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24 May 2009

Disgusting
SUPA Mandiwanzira’s interviewing skills are disgusting, especially when he is interviewing people who are not from Zanu PF. He makes some daft interjections and remarks. His recent interview with Senator David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture is a clear example. He dulls all prospects of entertainment. — Tawanaishe Makuvaza.

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CAN someone please tell Supa Mandiwanzira not to show his racism when interviewing people on his programme, Talking Business on ZTV? I was really embarrassed by the way he interviewed Senator David Coltart. Mandiwanzira should not call his discussants just to please Zanu PF, whose members he is extremely polite to when interviewing them. We don’t need racists or party loyalists embarrassing the nation on television. Please Mandiwanzira, be professional. — Annoyed black viewer.

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IS there anything wrong in white parents sending their children to private schools if they can afford the high fees, Supa Mandiwanzira? I thought anyone was free to send their children to all schools and that all that was needed was to ask Senator David Coltart to intervene on our behalf so that the fees at these schools are reduced. Peterhouse school in Marondera charges R23 000 a term that is R8 000 a month, yet our Minister of Education says this is reasonable. This is just too much for one child. — Distressed.

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SENATOR David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, my child is in Grade III at Hatfield Junior School. I haven’t paid the fees. My child is being subjected to torture. He told me that they are forced to stand for hours or to go and sleep or are beaten up while those children whose parents paid their fees are allowed to learn. Even if I finally manage to pay the fees my child is terrorised and dreads going to school. What are your teachers up to? — Victim of poverty.

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ON May 14 I got a call from a relative to say that students at Mutoko High who had not paid US$100 at the beginning of the school term had gone for days without proper meals. The full term fees are pegged at US$160. It is criminal to deny children food because their parents have not paid fees. Could the government please investigate? — Worried parent.

Zimbabwe Times
May 23, 2009
By Mxolisi Ncube

JOHANNESBURG – The first bus-load of South African-based Zimbabwean professionals will be repatriated Wednesday, a humanitarian organization has revealed.

The Southern African Women for Immigration Affairs (SAWIMA), which is co-coordinating the repatriation of the professional, told The Zimbabwe Times Saturday morning that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) had finally pulled together enough resources and finished vetting the professionals, most of them teachers who have been living at Johannesburg’s Central Methodist Church.

“The IOM has informed us that the first bus carrying the professionals will leave Johannesburg on Wednesday morning,” said Pastor Tobias Chatindo, the humanitarian officer for SAWIMA.

“The teachers should have left last week but some of them wanted to wind up their businesses here in South Africa, where they had been doing some casual jobs.”

The IOM’s Project Development Officer for Johannesburg – Yukiko Kamashiro, also confirmed that the professionals would leave next week.

“We are done with the first group and they will definitely leave on Wednesday, while we wait for SAWIMA to come up with another group for vetting,” she said.

About 300 desperate Zimbabwean professionals, some of whom have lived in Johannesburg, but failed to find employment for the past three years, approached SAWIMA two months ago seeking repatriation assistance.

Education Minister, David Coltart has already pledged that the teachers will be employed in their old jobs on arrival.

Kamashiro said that after repatriating the professionals, IOM would begin to assist any ordinary refugees who would come forward asking for repatriation assistance.

“Our main thrust is to assist in repatriating vulnerable people who come to us asking for help and we will do that for those Zimbabweans who are eager but do not have the resources to go back home.”

Zimonline
By Nqobizitha Khumalo
Saturday 23 May 2009

BULAWAYO – More than 20 000 teachers left Zimbabwe over the past two years alone, disgruntled by poor salaries and working conditions, Education Minister David Coltart said on Friday.

Coltart, who has worked hard to try to revive Zimbabwe’s once envied public education sector, also lamented dilapidated infrastructure at most public schools after years of under funding and neglect.

“Zimbabwe has over the last two years staring in 2007 lost over 20 000 teachers who left due to poor salaries and working conditions and the government is working to rectify that problem as we want to return Zimbabwe’s education status to the level of the 90s,” Coltart said, addressing school heads and senior education officials in the country’s second largest city of Bulawayo.

Coltart urged the private sector to step in and help the government repair schools, saying that the revitalisation of education should be the concern of every citizen.

“The infrastructure at schools is collapsing and the restoration of our education to where it was should be a concern of every Zimbabwean and the private sector must join government in giving every member of society a chance to get education,” he said.

Coltart said last year’s senior school public examinations whose results have been delayed because of a shortage of funds were being processed and would be out soon.

Since taking over as minister, Coltart has managed to reach agreement and create a working relation over salaries with the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ).

The collapse of the education sector along with that of the public health system reflects the decayed state of Zimbabwe’s key infrastructure and institutions after a decade of acute recession.

A unity government formed last February by President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has promised to revive the economy and to restore health, education and other basic services.

But the administration’s failure to mobilise substantial financial support from rich Western countries could hinder its national reconstruction programme.

The Herald
23 May 2009
Herald Reporter

RESULTS for the November 2008 Advanced Level examinations are finally out, the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council said yesterday.

Zimsec information and public relations manager Mr Ezekiel Pasipamire said candidates could start collecting results from their respective centres on Tuesday next week.

“As the Minister (David Coltart) said, the results will be out today (Friday) and indeed the results are out as we speak right now they are being dispatched to our various regional offices countrywide.

“Candidates can collect their results from their respective examination centres countrywide from May 26 onwards.

“Accordingly, heads of schools and centre supervisors are advised to liaise with their Zimsec regional offices,” he said.

Mr Pasipamire said the results were delayed due to a number of problems, mostly to do with funding.

He, however, said that the delay in the release of the results should not affect their credibility as a high level of professionalism was applied in the marking and verification process.

“We feel we did a good job in as far as the marking and verification exercises are concerned,” he said.

Last year, the country failed to administer public examinations smoothly owing to an acute shortage of funds.

The examinations were delayed as was the marking because invigilators and markers expressed dissatisfaction with the allowances that Zimsec was offering.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart on Wednesday announced that “O” Level examination results could be expected on June 5.

Grade Seven results are expected on June 26, although the minister was pessimistic that the deadline would be met, citing lack of funds and logistical problems.

He also announced the postponement of the “O” and “A” Level June examinations, which normally commence in the third week of May, rescheduling them to start on July 6 and end on July 27.

Examination fees have been pegged at US$10 per subject for both levels.

Herald
23 May 2009

CIVIL servants in Harare took to the streets yesterday, demanding to be paid “real salaries”, warning Government they would embark on industrial action if their grievances are not addressed promptly.

Riot police had to be deployed to stop the placard-waving disgruntled workers from marching to the offices of the ministries of Public Service and Social Welfare.

The civil servants had gathered at the Public Service Association headquarters in the morning and were en route to the offices of Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Paurina Mpariwa and Minister of Public Service Eliphas Mukonoweshuro to air their grievances when police stopped them.

Both ministers are MDC-T secondments to Cabinet.

Read some of the placards: “We are working for salaries and not allowances”, “US$100 is not enough” and “Bills are more than our allowances”.

Riot police advised them to open dialogue with the relevant ministries, after which one officer accompanied the PSA leadership to Minister Mukonoweshuro’s office.

However, they did not have the meeting they desired as the minister was said to be out of office.

In an interview later, PSA executive secretary Mr Emmanuel Tichareva said civil servants were not satisfied with the allowances they were getting.

“We would like to meet the minister as soon as possible because what is happening on the ground is not conducive. Civil servants are agitated and will down tools if they do not see anything meaningful coming next week. We are going to take action,” he said.

The disgruntled civil servants feel that they are being sidelined in negotiation processes.

“Education Minister Senator David Coltart has been talking to teachers and promising them packages. Nurses have been promised packages. We also want to meet our minister and have dialogue,” Mr Tichareva said.

The association said it would consult its members after yesterday’s demonstration flopped.

The PSA issued Government with a 14-day ultimatum, which expires on June 8, to address its members’ grievances. Efforts to get a comment from Ministers Mpariwa and Mukonoweshuro were fruitless yesterday.

Affiliate members of the PSA who wanted to demonstrate yesterday comprised the Government Workers’ Association, Civil Service Employees’ Association, Professional and Technical Officers’ Association, Government Officers’ Association, and Administrative and Executive Officers’ Association.

Civil servants who spoke to The Herald expressed displeasure at the slow pace which the inclusive Government was addressing their working conditions.

“We have been getting these allowances for too many months now. All we keep getting are promises from the inclusive Government that they are addressing our plight, but we are not seeing the progress,” one of the workers, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said.

Another said: “The allowances we are getting are not even from the inclusive Government. That means the inclusive Government has not yet done anything to address our working conditions even though it was formed way back in February.”

The US$100 that is being paid to civil servants was awarded by then Acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa before the formation of the inclusive Government comprising Zanu-PF, MDC-T and the MDC.

Since then, a number of Government officials, including Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Finance Minister Tendai Biti, have implored workers to be patient with them as they work to improve working conditions.

Newsnet
Saturday 23 May 2009

Government has called on the private sector to partner it in the rehabilitation of school’s infrastructure.

Government has called on the private sector to partner it in the rehabilitation of school’s infrastructure.

Speaking after officiating at the launch of a programme meant to restore confidence in country’s education system, the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture Senator David Coltart said the education sector is faced with a lot of challenges that are huge for the government to solve on its on.

Focusing on sports Senator Coltart said, he will soon engage most sporting associations in order to assist them as some national teams were not doing well on the international scene.

Coltart was mostly concerned about Zimbabwe Cricket and soccer with the former no longer playing test cricket matches and the latter not taking part in World Cup to be hosted by South Africa.

The Chronicle
By Mduduzi Moyo
23 May 2009

The first trimester — the first ten of the scheduled 30 games — of the Premiership has come and gone yet the Premier Soccer League is still to find a sponsor for this year’s league championship.

The traditional season opening Charity Shield has been repeatedly postponed and it is still unclear if the league will ever find a sponsor for even a single knockout tournament.

So confusing and deafening is the silence on the progress or lack thereof in the negotiations — if ever there are any that are taking place at the moment — that every ardent soccer lover has been forced to ask the question: “Just where is the current set-up likely to leave us as a soccer loving nation?”

Zimbabwean soccer has in the past been the envy of the neighbourhood but the current decline in standards seems to threaten to blight this record as sports administrators seem determined to outdo each other in running the game into the ground.

In the past, the Zimbabwean Premiership attracted top players from Malawi and Zambia with the likes of the late Derby Mankinka, Kelvin Kaindu, Ian Bakala, Haji Tambala and Joseph Kamwendo — who is turning out for the Malawi national team.

So powerful was the appeal that it attracted even players from the American league like Andrew Shoe and Kirk Fredrick.

But the current trend has seen a reverse pattern where the most prolific of our players have crisscrossed the sub-region in search of more sanely run football entities.

Needless to say that some of these sons of the soil have been ejected by poor management of the local game that they have virtually flung themselves into the footballing wilderness with reckless regard for the development of their game. One can only but painfully come to terms with the hasty and seemingly ill-informed departure of prolific goal poacher Edward Sadomba to the virtually unknown Mozambican league which to the average Zimbabwean has produced no better team than Ferroviario de Nampula.

Evans Gwekwerere also frustratedly threw himself into the arms of the lilliputan Swazi league only to reconsider and wind up with South African teams.

So! Where exactly are we going wrong with our football? From its formation in 1993 the Premier Soccer League of the modern era looked set to deliver soccer to the proverbial Canaan. Football administrators and players hailed this grand unveiling as the final tonic to the ills that had afflicted the game.

The impetus behind the formation of the league was that clubs felt that ZIFA was messing up their affairs and therefore there was a need to break away and form an independent league that would prioritise the welfare and interests of the clubs, among other developmental issues.

The inaugural leadership led by Morrison Sifelani and Chris Sibanda committed themselves to promises which 16 years down the line, remain just that — promises.

Sifelani and Sibanda assured the nation that the National Premier Soccer League, as it was known then, “shall always be regarded as a shining beacon of professionalism and transparency”. They promised clubs that viability problems and lack of sponsorship would be a thing of the past.
Even when the promises were hard to deliver, the clubs clung on to them.

A lot of people have come and gone at the PSL but it seems nothing has changed. Instead, it appears as if the clubs are actually worse off than they were then.

Many clubs have either sold their franchises in frustration or have totally collapsed. Others are soldiering on but with extreme difficulties and the reason why some clubs still exist today is simply because the powers that be at those clubs love football and therefore they are prepared to make losses in other businesses just for the love of the game.

Sponsors might give the obvious reason of viability problems in the economy in general but the most important reason is that they are shying away from the madness that has taken over football administration in this country. In other words the game has totally lost its corporate appeal and has degenerated to levels lower than a boozers’ league.

Sponsors are reluctant to risk associating of their brands with Zimbabwean soccer. Soccer has endeared itself to controversy in the way moths are drawn to a flame. Even the national team — if ever it still merits such a title — has been reduced to a basket case that patiently sits with a begging bowl for Asiatic football unknowns to dangle free packages for ineffective friendly matches that have plunged the team to the lowest rankings ever.

At the worst, the team has been devalued to a lot in a betting syndicate as our national association gets more and more addicted to these syndicates. The prize for this — a freefall on the FIFA rankings.
The side effect of all this will be suddenly felt when our “national team” is shunned by teams coming for the Confederations Cup and the World Cup as a viable warm-up partner because of its low rankings which have come about as a result of fielding ad-hoc selects against these unknown entities. I am quite certain Brazil — whom we appear to be amourously courting these days — will not be all too willing to warm-up against a team on the wrong side of 100 on the FIFA rankings.

On the domestic front, the PSL is not painting an encouraging portrait of the game either — the current committee led by Tapuwa Matangaidze is yet to achieve anything except losing out on a viable sponsorship from Econet and failing to sustain the sponsorship of CBZ.

The grapevine has it that the same Matangaidze regime that presided over the ouster of Econet by flirting with its rival NetOne three seasons ago, is now feverishly assailing Econet who look poised to be the heir-apparent to the truant CBZ. It is understood from well placed sources that the mobile communications giant has rolled out one unequivocal demand — that the entire management committee at PSL should resign.

As obvious as the sun will rise tomorrow, they will not do this! And while it remains to be seen who will blink first between the two, the soccer loving nation will continue to watch a mediocre display of what looks like football as clubs trudge on under these difficult times, waiting and hoping for a brighter day. But for how long, we wonder.

We call upon the honourable Minister David Coltart to intervene and save soccer from this seemingly irremediable calamity. Clubs have patiently taken enough of a battering.

Al Jazeera
By Haru Mutasa, Al Jazeera’s southern Africa correspondent
22 May 2009

It has been 100 days since Morgan Tsvangirai joined his old rival Robert Mugabe in the formation of a new coalition government for Zimbabwe.

With Tsvangirai taking the office of prime minister and Mugabe as president the hope was to try and revive the ruined southern African country whose economy had been crippled by record-breaking hyper inflation and years of bad economic policies.

It has been a century of days fraught with mistrust.

However, on Thursday Tsvangirai said most disagreements within Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government had been resolved. The only sticking points were the posts of central bank governor and attorney general.

Gideon Gono, the current governor of the central bank and a close Mugabe ally, has been under pressure to resign after members of Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change accused him of being responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic decline.

The country needs just over US$8bn – close to US$2bn has already come in from African banks and governments, but much more is needed.

Economic reforms

The IMF and World Bank have also pledged support, but they want Mugabe and Tsvangirai to develop a credible programme to rebuild the country’s economy and implement reforms before they hand out massive amounts of cash.

On the streets, life seems a little easier for Zimbabweans – better than it was three months ago. Supermarket shelves are once again stocked with goods – and prices of basic commodities are slowly coming down.

Teachers and civil servants are being paid a monthly allowance of US$100. Not nearly enough to live on, but it’s better than the Zimbabwean dollar they used to earn – which had become so devalued they could not buy anything with it.

This allowance has given some incentives for civil servants to return to work. Most public schools are open, as teachers begin to return to the classroom.

Mugabe [left] and Tsvangirai finally agreed on appointees to a joint cabinet in February, 2009 [EPA]
It has been 100 days since Morgan Tsvangirai joined his old rival Robert Mugabe in the formation of a new coalition government for Zimbabwe.

With Tsvangirai taking the office of prime minister and Mugabe as president the hope was to try and revive the ruined southern African country whose economy had been crippled by record-breaking hyper inflation and years of bad economic policies.

It has been a century of days fraught with mistrust.

However, on Thursday Tsvangirai said most disagreements within Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government had been resolved. The only sticking points were the posts of central bank governor and attorney general.

Gideon Gono, the current governor of the central bank and a close Mugabe ally, has been under pressure to resign after members of Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change accused him of being responsible for Zimbabwe’s economic decline.

The country needs just over US$8bn – close to US$2bn has already come in from African banks and governments, but much more is needed.

Economic reforms

The IMF and World Bank have also pledged support, but they want Mugabe and Tsvangirai to develop a credible programme to rebuild the country’s economy and implement reforms before they hand out massive amounts of cash.

On the streets, life seems a little easier for Zimbabweans – better than it was three months ago. Supermarket shelves are once again stocked with goods – and prices of basic commodities are slowly coming down.

Teachers and civil servants are being paid a monthly allowance of US$100. Not nearly enough to live on, but it’s better than the Zimbabwean dollar they used to earn – which had become so devalued they could not buy anything with it.

This allowance has given some incentives for civil servants to return to work. Most public schools are open, as teachers begin to return to the classroom.

Headteacher Augustine Kudzange blames the government for poor teaching resources. In the last two years, 20,000 teachers left the country – unable to get by on a monthly salary of US$3. At St Vincent Secondary school in rural Goromonzi, 60km from Harare, school principal Augustine Kudzange is struggling to make ends meet.He points the finger of blame at the country’s politicians.

“The English they speak in parliament and whatever professions they have – pass through my hands. Why can’t they respect that?” he asks angrily.

“If they are to respect the future of the child then the one who produces the child – education-wise – must be respected. There’s no other way.”

He may be back in the classroom teaching but conditions are far from desirable.

In some schools in the country, 15 children share one text book. In others there are simply no books at all.

‘Fragile situation’

The country’s education minister, David Coltart, says he needs millions of dollars to revive the education sector – which a decade ago used to be one of the best in Africa and the world.
But he admits 100 days in office is too short to make any real changes to education policy and educational reform.

“I can’t really point to any major achievements,” he says.

“Some would say the reopening of schools and getting teachers back on board is an achievement. But I know it’s a very fragile situation. I fear teachers may go on strike within a month or so. So I’m pleased but I believe we still have major challenges ahead.”

Some of those challenges facing the new prime minister include keeping the government of national unity together.

Press freedom and alleged human rights violations dominate Zimbabwe’s political life.

Several journalists, lawyers and human rights activists complain of being harassed by state police.
Farm invasions are still continuing in some parts of the country – threatening food security.

Issues like educating the future generation come, for the moment, a poor second.

Zimbabwe Times
May 21, 2009
By Our Correspondent

HARARE – The government will start releasing results for last year’s Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) examinations, beginning this Friday.

The government has also committed itself to proceeding with this year’s mid-year public examinations, ending months of uncertainty over its capacity to manage any public examination before it could release last year’s results.

David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture told journalists on Wednesday that the June and November 2008 Advanced Level results were to be announced this Friday.
He said this would be followed by the release of the June and November 2008 Ordinary Level results which should be expected by June 5.

The release of the Grade 7 results, which, normally, are first to be released, is scheduled for June 26.
Coltart said US$352 000 had been sourced from the treasury to fund the 2009 mid-year ZIMSEC examinations.

Examination fees for the examinations commencing on July 6, 2009 and ending on July 27, 2009, had been pegged at US$10 per subject for both O’ Level and A’ Level students.

Candidates wishing to sit for the examinations are to register with their respective examinations centres on or before June 12.

Due to the delay in publishing the results for last year, some schools used the 2008 mid-year internal examinations to determine the suitability of students seeking enrolment to advance to Forms One and Forms Five.

But the minister said such students would be made to terminate any tuition already in progress if it turns out they did not qualify when their results were eventually released.

Coltart also reiterated that no student shall be barred from attending classes for failure to pay fees.
He urged schools to turn to the courts to sue individual parents unable to pay fees for their children.
He said fees announced two weeks ago shall remain operational for the second term until the government reviewed them next term.

The government pegged US$5 as the fees for high-density primary schools while low-density government schools would demand US$10 from each pupil. Rural schools are not supposed to charge any tuition fees at primary level.

Rural secondary schools are supposed to charge US$5 per student, while US$10 and US$20 shall be paid by students attending high-density and low-density government schools in urban areas.

The minister also said any schools charging groceries as supplementary fees would be disciplined.
He also pleaded with Zimbabwean teachers to be patient with his ministry while it tried to source for more money from both the treasury and donor agencies.

Coltart said school levies could only be fixed after “there have been compliance with the relevant regulations that apply.

“Those include the necessity for school development committees to call meetings of parents,” he said.
“There needs to be a quorum of 20 percent of the parent body and there needs to be a majority vote in favour of the levies proposed.

“Once those levies have been approached by those parents in those meetings, the proposed levies are to be referred to the permanent secretary (of education) for his approval.”

Out of the levies deposited, Coltart said, a 10 percent quota should be given to repairs; sports and culture; administration; teachers’ incentives; and support staff while a 15 percent quota should go towards educational materials.