippling water situation that has delayed the resumption of learning at the institution.
Nearly a year has passed with no sign that the university would reopen. The water situation has remained critical.
With hindsight, the nation should have been pragmatic. Mzembi’s word should not have been taken seriously.
ZINWA, which Mzembi had pinned his hopes on to untangle the UZ from the water crisis had proved to be a monumental failure right from the day it was assigned by the government to provide water to municipalities against expert advice from engineers who had long pointed out that the authority lacked the capacity to efficiently pipe clean water to households.
And when Zimbabwe was hit by a cholera outbreak in October 2008, long after acute water shortages had surfaced in all the major towns and cities, it then dawned on even the staunchest of ZINWA’s backers that the parastatal had neither the means nor the knowhow to discharge its mandate. By then the water borne disease had claimed more than 4 000 lives.
ZINWA’s dangerous experiment with Harare’s water supplies ended before it could even identify suitable sites for the UZ borehole project.
And last month, Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education was on hand to keep the nation’s fading hopes alive. After being taken to task by lawmakers over the university’s failure to reopen, Mudenge revealed that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had come to the university’s rescue by drilling boreholes at the campus to end the water crisis, adding that the institution would be reopened in two weeks’ time.
As of yesterday, the university was still closed.
Mudenge’s word should therefore be treated with guarded optimism more so given that UNICEF has not said a word about the project.
But as government officials continue to pay lip service to this important issue the future of present and future UZ students is in jeopardy.
While David Coltart, the Education Minister, has tried his best to ensure that teachers are back in classes and that schools are reopened, Mudenge and his team have failed the nation as far as the reopening of the university is concerned.
It would appear that all that matters for ZANU-PF, which is in charge of the Higher Education portfolio at the moment, is to have targeted sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union lifted so that its apparatchiks could shop around in New York, London or Oslo.
Tied to that is the party’s obsession with the next elections. Given the warped thinking in some sections of the party, ZANU-PF mandarins would rather go to the next elections with the university’s doors under lock and key since they view the institution as a political hotbed whose offspring are seen as agents of the “regime change agenda”.
Mudenge cannot be bothered about the university’s plight despite the fact that the institution is part of his brief. We doubt if any of his children are studying at the university to warrant his losing sleep over its failure to reopen.
The institution is moribund. Infrastructure at the UZ is in a state of neglect with no sufficient learning material including basics such as chalks and writing paper.
All cafeterias on campus have been closed and the once productive UZ farm which used to provide food for the university is now a pale shadow of its former self.
Vehicles that were procured for field research are grounded. Lecture rooms and halls of residents were long deserted with chairs and beds breaking.
Students have lost an entire academic year. Bored by sitting at home, some of the students might not resist the urge of going into crime, including prostitution to survive the harsh economic conditions.
That some of the students might end up joining the flight of skills to greener pastures or take up full time employment – abandoning their education altogether – cannot be ruled out.
The crisis at the university is not just costing students. Parents are also anxious – worried about the future of their children.
The whole country is also paying a huge price for it. The university will not be able to enroll the next intake until it creates space by removing the stops stalling the upward mobility within its system.
What this means is that the UZ can not play its pivotal role of feeding industry and commerce with graduates until the challenges have been overcome; all this at precisely the moment when it must play an active role in replacing skills lost through the brain drain.
Government’s failure to address the challenges at the university demonstrates its lack of seriousness about the revival of the education sector in Zimbabwe. That the MDC has remained quiet about it does not reflect well on its leadership as well.
The UZ is not just another institution of higher learning. It is the oldest and biggest university in Zimbabwe, which has been a source of pride for the country for many years.
A slump in standards at the institution is therefore reflective of more pressing problems across the education sector.
While there is nothing new about how the government is approaching the whole thing, there is every reason for the nation to feel let down by the private sector and the civic society. Where is the private sector in all this? Why can’t private companies emulate the example set by Lobel’s Bread, which recently launched a three million rand scholastic promotion to help rebuild confidence in the country’s education sector?
A holistic approach, this time spearheaded by the private sector and the civic society, is required to deal with the crisis at the UZ. Providing water is one piece of the jigsaw puzzle.
The solution to the conundrum should be able to cut across the whole spectrum of the university’s operations i.e. salaries for lecturers and support staff, their working conditions, the provision of learning material and equipment to students, their upkeep and implementing a viable fee structure that will achieve the twin objective of making the university self sustaining while being affordable.
A piecemeal approach to the situation at the UZ will mean that students will always be up in arm with government while teachers will spend more time in the streets than in lecture rooms, pressing for better pay.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
26 June 2009

Harare — GOVERNMENT has engaged publishers, printers and booksellers in a bid to map out strategies for the provision of adequate textbooks and other educational materials to the country’s primary and secondary schools.
In a speech read on his behalf by his Deputy Lazarus Dokora at the Teaching and Learning Materials Indaba, Education Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart highlighted the importance of textbooks to schools.
He said textbooks were not only important for educational expansion, but because new subjects that were introduced into the curriculum also required new resource materials.
“Further, in situations where there is shortage of teachers, textbooks are crucial in maintaining standards of quality and direction to the curriculum.
“From research evidence, the availability of textbooks appears to be the single most consistently positive school factor in predicting academic achievements.
“It is therefore crucial that teachers are provided with relevant and up to date teaching and learning materials,” he said.
He said the production and distribution of textbooks was a complex process, which required the participation of many stakeholders hence the convening of the Indaba. Minister Coltart said while publishing and textbook business were not major financial expenditures in the broader context of educational and economic development compared to expenditure for infrastructure, they involved many elements of modern society.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
26 June 2009

A group of over 70 teachers marched in Harare on Wednesday and presented a petition to Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart, demanding an urgent address of their working conditions and salary as agreed at a June 10 meeting.

The petition was served on Minister Coltart outside his offices by the teachers who were under police escort.

In the document with a letterhead of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, the teachers said the march was a follow-up to the June 10 meeting between the Government and the teachers’ representatives.

They demanded that the ministry officially state and send a circular exempting teachers’ children from paying fees in public schools as well as announcing a percentage of the levy payable to teachers as incentives.

“We demand, in the earliest possible time, that the circular as agreed at our most recent meeting with you (June 10 2009) restating our original positions regarding ‘amnesty’ conditions, exemption of teachers’ children from paying fees in public schools, levy percentage payable to teachers as incentives be availed to us and ministry structures forthwith to avoid confusion.

“You should address the issue of teachers’ salaries first before the education sector sinks into doldrums,” read part of the petition.

After receiving the petition, Minister Coltart said the concerns of the teachers were genuine before he undertook to ensure they would be urgently addressed.

In an interview, Minister Coltart said he had understood the teachers’ concerns and that he was working towards addressing them.

“The teachers have brought a petition to me regarding issues raised by trade unionists in our last meeting. I told them that I took their concerns to heart and I will do what ever I could to address them at an earliest possible time.

“We are working hard to improve the teachers’ conditions of service,” said Minister Coltart.

Speaking on the sidelines of the minister’s address, PTUZ secretary-general Mr Raymond Majongwe said there was nothing political about the march, adding that it was just a follow-up to earlier agreements.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
26 June 2009

China is delighted with the establishment of an inclusive Government in Zimbabwe and described its operation to date as successful.

Speaking during his farewell luncheon, Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Yuan Nansheng said Zimbabwe was now poised for greater economic growth which might surpass other African countries that were suffering from the effects of global economic recession.

“I deeply feel that the momentum of the reconciliation and co-operation between three main political parties of Zimbabwe was further strengthened and the Zimbabwean situation is developing towards a good direction,” said Ambassador Yuan who has been on a tour of duty in Zimbabwe for two and half years.

“It’s an encouraging phenomenon to me that, at the time I arrived here, most African countries kept a rapid growth rate except Zimbabwe. Now at the time I am leaving, almost all African countries are affected deeply in the context of global financial crisis while Zimbabwe owns a rising trend in economy.”

He expressed hope that Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations would continue working together, until Zimbabweans overcome the current difficulties and bring economic stability.

The Chinese embassy last August initiated an HIV and Aids launch by the Chinese community in Zimbabwe called “Care Action for the HIV/Aids infected, Orphans and the Physically Challenged,” to assist poor people in the country.

“Today, thousands of Chinese people and companies have joined their hands in supporting the Care Action at different levels,” said Ambassador Yuan who is heading to South America for another diplomatic stint.

“The total amount of cash donation itself has exceeded US$270 000 so far.”

Speaking at the same occasion, Acting Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr Godfrey Magwenzi hailed the relationship between Zimbabwe and China dating back to the liberation struggle.

He said China together with Russia demonstrated its unwavering support for Harare when it vetoed attempts by the United States and Britain to get the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Yesterday’s meeting was attended by Media, Information and Publicity, Minister Webster Shamu, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, David Coltart, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Paurina Mpariwa, Harare mayor, Mr Muchadeyi Masunda and senior Government officials.

Also in attendance were Zanu-PF secretary for external affairs, Mr Kumbirai Kangai and other senior party officials and members of the diplomatic community.