The Independent
By Enock Muchinjo
20th February 2009

ONE positive aspect of the new power-sharing government could be the appointment of sports enthusiast David Coltart as the Minister of Education, Sports and Culture. As a schoolboy in Bulawayo, Coltart was a keen cricketer and golfer at Christian Brothers College. He then opened the batting and played rugby as a flanker for the Zimbabwean Law Students Society at the University of Cape Town.

He represented Manicaland at golf in 1973, rubbing shoulders with local greats Nick Price, Tony Johnstone and Mark McNulty.

In a comprehensive interview with IndependentSport this week, Coltart promised transformation across the board in a bid to restore the country’s sporting glory.

“In many respects my vision for sports is the same as education,” he said. “What I said earlier was that we had the finest education in Africa in the 1980s. The same applies to sport. As a nation we have punched above our weight. Our hockey women won gold at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and our cricketers constantly perform well. Many of our athletes perform exceptionally well. However we have fallen away in the last 10 years, and I would like to restore the sporting glory of our nation.”

My feeling is that we have certain attributes that should allow us to perform well. We’ve got a wonderful climate which allows our sportsmen and women to play throughout the year, but we tend to disappoint in the major disciplines. In our football we have particularly under-performed. We’ve never gone to the World Cup.There is no reason why we should not qualify for World Cup. My feeling is that this is tied to the collapse of the economy. The key is the resuscitation of the economy in order to get sponsors back.”

Coltart pledged to revive cricket, a game of special interest to him.

“I’m a passionate supporter of Zimbabwe cricket. I try to watch every game they play,” he said.
“But the demise of our team in the last five years has been a cause of great distress. I look forward to playing a role in the rehabilitation of our cricket. Nothing will give me greater satisfaction.”

“Cricket needs to be restored.We need to revive the national academy at Highlands, and indeed we need academies in football and rugby and in the other smaller disciplines. But cricket is an area of my greatest concern. It has a high profile and generates foreign currency. Whilst I commend our young team for performing brilliantly in the recent tours of Bangladesh and Kenya, the fact remains that we have far too many talented players outside Zimbabwe who are not playing for the national team.”

“When I look at Sean Ervine’s average at Hampshire I say to myself ‘here is a guy who should be playing for us’. We need guys like that back. We need someone like Andy Flower to come back and coach our national team. The encouraging thing about cricket is that we can reclaim our former glory very quickly.”

He said Zimbabwe could return to the Test arena sooner than anticipated.

“Subject to us addressing concerns over accounts in ZC, and subject to us getting all our players back to chose the best team, it is not impossible to get back our Test status as soon as possible. We have to get politics and racism out of sports and start to perform.”

Administration matters will come under scrutiny during his reign, he said.

“I don’t know precisely what the situation is there. I have read the allegations and the defences. I want to know the truth and make recommendations to cabinet.I certainly want to have sight of the reports . I don’t want to speculate and rely on rumour. I stand for transparency. Unless there is transparency in our sports bodies we will continue to under-perform. Ineffectiveness affects ability to perform.”

“We’ve seen (this) in the English team recently when the captain fell out with the manager. Morale plummeted. Tatenda Taibu was one of our brightest prospects, but now he is involved in all these wrangles with officials. Instead of concentrating on his game he is focusing on that.
It is affecting his performance. Because of that the team is prejudiced.”

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key this week said he was prepared to order the players not to tour Zimbabwe in July on safety and health grounds.

“My call to the New Zealanders is clear and unequivocal,” he said. “They’ve got to give this coalition government a chance, and that applies to all levels. I would like to see the New Zealand team touring Zimbabwe. If need be I will go to New Zealand to persuade them to come, just the same way as I’ve been negotiating with teachers’ unions to get schools open. ”

“By saying that I am not turning a blind eye to the inadequacies in cricket and our country.
My call must not be interpreted that way.My call is in the interest of the public, the players and cricket in Zimbabwe. My call is in terms of sportsmanship.”

“It also applies to the broader context of political sanctions. But we need confidence building measures. For as long as people are in detention it’s hard to lift sanctions. The same applies to cricket. For as long as there are concerns there, my words will fall on deaf ears. If the whole political situation has not changed it will be hard for them to come. My call for the New Zealanders to tour is based on the expectation that the new government will be looking into these issues. We will look at the wider political issues seriously. My wish is that by the time they come in July the issues would have been dealt with.”

Turning to rugby, Coltart said the country could do well if the best players chose to stay.

“The front-row of the Springboks is controlled by two Zimbabweans, the Beast and Brian Mujati.
The Western Force in Australia have David Pocock. With that kind of talent coming from here there is no reason Zimbabwe should not perform at the level of the Super 14. That’s definitely a goal I have for rugby. We’ve got to talk to the SARU to get our team in a stronger league there.
But again that is tied to professionalism and resuscitation of the economy.”

Minor disciplines would also get attention, Coltart promised.

“In hockey, clearly the major priority must be to repair the two international stadiums in Harare and Bulawayo. Until we do that our hockey teams will be at a constant disadvantage.

“In swimming we have Kirsty Coventry, our Olympic champion, as a national asset.But I think one of our greatest failures is not encouraging the vast majority of Zimbabweans to take up swimming. We need to see black Kirsty Coventrys rise to the fore. I hope we can encourage Kirsty to come back to Zimbabwe and coach the next generation of Zimbabwean swimmers.
The key is to revitalise pools. Children have no pools to swim so funds permitting, we hope to revitalise the pools, particularly that world-class facility in Chitungwiza.”

He said Zimbabwe must take cue from leading sporting nations who use their former sportsmen to develop upcoming talent.

“Our tennis has declined. We used to be right up at the top in the Davis Cup. The secret to reviving tennis is to get back our former stars like the Blacks to coach. But again this ties to the economy. They can only come back when they can make a living here. Just like in golf;
we have some of the finest courses in the world. Some are run down but most are still functioning. We need to persuade our former stars like Nick Price and Tony Johnstone to come back to our country to revitalise the sport. What is encouraging is that we continue to produce top golfers like Marc Cayeux, who recently qualified for the British Open.”

Coltart’s immediate assignment is to help fund the national Sevens rugby team’s participation at the World Cup early next month, and the national soccer side which is set to take part in the inaugural African Nations Championship.

“Zifa came to see me today (Wednesday) wanting money. My reaction was to call the Minister of Finance. I’m still waiting for a response. I have the same policy regarding the World Cup.
But – we need to emphasis the government is cash-strapped. We don’t have sufficient money to pay civil servants in the middle of this country’s worst financial crisis. ”

“While we are sympathetic to the needs of Zifa and the World Cup, we cannot ignore the reality that there is very little money.At the moment I need to stress that education is the main focus. Until we’ve got children back in schools we can’t focus on sports. We hope that in the next week or so schools will open and then we can turn to the sports side of the ministry.”

Sports, through the Sports Commission, got a paltry budget allocation of just over US$300 000 in January.

“We are in the process of redoing the budget, but in that process we come up with the same problem; that coffers are empty. What we now have to do in the short term is to mobilise donors. In the long term we must then rely on the resuscitation of the economy, which is incredibly difficult in the context of world recession.”

Stronger sporting ties with South Africa, he said, should be encouraged.

“We can greatly benefit from ties with South Africa because they are obviously very strong and their sports are professional. Like I said we need to get our rugby team in a stronger league there, and also get at least two of our local cricket sides to play in the 45-over MTN domestic championship.”

Coltart believes Zimbabwe can still benefit when South Africa host next year’s Football World Cup.

“I had a meeting with the Minister of Tourism, Walter Mzembi, and then spoke with the Prime Minister who is in contact with some members of South Africa’s 2010 Organising Committee.

“Synergies between the two ministries are crucial. Even at a late stage like this, I think we can still benefit. I would like to see things stabilise so that some of the teams can set bases here.
At the very least we need to promote Zimbabwe as a tourism venue so that people can stop over here. I see golf as key to that. The fans who will come to South Africa are rich enough to play golf. Golf, sport and tourism blend well. We need to promote our golf courses and tourism venues.”

The Herald
20th February 2009
Harare Bureau

THE Warriors’ trip to the inaugural African Nations Championship finals — which had hung in the balance for the better part of yesterday — was finally confirmed last night after the Government committed itself to bankroll the cost of the team’s flight to Cote d’Ivoire.

Sunday Chidzambwa and his men are now scheduled to leave Harare this morning at 7.15am to Johannesburg where they will connect a direct flight to the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan later this afternoon.

But the issue of daily allowances for the travelling party and appearance fees for the players and their technical team remained unresolved last night forcing the Zifa board to go into an emergency meeting to try and find a solution.

The meeting followed a report made to the association by team captain Gilbert Banda late last night that some of his troops would choose rather not to travel to Cote d’Ivoire if there was no assurance that they would get their allowances and appearance fees.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Art and Culture David Coltart advised the Warriors, at a farewell ceremony in the capital last night, that the Government had only secured funds for them to fly to Cote D’Ivoire.

He said his attempts to secure funds to cover the team’s allowances and appearance fees had failed because the Government was also battling other urgent challenges which needed funding.
Coltart said it was important for the Warriors to understand the challenges facing the economy and, if teachers could be paid an allowance of US$100 a month, the national team players also needed to put their projected earnings into context during this difficult phase.

He said the fact that the funding for the airfares was only secured very late was a reflection of the challenges facing the Government and he urged the Warriors to go and play for the cause of their motherland rather than immediate financial rewards.

Coltart and his team at the Ministry spent the better part of yesterday trying to secure the funding for the team’s airfares, allowances and appearance fees.

When he came to give his address at the farewell ceremony at about 6.30pm last night, the funding for the trip had not yet been secured.

Then, after a number of phone calls, he revealed that they had managed to secure the funds for the airfares but nothing for the allowances and appearance fees.

“At the 11th hour, the Minister of Finance (Tendai Biti) has advised me that he has secured the US$36 000 that is needed for the airfares for the team to travel tomorrow (today). “That is the good news.“Obviously it’s important that we be represented at the tournament. It’s a matter of pride that we have our national team there.“But it’s a difficult period and there are other challenges and we should understand that we have been battling to raise funds to pay the teachers and we also have to pay the examination markers.“So we find ourselves in a situation where on one hand we want funds to send the national team and then on the other end the same funds are needed to pay the examination markers for the O’ Levels.”

Coltart challenged the Warriors to appreciate the challenging environment but, even without adequate funding, to go and produce their best in Cote d’Ivoire.

“Obviously the decision to release the money for the airfares has put our budget under a lot of strain because there are a lot of other challenges.

“There is an extreme shortage of money in our national coffers but I have always insisted that it’s a matter of pride that the team goes and participate at the tournament.

“The players are our flag bearers, our ambassadors and we always want them to go out there and represent the nation and that is why we have been moving heaven and earth to try and get the money.

“I wish the team the best of luck and hopefully they will lift the nation’s spirits by doing very well. “We simply have to resolve as a nation that this (last-minute search for funding) will not happen again and we have to plan well in advance.”

The Warriors would have faced a possible ban, from the next two editions of the Nations Cup finals (2002 and 2004) if the team had pulled out of the final competition.

And, Coltart said, that would have been disastrous.

“It’s unthinkable that the our nation should not contest the next two tournaments. This is a great nation and we have tremendous men and women who can compete at the highest level.
“Our goal should be that we rebuild our entire nation, not just the health sector or the education sector but also the sporting sector.Some of the players (in the Warriors) are young enough to play at the 2014 World Cup finals.”

The minister said when he met Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya and Sports Commission director-general Charles Nhemachena on Wednesday, he did not give them the commitment that the budget of US$138 000 would be wholly funded.

“What I told them was that I understood their plight and I would go to the Ministry of Finance and try, as best as I could, to secure the funds.I told them that I would give 110 percent effort.”

The US$138 000 was meant to cover the cost of the team’s airfares, the players’ allowances and appearance fees, the officials’ allowances and expenses related to their medical requirements.

The cost of their accommodation, transport and food in Cote d’Ivoire — during the duration of the tournament — will be met by the host country.

The original budget submitted by Zifa to the Sports Commission last month to cover the cost of the national team’s participation at the tournament was for US$394 000.

But after a series of meetings on Wednesday, the budget was first slashed to US$174 000 before it was further reduced to the final figure of US$138 000.

“Rushwaya said they submitted their budget on January 8 this year and the Sports Commission forwarded it to the relevant authorities five days later.

“Our budget was done early and we took it to the Sports Commission and the directorgeneral acted on it very quickly and, as per protocol, forwarded it to the relevant authorities in Government.

“Somewhere along the line, the document was not given the attention that it needed and this is what has resulted in us now having to be in this desperate situation.So suddenly we found ourselves in a crisis.”

If the US$138 000 budget had been funded the players’ daily out-of-pocket allowances — for the duration of their stay in Cote d’Ivoire — would have been US$50 per individual.

The Warriors are in Group B and have been pitted against Ghana’s Black Stars, the Democratic Republic of Congo and dark horses Libya.

Chidzambwa’s men are considered the lightweights of the group — especially given that the majority of the players who could have made a difference have dropped from the team since the start of the year.

Midfield anchorman Justice Majabvi became ineligible when he joined an Austrian club while striker Edward Sadomba followed suit by joining a Mozambican side last week.Clemence Matawu — the leading Zimbabwean goalscorer in the competition with three goals — was also left out of the 23 man squad as he is in Poland hunting for a new club. Method Mwanjali and Evans Chikwaikwai — winner of the Golden Boot and Soccer Star of the Year award — are also in Poland.The CHAN tournament is restricted to players plying their trade in their home leagues.

Africa Sport
20 February 200
By Alice Chimora

No solution to dilemma after ZIFA emergency meeting

The Zimbabwe Warriors’ trip to the inaugural African Nations Championship finals is in doubt as the soccer governing body ZIFA had not secured the needed funds. The team was set to depart Friday morning for Cote d’Ivoire.

Unlike its “big brother”, the biennial African Cup of Nations, this two-week gathering of eight countries is restricted to footballers who play in their country of birth.

By last night Government had not committed its self in bailing out the trip sighting lack of cash.
A total of US$138 000 is needed to cover the cost of the team’s airfares, the players’ allowances and appearance fees, the officials’ allowances and expenses related to their medical requirements.

But the issue of daily allowances for the traveling party and appearance fees for the players and their technical team remained unresolved last night, forcing the Zifa board to go into an emergency meeting to try and find a solution.

The meeting followed a report made to the association by team captain Gilbert Banda late last night that some of his troops would rather choose not to travel to Cote d’Ivoire if there was no assurance that they would get their allowances and appearance fees.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Art and Culture David Coltart advised the Warriors, at a farewell ceremony in the capital last night, that the Government had only secured funds for them to fly to Cote d’Ivoire.

He said his attempts to secure funds to cover the team’s allowances and appearance fees had failed because the Government was also battling other urgent challenges which needed funding.

Coltart said if teachers could be paid an allowance of US$100 a month, the national team players also needed to put their projected earnings into context during this difficult phase.

Meanwhile, Ghana the likeliest winners of the tournament.

It is in the same group with Zimbabwe, Libya and DR Congo.

The Zimbabwean
19th February 2009

HARARE – Zimbabwe Education Minister David Coltart has told teachers that the new unity government is ” broke” and unable to meet their pay demands, union leaders told ZimOnline on Thursday.

Coltart met leaders of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) on Wednesday to plead with the two unions that represent the country’s teachers to call off a strike for more pay that has been going on since last year and has grounded the school system.

The Education Minister was not immediately available for comment on the matter.

The ZIMTA and PTUZ leaders said Coltart had been frank with them telling them government could not afford to give teachers more than the US$100-monthly allowance awarded all civil servants because it had no money.

The union leaders – who appeared amenable to Coltart’s plea to end the strike but insisted they would only take a final decision on the matter after consulting their members – said Coltart had told them he would approach United Nations agencies and international donors to try to raise cash to pay teachers.

“He (Coltart) briefed us about what the Ministry of Finance has offered all civil servants from a floor cleaner to a senior manager which is US$100 vouchers which are redeemable at banks,” said ZIMTA secretary general, Richard Gundani.

“He said on his part as Minister, he will engage United Nations agencies and other international donors to help because he said there is no money in government,” added Gundani.

Majongwe, who had earlier on Wednesday before meeting Coltart told ZimOnline, that PTUZ members would continue with the strike, said the Education Minister pleaded with teachers to return to classrooms while he scrounges for cash for their salaries.

He said: “Coltart was clear that the government is very broke. He pleaded with us to bear with the new government and go back to work.”

Gundani and Majongwe said they were consulting their structures before meeting Coltart next Monday to brief him on the outcome of their consultations with teachers.

But Majongwe hinted that teachers might return to schools in order to give the new government time to raise funds.

“There is a possibility we can give them a benefit of the doubt,” Majongwe said. “We might concede but on condition that the government accepts to admit all teachers that left the profession due to economic hardships and political circumstances without any conditionalities.”

Gundani said it was agreed that any teacher who left the profession with effect from 1 January 2009 should be re-engaged unconditionally.

The Chronicle
Comment
19th February 2009

The past year was devoted largely to seeking to build consensus on the need for unity of political players so that we could see the country unleash its full potential. Having tied up the loose ends in September last year with the signing of the Global Political Agreement, the focus this year turns to rebuilding the country as all sectors seek to pull in the same direction.

The inclusive Government is now in place and getting down to business to attend to the concerns of the nation, and from their statements it would appear, they know the priority areas.

It is in this spirit that we believe the civil servants, especially teachers have to return to work while negotiations for improved conditions of service for them are allowed to continue.

Civil servants have had a raw deal for a long time now but it would be amiss to insinuate that they are the only ones who are lowly paid since even workers in the private sector are paid paltry salaries.
We believe there is a serious need to overhaul pay structures across the board to recognise the gallant efforts of the thousands of workers that did not desert their homeland but soldiered on for salaries that were not even enough to pay their way to work.

It is important, however, to realise that the money has to come from somewhere and that before we restore productivity, we cannot expect to be paid handsomely since wealth creation has to precede healthy reward.

We implore teachers and other civil servants who have not reported for duty to do so and have faith in the commitments that have been made by the new Government.

The Government on its part has to get our industry working again through prudent policies that will attract investment whose fruit would then cascade to the workers as better pay.

It is also important that the new Government does not give conflicting signals such as saying it does not have money while being seemingly extravagant. The period ahead of us should be a time for belt-tightening for the workers as well as politicians who should be prepared to see their perks cut as they sacrifice for the sake of the nation.

Once that spirit of sacrifice filters through in all sectors we will then be able to take our country forward. True leadership shall be exhibited during these trying times since the true leaders will stay the course and not lose sight of their vision even though its fulfilment might be delayed.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Art and Culture, Senator David Coltart, noted that by continuing with the strike teachers were destroying the future of a whole generation.

“The Government is in a very grave economical crisis and we do not have sufficient resources to give them what they want. We are very much aware of their plight and will try all we can to satisfy their needs. The issue cannot be addressed overnight,” said Sen Coltart.

While the teachers’ concerns are legitimate, we would like to urge them to return to work since their message has been driven home and the authorities are attending to their concerns. If our vision as a nation is to get Zimbabwe flourishing again, teachers have to take their part towards the fulfilment of that vision by executing their calling.

Zimbabwe Independent
19 February 2009

THE inclusive government formed last week faces a daunting task to stabilise the economic situation, revive social services and generally improve the living standards of the majority of people wallowing in poverty.
The Zimbabwe Independent looks at the challenges some ministries have to surmount to bring about stability.

Finance

Finance minister Tendai Biti has a Herculean task to restore confidence in the country’s flagging economy.

His ministry’s major task will be to reengage bilateral and multilateral financiers like the African Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to provide balance of payments support and lines of credit to kick-start the comatose economy.

With arrears close to US$500 million owed to the IMF and the WB, Biti and technocrats in his ministry have to convince the world of the country’s creditworthiness.

The ministry should come up with a robust repayment plan for what it owes the international community.

The Finance ministry should restore confidence in the financial sector that is currently in limbo after the introduction of multi-currencying.

Another immediate task for Biti is local resource mobilisation through the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) which resumed trading yesterday.

Trading on the bourse was suspended last November amid allegations by the Reserve Bank of insider deals, costing government billions of dollars in lost revenue from taxes.

Stockbrokers said Thursday there were still issues to be sorted out relating to multi-currency trading, revaluation of Zimbabwe-dollar-denominated stocks and synchronisation of foreign currency accounts.

Biti and RBZ governor Gideon Gono also have to resolve their differences over the financing of quasi-fiscal activities which have been blamed for fuelling inflation.

The Finance ministry also has to come up with a revised national Budget to finance new ministries created by the inclusive government and channel more money to social services to protect the poor.
Biti has to raise funds to deal with the current humanitarian crisis — the cholera outbreak and feeding over five million people facing starvation.

Education

The Ministry of Education headed by David Coltart and the Ministry of Higher education led by Stan Mudenge have somewhat similar challenges ahead of them.

Prolonged job actions from staff demanding better remuneration is just a microcosm of the total collapse of the country’s education system.

The revision of tuition fees at tertiary schools is also a major hurdle that Coltart and Mudenge will face amid outcries from parents and students demanding a slash in the recently announced fees.

Zimsec, the country’s examination board currently dogged by administrative constraints, requires urgent attention in restoring its lost credibility and integrity. With dollarisation in place parents could be forced to register with foreign examination boards.

New Zimbabwe.com
16th February 2009

ZIMBABWE’S civil servants gave a lukewarm response to new Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s call for them to return to work on the back of his inauguration day promise that their salaries would now be paid in United States dollars, starting this month.

Teachers’ unions called on their members to remain on strike until Tsvangirai fleshes out his proposal made last Wednesday.

The full Cabinet of Zimbabwe’s new power sharing government meets on Tuesday, following which Tsvangirai is expected to give details of the new measures designed to end crippling strikes by teachers and health services staff. Indiscipline has also been creeping into the military as soldiers also watch their salaries wiped off by the country’s record inflation of over 2 million percent.

Tsvangirai, joined by Education Minister David Coltart, was expected to meet union leaders on Monday, with many teachers noticeably ignoring his call to return to work. Most schools continued to be manned by skeletal staff – almost a month after the first school term officially opened.
The teachers want to be paid US$2,300 per month, and unions are sceptical Tsvangirai’s proposal will meet their demands.

Representatives of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said they want the Prime Minister to spell out details of his salary offer.
“Our members have not reported for duty and will not be going back to work as they are still incapacitated,” Richard Gundani, the secretary general of ZIMTA told Radio VoP.

“We are looking forward to a resolution. We will be meeting the Prime Minister and the minister (David Coltart) to find out about the payment of all civil servants in foreign currency by month-end.”
The joint negotiating arm of the Zimbabwe civil servants, the Apex Council, is also due to hold a bargaining meeting with the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Wednesday this week.

“We are going to put forward certain recommendations to the Prime Minister and the PSC. But as far as we are concerned our demands still stand,” said Gundani.

Oswald Madziva, PTUZ’s spokesperson, said they would demand that the Prime Minister disclose how much the government intended paying teachers.

“The Prime Minister’s statement that civil servants should be paid in hard currency resonates with our demands as teachers but the problem with his pronouncement is that he has not revealed the figures. We are seeking clarification but as far as we concerned, our members are not at work. It is only at private schools where business is as usual,” said Madziva.

The Age
Peter Roebuck
February 16, 2009

ALTHOUGH denied access to the 2000 bottles of champagne, 8000 lobsters, 400 portions of caviar and 500 bottles of whisky (almost enough to quench the thirst of crooked cricket officials rightfully worried about the appointment of David Coltart as sports minister) put aside for Mugabe’s forthcoming 85th birthday party, the Australians ought to enjoy themselves in South Africa.

To that end, they might consider adopting the attitude taken by Graeme Smith and company on their recent visit to Australia. Previously long-faced, the Proteas were almost jovial as they toured the country and it showed in their cricket. Refusing to dwell on distractions such as laser beams and oafs and collapses, the Proteas were popular and successful.

Ricky Ponting and chums must likewise forget about frowns and play positive cricket. Already the selectors have played their part by turning towards youth. Yesterday they hurled David Warner and Moises Henriques into the fray. Previously it had been Peter Siddle and Andrew Macdonald, both included in the touring party. Next comes Phillip Hughes, a sparky batsmen with ear studs but, happily, not tattoos. Mistakes have been made but the determination to break away from the era of 31-year-old debutants has merit.

Accordingly, the Australians will arrive in Africa without the baggage they have been carrying all season. Youngsters tend not to worry about margin loans, breaking bodies or upset partners. Whereas seasoned campaigners can be thrown off course by outside forces, youngsters can retain simplicity. Part of the trick in sport is to stay young as long as possible while absorbing the lessons time alone can bring. Matthew Hayden, Andrew Symonds, Brett Lee were bogged down by a variety of issues, and it showed. The main recent mistake involved Brad Haddin’s gloves and response, conduct that did not stop him ascending to the T20 captaincy.

Alas the Aussies must confront the Proteas without Stuart Clark, the most missed and least mentioned of the injured old guard. Clark first made his mark in Cape Town with a withering spell on a lively surface. Till then he had been cast as an impressive domestic seamer, a tag nowadays carried by Shane Harwood. Ever since that imposing debut, the Proteas have held the property expert in high regard. Without wishing him any harm, they were delighted by Clark’s absence this summer. Batsmen fear bowlers capable of pinning them down and darting the ball about.

Obviously the Australians have not been given much time to pack their bags, let alone adjust to local conditions. After last night’s match they had to hasten to their hotels, catch 40 winks and then hurry to the airport for a morning flight to Africa. Towards the end of the week, they will start their only practise match in the university town and former Afrikaner stronghold of Potchefstroom.

But cricketers have become adept at changing mindsets and techniques at the drop of a hat. Jean-Paul Duminy’s performances this season were proof enough of that. Nor can complaints about exhaustion be tolerated from players eager to spend their spare time playing cricket in India.

Despite all the misgivings, the Australians will be hard to beat in a series likely to be played on grassy and seaming surfaces. Pace remains the side’s strongpoint, with Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and the swingers capable of forming an honest combination. Assuming Michael Clarke is fully fit, the batting has a solid ring to it, too. Marcus North has much to offer, but Macdonald’s batting may be deemed too dodgy for such a central role.

Of course, this assumes a match goes ahead, which cannot any longer be taken for granted. The debacle in Antigua was a new low for the game. It is inexcusable that a match can be cancelled after 10 balls and those responsible must be held to account. Nothing changed in the the days before the match. Thousands of visitors and umpteen television viewers were left in the lurch and the current players were embarrassed a week after a brilliant victory. Julian Hunte must resign as chairman. Equally puffed-up past players must put up or shut up.

Australia may find conditions at the Wanderers and Durban to their liking. Both wickets offer bounce and pace. Home advantage might not count for as much as it did in India. Sometimes it is easier playing away from home, as challengers and with a limited number of players to call on. All the more reason to look forward to a tight and compelling Test series.

The Telegraph
By Sebastien Berger and Peta Thornycroft in Harare
15 February 2009

Zimbabwe’s new power-sharing government will be put to the test on Monday when the treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change appears in court charged after being charged with attempted terrorism.

Roy Bennett, a former white farmer whose coffee plantation was stolen during President Robert Mugabe’s land seizures, had been named as deputy agriculture minister but was arrested on Friday, hours before the new cabinet was sworn in.

The spectacle will offer an indication of whether the unity government with Mr Mugabe will work, and grist to the mill of critics of the agreement, who believe that Zimbabwe’s ageing president – who turns 85 this week – cannot be trusted.

Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC leader and Zimbabwe’s prime minister, blamed hardliners in Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party who were looking to sabotage the new authority.

The arrest “undermines the spirit of our agreement,” he said. “It is very important to maintain the momentum of our agreement. We have to budget for some residual resistance from those who see this deal as a threat to their interest.”

It is not the first time Mr Bennett has been held. A long-standing opponent and victim of Mr Mugabe’s regime, on one occasion in his home town, Chimanimani, his screams could be heard in the street outside the Central Intelligence Organisation offices as he was tortured. He has served a prison sentence for shoving over the then justice minister Patrick Chinamasa in parliament.

After his latest arrest, at an airfield outside Harare, he was taken to Mutare, in eastern Zimbabwe. His lawyer, Trust Mhanda, said yesterday that his client would appear in court today (mon) accused of attempting to commit terrorism, banditry and sabotage.

At first police interrogated him for attempting to leave the country, then treason, before finally settling on the charges, said Mr Mhanda.

“The police must have realised that they had no leg to stand on,” he said of the treason accusation. “Their case would not hold water.”

Shots were fired in the air by police to disperse hundreds of MDC supporters who surrounded Mutare police station on Friday night, the party said.

The new charges relate to discredited claims dating from 2006 of a plot to sabotage essential services, with Mr Bennett supposedly involved in funding the purchase of arms and explosives. He denies the accusations and believes they are politically motivated, Mr Mhanda added.

Peter Hitschmann, a German-born Zimbabwean, is currently serving a prison sentence in connection with the alleged plot, having been accused of trying to create a military cell to topple Mr Mugabe.
A member of the army testified against him and around a dozen weapons, mostly automatic firearms, and piles of ammunition were shown off in court in Mutare.

Hitschmann was convicted of holding unlicensed weapons, and according to his barrister Eric Matinenga – now an MDC minister – Mr Bennett’s name never came up at the trial.

David Coltart, the MDC’s education minister and a lawyer himself, said: “Roy Bennett came back to the country openly and demonstrated, in that, that he has no intention to evade the authorities, and to that extent one questions why they had to arrest him in the way they did.

“It appears to be in breach of the spirit of the political agreement. The manner in which this has been done smacks of vindictiveness and possibly an intention by hawks in Zanu PF to cause the unity government to fail.”

In a statement the MDC said: “These charges have long been discredited and shown to be fictitious. Clearly they are on a fishing expedition, clutching at straws and know fully well that there is no basis, even suspicion, at law to charge Roy Bennett.”

Sunday Telegraph
15 February 2009
By Graham Boynton

The new Zimbabwe was born last Wednesday with a whimper rather than with whoops of delight, and then turned to dark farce as the week progressed.

The Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was sworn in by the old despot, Robert Mugabe, in a joyless ceremony in a tent. Mugabe’s wife, the ghastly couture-clad Grace, refused to shake hands with Tsvangirai.

Then on Friday, before he was to be sworn in as deputy agriculture minister, the MDC’s Roy Bennett was arrested and has now been charged with treason. And at the latest count at least 14 of Tsvangirai’s party activists remained in police detention – amid accusations of torture – in spite of the fact that their release was supposed to be a precondition for the country’s new era of coalition government.

Sceptical observers – and anyone who has followed the rape of Zimbabwe over the past decade can be forgiven for being sceptical – take these signals as evidence that neither Mugabe nor his hardline Zanu-PF inner circle are going to honour the content or the spirit of the coalition agreement.

Even if the 85-year-old ruler is wilting slightly after almost 30 years of running this once prosperous country into the ground, the Zanu-PF hawks who surround him are desperate to hang onto power. For although this power-sharing deal, forced on him by fellow African leaders, may have saved Mugabe from a trial in the Hague, his generals may not escape prosecution for crimes against humanity.

Tsvangirai and close advisers have taken a great risk. One member of the new unity cabinet, who spoke on condition of anonymity, has said that the success or failure of the coalition government would be clear within two weeks.

David Coltart, the Bulawayo MDC Senator who is part of the smaller MDC faction led by the new Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, is more circumspect. He says that while he recognises huge problems “that even the finest government in the world would find enormously difficult to deal with” there has been a significant step forward. He says it represents a substantial reduction in Zanu-PF’s power base and will hopefully begin to isolate the hardliners.

It is now widely believed that Mugabe and the hardliners did not really think Tsvangirai would sign the coalition agreement, and that the point of their rolling campaign of arrests, torture and murders of MDC officials and supporters was to dissuade him from doing so.

However, with the support of African Union countries such as Botswana, Zambia and Tanzania, he has outflanked Zanu-PF, and with half Mugabe’s ministers having lost their posts to the MDC the first signs of cracks in the ruling elite are now expected to emerge.

Now it is time for the international community to share Tsvangirai’s risk. It is too easy for Gordon Brown and David Miliband to utter cautionary remarks, as they both did last week, and play the roles of cool Western politicians, but what the people of Zimbabwe need right now is for Tsvangirai’s bold move to be seen to be having an impact on this broken country.

To that end, in his first speech he implored the civil servants, the teachers and the hospital workers to return to work and promised to pay them foreign currency rather than the now valueless Zimbabwe dollar. The assumption here is that he has received promises of financial support from African Union allies, but to maintain the momentum the support of the EU countries and Obama’s born-again America is required.

Unfortunately, our recent history of helping Zimbabwe has been uniformly dreadful. For the past eight years – since the first farm invasions – the international community has vacillated, fidgeted and fulminated and achieved nothing. Thus Mugabe, his shopping wife and his larcenous inner circle have roamed the world seemingly free to spend their Treasury’s money and to have their children educated at our most expensive schools and universities.

Now we can make up for these years of inactivity, during which this lovely country has plunged from prosperity to bankruptcy, disease and famine, by getting behind its rehabilitation.

In Africa everything is possible. One only has to look back to apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, when the idea of Nelson Mandela being freed, never mind actually leading the country, seemed as fanciful as a modern-day banker handing back his bonus out of guilt.

Post-Mandela South Africa is a world apart from the country run by the granite apartheidists and it is to that miraculous transition beleaguered Zimbabweans look in hope. Indeed, at his first rally as Prime Minister last week Morgan Tsvangirai reminded his supporters that it was 19 years ago to the day that Mandela was freed from prison and warned them that this did not signify the end of his people’s struggle for democracy.

So, too, with Zimbabwe. This ungainly attempt to form a coalition government with the architects of the country’s downfall is fraught with difficulties but it is a first step. This is Tsvangirai’s interim government before the next election, and if he holds it together in the face of Zanu-PF’s determination to wreck it then Zimbabwe has a glimmer of hope. That is why the West must now support him unequivocally.