Bulawayo 24 News

22 January 2017

By Patrick Guramatunhu

“We cannot say anything other than condemn those who are resorting to violence and we only hope our plea will convert them because it does not help our democracy,” said Professor Madhuku. He was reacting to the story of the beating of his NCA Bikita West by-election candidate and his manager.

Professor Madhuku your NCA friends were lucky they were beaten and shot at and lived to tell the story. Hundreds of thousands Zimbabweans were beaten and raped and over 500 were murdered in cold blood in the 2008 elections alone. Zimbabwe is not democracy but an autocratic dictatorship which has mastered the art of rigging elections and has no qualms in using violence to retain power. It is just people like you, Tsvangirai, Joice Mujuru and all the other opposition minions out there are focused on winning the few gravy train seats Zanu PF throws at the opposition you refuse to see the political reality of the dictatorship.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” wrote Senator David Coltart in his book.

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

It was only after the rigged July 2013 elections, when many of the MDC leaders had failed to secure any seats on the gravy train, only then did MDC leaders finally saw the need to implement the reforms and boycott all future elections until the reforms are implemented. “No reform, no elections!” was rammed down the throats of Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti and all the other MDC leaders by the reality of the blatant vote rigging.

It is not that Professor Madhuku and his NCA, Joice Mujiru with her Zim PF and all the new kids on the block do not know what a democracy is and that Zimbabwe is not a democracy; they do. They are all taking part in the election knowing Zanu PF will rig the vote and commit wanton violence just to be absolutely certain there is no regime change. Madhuku and company will contest the elections for the same reason MDC contested the 2013 elections – greed.

Zanu PF will keep throwing the few seats to the opposition to keep them interested, the regime needs these token opposition to give the election process a measure of credibility and the few seats is a small price to pay.

Having a token opposition representation is not something new, Ian Smith had a few black MPs in pre-independent Zimbabwe. There were little more than talking manikins in parliament you would not know it the way these MPs drummed their chest like silverback gorillas. Ian Smith had no problem getting people to fill the talking manikin MP posts! Zanu PF too will never have to worry about the opposition boycotting elections, regardless how flawed and unfair they are, there will always be some opposition candidates fighting over the scraps!

“It is shocking to realise that as all this madness happens, Zec has not said or done anything when the nation is expecting to hear from them if they take their work seriously,” said Madhuku, adding that the electoral body risks losing credibility.

No Professor Madhuku, it is you who lost all credibility; you clearly do not have common sense to know ZEC has been corrupted the commission considers helping Zanu PF rig the elections as their primary task.

If anyone thought that the beating of NCA officials in Bikita West has opened Professor Madhuku’s eyes they will be disappointed to know that had no effect. As long as there are scraps to be had Madhuku and company will be fighting over them.

“We cannot say anything other than condemn those who are resorting to violence and we only hope our plea will convert them because it does not help our democracy,” Madhuku said.

“We also call upon the electorate to remain steadfast and not to be intimidated into giving up. We must never reward perpetrators of violence by doing that.”

The real question for the country now is how many more innocent Zimbabweans must be beaten, raped and even murdered to finally convince people like Madhuku, Mujuru, etc. that Zimbabwe is not a democracy and elections are flawed?

Newsday

21 January 2017

By Sakheleni Nxumalo

LEGENDARY Zimbabwean swimmer, Kirsty Coventry says she is encouraged by efforts to develop the sport at grassroots level and feels vindicated for choosing to return home after her retirement.

Coventry was in Bulawayo yesterday, where she was the guest of honour at the official opening of Petra High School’s new swimming pool.

Speaking at the function, the multiple Olympic medal winner said: “This is encouraging and it makes my decision to come back to our beautiful country, so much easier when you see things like this come together.

“To see something like this come to life just shows the community strength when people come together for a common goal and for common good. That good is only going to encourage our youths and our kids to make an impact.”

Coventry is Africa’s most decorated Olympian after accumulating seven Olympic medals during her illustrious career.

She took time to race against upcoming swimmers from both Petra Primary and Petra High schools after the official opening ceremony.

Former Education minister David Coltart, in his address when introducing Coventry, said she possessed three characteristics that propelled her to greatness.

“Kirsty’s achievements are a result of sheer determination, humility and patriotism. Some athletes are so consumed with their own importance, but Kirsty is very considerate of others and we appreciate what she means to us and our great nation,” he said.

Petra School board chairman, Ian Connolly said the swimming pool would not only benefit the school, but the whole Bulawayo community.

“We are very excited to have this facility and that’s a facility not just for Petra, but for the community and that is how we want it to be seen, as something that is not just celebrating us as a school, but it’s celebrating this Bulawayo community,” he said.

Matabeleland Swimming Board chairperson, Nokuthula Cyprianos concurred with Connolly and said the new pool would help grow the sport in the region.

Also present during the ceremony was national cricket team coach, Heath Streak, whose son Harry was part of the swimmers that took to the pool with Coventry yesterday.

Daily News

18 January 2017

By Jeffrey Muvundusi

Former Education minister David Coltart has waded into Zanu PF’s deadly tribal, factional and succession wars, becoming the latest prominent figure to challenge Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa to “come clean” on his mooted presidential aspirations.

This comes as Zanu PF’s two major factions have been savaging each other with malicious intent ever since the images of Mnangagwa holding a coffee mug inscribed with the words “I Am the Boss” emerged in the public domain a fortnight ago.

But, Coltart who was recently quoted by an influential British magazine suggesting that Mnangagwa was the Zanu PF bigwig who was most likely to succeed President Robert Mugabe, told the Daily News yesterday that the Midlands godfather needed to be upfront about his presidential ambitions.

“Mnangagwa has a constitutional right, along with the rest of us, to aspire for political office. There is nothing wrong with that, and good luck to him.

“But I have a word of advice for him which is in two parts. Firstly, he needs to be open with us, as there is this cat-and-mouse game being played in our country where it’s obvious to everyone that he has presidential aspirations but he continues with the fiction that he doesn’t want this.

“We all know he has presidential aspirations, he should just come out and say so,” Coltart told the Daily News.

He also said it was prudent for Mnangagwa to issue a public apology for his alleged role during the Gukurahundi massacres of the early 1980s, in which an estimated 20 000 innocent civilians were killed by the army mainly in Matabeleland and the Midlands, if his aspirations were to be eventually and successfully fulfilled.

“Secondly, he needs to draw the line in the sand regarding his past. All of us have a past. If you look in my book (The Struggle Continues: 50 Years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe) I tried to draw a line in the sand to say that is what happened, I am not proud about it but I want to move forward.

“Mnangagwa needs to do the same. I think he will find a refreshing response from the people.

“If Mnangagwa can come clean with the people of Matabeleland, he might be surprised by how forgiving they are,” Coltart added.

Mnangagwa’s allies, particularly a large cross-section of war veterans, have also escalated their loud calls for Mugabe to retire and pave way for his long time aide to take over the reins at both party and government level.

Early this week, expelled former Mashonaland Central youth chairman, Godfrey Tsenengamu, also warned that the VP’s followers were becoming impatient with his softly-softly strategy.

Tsenengamu also warned that if Mnangagwa did not confront Mugabe and the succession issue now, he risked losing much of the support of his battle-weary followers and other Zimbabweans who were yearning for change.

“ED (Mnangagwa) is too loyal to Mugabe and we can’t eat his loyalty to his leader. We are worried about our future as a younger generation and if what matters to him is his loyalty to Mugabe then they are going to go down together because we can’t vote for Mugabe in 2018,” Tsenengamu said emphatically.

Sacked former Cabinet minister and war veterans’ leader, Christopher Mutsvangwa, together with his executive, have also stepped up their efforts to force Mugabe to step down, accusing the increasingly frail nonagenarian of being at the centre of the country’s rot.

And like Tsenengamu, Mutodi and Mutsvangwa, former Zanu PF chairman for Mashonaland West province, Temba Mliswa, has also recently suggested that Mugabe should hand over power to Mnangagwa as the ruling party’s succession wars burn ever hotter.

Bulawayo News 24

By Stephen Jakes

16 January 2017

A political commentator and leader of the Zimbabwe Communist Party Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena has insisted that Barbourfields Stadium must be named after the late Zipra Commander Lookout Masuku following Bulawayo City Councillors’ reneging to do so as they opposed the change of historical names but only offered to honour him through naming a street after him.

Mabhena posed a question as to why the park in Bulawayo was named ‘Centenary park’.

“If we do not identify with the name or it does not make sense, we have to rename it , ‘Judith Todd Park’. She is one of us ,we must honour her but let us first Rename BF into General Lookout Masuku Stadium,” he said.

“At some point we need to find a structure and honour Senator David Coltart, the man who represented our ZIPRA cadres during Gukurahundi. We have a long list of our people we must honour, politicians, musicians , soccer stars, intellectuals, community leaders and etc. Mkhulu lumsebenzi.”

His remarks were buttressed by Melusi Vumisa who said its not about changing our history, its about recognising our heroes.

“:Judith Todd is one of us. She suffered a lot for me and you, therefore she deserves that recognition. We also have to change streets named after Robert Mugabe (President) and other Shonas. We have our own heroes to be celebrated. Mashonaland is big enough to accommodate all of them,” he said.

Collin Sibanda said “We don’t build we just destroy naming places must be done in new locations what must be changed is dictator Robert Mugabe way we don’t need it laye u Leopord Takawira the rest must remain u can’t erase history . Kanti njengoba abantu behlupheka kangaka u Lookout Masuku wayethanda iBF ukuthi ibizwe ngaye that was supposed to be done alive ! 4me Peter Ndlovu ,Adam , Rahman Gumbo , Benjamin Konjera , Maruwaru , Esrom Nyandoro etc deserve street names they’re heroes we know.”

Bulawayo 24 News

15 January 2017

THE Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education says implementation of the new curriculum has been smooth so far with no challenges reported from schools, amid criticism from some individuals and teacher organisations that the process was rushed.

Implementation of the curriculum started on Tuesday last week when schools opened for the first term this year following successful piloting between May and September 2016.

In an interview, Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango said implementation of the new curriculum started off well. She, however, took aim at critics, among them former education minister Mr David Coltart, who was quoted in some sections of the media expressing concern over the implementation of the new curriculum.

“I’m deeply concerned about what my successor is doing to education,” Sen Coltart was quoted saying while Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Mr Takavafira Zhou, in his beginning of the year message, claimed that implementation of the new curriculum had been chaotic.

“The rushed implementation of new curriculum with immediate effect has left teachers wondering where to start as the syllabi and teaching resources are not yet in schools,” he said.

Dr Utete-Masango challenged Mr Coltart and other critics to come forward with their input and not grandstand in the media.

“He (Mr Coltart) should point out exactly what is chaotic. He shouldn’t just criticise for the sake of it because he is no longer in the driver’s seat. It won’t help anyone to just criticise. Come forward with your input and we look at it,” she said.

She added that there was nothing amiss so far in the implementation of the new curriculum.

“So far there hasn’t been anything amiss. We haven’t received any reports of any challenges,” said Dr Utete-Masango.

“Right now we are busy putting together information from all our centres before coming up with a proper assessment, but so far so good.”

Dr Utete-Masango dismissed claims that syllabi and teaching resources were not yet in schools, a position that has also been backed by National Association of Primary School Heads (Naph) and National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) chairpersons.

The new curriculum, whose thrust is on life skills has ushered a number of changes to pupils learning process. New learning areas under the new curriculum include heritage studies, life-skills orientation programme, visual and performing arts, sport and mass displays, information and communication technology.

The new curriculum also has cross-cutting themes from infant school to Advanced Level which include gender, children’s rights, disaster risk management, financial literacy, sexuality, HIV and Aids, child protection, heritage studies, collaboration and environmental issues.

Continuous assessment is also another key component of the new curriculum where pupils’ final grade will be derived from their coursework and examination marks.

Under the new curriculum, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education introduced the national schools pledge for pupils as a way of instilling a sense of patriotism among learners.

Newsday

14 January 2017

Sport and Recreation minister Makhosini Hlongwane yesterday announced a new National Boxing Control Board, with Richard Hondo bouncing back as the chairman, four years after he was shown the exit.

The appointment is likely to cause a furore in the local boxing fraternity, as Hondo is accused of presiding over the demise of the sport, until it was revived recently.

Hondo, was in charge of the board from 1980 before he was removed by then Sport minister David Coltart in 2013.

However, Hlongwane has appointed him back into office, and he will take charge for the next three years.

In a statement yesterday, Hlongwane said: “The Ministry of Sport and Recreation advises of the appointment of a new Zimbabwe National Boxing Control Board in terms of section 5 of the Boxing and Wrestling Control Act, with effect from January 12, 2017. The new board is mandated to steer the boxing sector for the duration of its tenure with an emphasis on activating and re-organising structures that enable professional boxing to thrive in Zimbabwe, promoting the participation of women in professional boxing, resource mobilisation for the professional boxing sector, raising the profile of professional boxing in Zimbabwe and efficiently assisting boxers, promoters, managers and officials in the discharge of their duties.”

Former Zimbabwe light and middleweight boxer, Mordecai Donga and boxing trainer Thomas Kambuyi have also been roped into the new board.

Environmental Management Agency board chair Zenzo Nsimbi, Stella Motsi and Sipho Helen M’nyamana Rutsate complete the six-member board.

The new board replaces the one that was headed by Paul Nenjerama, whose term expired at the end of the year.

Techcentral.co.za

13 January 2017

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications regulator has backed down over new floor prices for telecoms services, resulting in the country’s largest operator, Econet, reversing large price increases announced earlier in the week.

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications regulator has backed down over new floor prices for telecoms services, resulting in the country’s largest operator, Econet Wireless, reversing large price increases announced earlier in the week.

In a statement, the country’s ICT minister, Supa Mandiwanzira, said he had “conversed” with the regulator, Potraz, and that the tariffs would be scrapped.

In the statement, published by Techzim, a Zimbabwean technology news site, Mandiwanzira said: “I have been told that the new prices were actually proposed by the mobile operators to the regulator. While it is conceivable that the price of data may go up, the margin by which the prices have gone up is shockingly high and can only reflect insensitivity to fellow Zimbabweans and gluttonous corporate greed.”

President Robert Mugabe’s government had been accused of using the new regulated floor prices as a way of making it unaffordable for Zimbabweans to use social media.

Potraz this week began enforcing the new floor prices for both voice and data, arguing the regulations were necessary to protect the sustainability of mobile operators.

But the new regulations came under fire, with opposition politician David Coltart, for example, blasting the new rules. “Data bundles have gone up by 2 500% in Zimbabwe, directed by the regime — presumably, and unconstitutionally, to stifle the use of social media,” Coltart tweeted.

Last year, Zimbabweans used social media actively to criticise Mugabe’s Zanu-PF regime, under the hashtag “#ThisFlag”.

The protests were started by a pastor, Evan Mawarire, who posted a series of YouTube videos in which he expressed his love for Zimbabwe and expressed his frustration with the government.

In his statement, issued on Thursday evening, Madiwanzira said: “Internet is now a key driver of economic growth — innovation, entrepreneurship and government service delivery. Internet access is at the centre of all development. It, therefore, follows that it must be accessible — physically and financially.

“I share and sympathise with concerns expressed by a multitude of Zimbabwean Internet users that the recently effected data prices are unparalleled and extortionist.

“Given the astronomical rates that have been charged over the last two days, it may be necessary and morally correct to get the concerned mobile networks to refund their subscribers.”

But Econet — the only operator to implement price increases in terms of the Potraz regulations — hit back at critics.

“It became apparent after implementing the Potraz directive that Econet Wireless was the only operator which had complied with the data floor pricing,” it said in a statement.

“It is clear that, for whatever reason, the other operators had not complied with the directive and therefore there can never be a level playing field when our customers are the only ones being affected by this position.

“This is not the first time that Econet has complied and the other operators have not complied,” it said. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media