Zimbabwe Independent

October 30 2015

By Herbert Moyo

“WHEN you are mad, mad like this, you don’t know it. Reality is what you see.When what you see shifts, departing from anyone else’s reality, it’s still reality to you,” — United States author Marya Hornbacher once wrote in Madness: A Bipolar Life.

Although Education minister Larazus Dokora is not mad in a clinical sense, his controversial policies are largely been as out of touch with reality — impractical and irrational.

How else can one explain the minister’s behaviour — he has consistently ignored advice to slow down and consult before making policy pronouncements? Most of his policy interventions are not only impractical, but have wreaked havoc on the country’s education system that had shown signs of recovering during the inclusive government era when David Coltart was at the helm of the ministry.

Dokora took over from Coltart credited with sourcing books and study material for pupils, as well giving the green light for teachers to receive incentives from parents and school development associations after government had failed to fulfil its contractual obligation of paying them decent salaries.

He was Coltart’s deputy during the Government of National Unity (2009-2013), but Dokora proverbially “learnt nothing” from the man he understudied. He appears to be following the path of his party colleague Aeneas Chigwedere, who had a disastrous stint as education minister. Chigwedere sought to impose his own version of Zimbabwean and African history on the curriculum and as if that was not enough, he infamously decreed that teachers should wear uniforms to work.

Chigwedere did not believe in consulting which resulted in him losing the confidence of academics.

The late University of Zimbabwe history professor, David Beach, often ridiculed Chigwedere saying he could not be taken seriously as a scholar as he eschewed internationally acceptable methods of academic inquiry relying instead on supposed visions from his ancestors.

President Robert Mugabe may have dumped him to the relative obscurity of his home province of Mashonaland East where he makes occasional headlines fighting for the lowly title of village headman, but Chigwedere’s spirit seems to have been reincarnated in the top echelons of government in the form of Dokora.

A fortnight ago, Dokora announced that government would soon be introducing a number of foreign languages, including one of Africa’s widely spoken indigenous languages, Zulu at primary school level.

This followed his announcement in May that Chinese will be made a compulsory subject alongside Portuguese, Swahili and French.

“Our primary and secondary education will now have greater emphasis on the teaching of … major languages used in the country, and in Africa like Portuguese, Swahili and Zulu,” he said.

On the face of it, there seems to be wisdom in the introduction of Chinese given the fact that Mandarin is on course to become one of the dominant language and cultural forces in the 21st Century. The Asian country is poised to overtake the United States as the world’s dominant economy in decades ahead. It is also crucial that the main Chinese dialect, Mandarin, is spoken by a billion people, hence demand for businesspeople who speak Chinese is skyrocketing.

However, Dokora’s decision is bereft of practical steps to ensure successful implementation. He could have taken a leaf from the South African government which will also be introducing Mandarin in 2016 albeit as an optional rather than compulsory subject.

According to Nonhlanhla Nduna-Watson, director for curriculum policy in South Africa’s basic education department, the Chinese embassy in Pretoria will be “responsible for making sure that teachers that will be teaching Mandarin come from China”.

She said the Chinese government will shoulder the responsibility because Mandarin was being introduced at the request of their embassy while the South African government only obliged after an application process was duly followed.

“What is going to happen is that they (Chinese government) will be sending about 100 volunteers but (will) also train our own teachers who are interested in teaching Mandarin,” said Nduna-Watson last month.

She added that 100 South African teachers will travel to China each year for the next five years for training.

But such well-thought out plans of implementing policy decisions would be an unnecessary encumbrance to Dokora whose real interest seems to be self-serving rhetoric and posturing for political expediency.

Instead of explaining how the teaching of the languages will be implemented, Dokora shocked Zimbabweans by adding Zulu to the list.

Many Zimbabweans are questioning what he is seeking to achieve by adding Zulu to the list when Zimbabwe already has Ndebele which is closely related to the language. Zimbabwean Ndebele is a Zulu derivative or one of the Nguni dialects which include Xhosa, Swati, South African Ndebele, Mfengu, Thembu, Bhaca, Phuthi, Lala, Nhlangwini and Zulu itself. Ndebele and Zulu orthography are largely the same, hence mutual intelligibility. Ironically, Dokora presides over a ministry that has made no attempt to ensure that Ndebele, Shona and other national languages are taught and understood across the country.

The introduction of Portuguese and Swahili are also hard to fathom.

Given that business and career interests often provide the main motivation for learning a foreign language, the compulsory introduction of Portuguese and Swahili cannot be justified.

There are only two Lusophone countries in Southern Africa — Angola and Mozambique. Dokora appears blissfully ignorant of the fact that Mozambique, which long considered Portuguese to be an obstacle to its development, actually joined the Commonwealth of Anglophone countries in 1995 and has been trying its best to ensure English becomes the language of business.

On the other hand, Swahili is merely a regional lingua franca of East Africa where, in any case, English is widely spoken.

How pupils are supposed to cope with Dokora’s language medley that includes English and local languages, is a mystery

Nonetheless, the language issue is just one of many aspects of Dokora’s policy roller-coaster which has been moving at breakneck speed leaving behind a trail of demotivated teachers and students struggling to cope with his demands.
Among his controversial policy announcements is his desire for Ordinary level pupils to undertake industrial attachment. Ironically, tertiary students are struggling to do the same in the ever-diminishing space of company closures and job losses.

He has banned extra lessons, teachers’ incentives and Form 1 entrance tests. Hot-seating has been prescribed for former Group A schools while the ministry wants to allow condoms in schools.

Dokora is also planning to introduce a tax for Cambridge exam pupils arguing the examinations are a luxury.

He has been jumping from one policy pronouncement to another without any discernable plan of implementation and like the proverbial hyena that tried to walk on numerous paths at the same time — disaster appears to be the final destination.

According to Takavafira Zhou, president of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, Dokora is behaving like a trigger-happy minister bent on impressing Mugabe with policy pronouncements which are not feasible and made without consultation.

“How can policies be crafted and we only read of them in the newspapers when we are actually important stakeholders,” said Zhou. “We don’t even have competent teachers for Portuguese, Swahili, Zulu and French which we are rushing to introduce before even introducing local languages which include Tonga, Tswana, Venda, Sotho Kalanga and Nambya.”

Zhou also said Dokora’s priorities were misplaced as he had moved to introduce foreign languages as well as requirements for ‘O’ level students to obtain driver’s licences.

“Focus should be on major challenges including motivating teachers and resolving the low teacher-pupil ratio instead of ensuring pupils get driver’s licences. Whose cars will they drive when even teachers have no cars? Where exactly will these subjects fit into an already overloaded curriculum,” Zhou queried.

New Zimbabwe.com

October 16 2015

ZIMBABWE cricket player with a history of disciplinary problems is being investigated for making a racial slur on social media where he referred to black people as “apes.”
Zimbabwe Cricket said it is looking into comments posted on Facebook by batsman Mark Vermeulen.

Vermeulen was responding to a complaint made by black player Prosper Utseya alleging racism in Zimbabwe cricket.

In the post made back in July, Vermeulen wrote that black people wouldn’t have any problems “if we had left them in the bush,” and Utseya might be happier if he was living “in his mud hut.” He referred to black people as “the apes.”

Vermeulen, who has played nine tests and 43 one-day internationals but has been in and out of the team, could face a life ban in Zimbabwe after a series of previous problems.

In 2008, Vermeulen escaped a conviction for arson because of mental illness after setting fire to two Zimbabwe cricket buildings in 2006 in protest at being left out of the team.

The court found Vermeulen had been suffering from serious psychiatric problems since he was struck on the head by a ball while batting in a game in 2004.

Vermeulen was banned from playing in English league cricket for 10 years in 2011 for hurling the ball at a group of fans after they teased him.

He made his return to Zimbabwe’s test team last year after a 10-year absence but has fallen out of favour again.

On Friday, a local newspaper published what it said was an apology from Vermeulen.

In it, Vermeulen said that he had apologised personally to Utseya and had his apology accepted.

Vermeulen also wrote: “I know my comments were over the top and I apologise to all that I have offended. But as a cricketer, it’s how our minds work.”

The Vermeulen matter led to exchanges between former sports minister David Coltart and higher education minister Jonathan Moyo.

Moyo suggested that Vermeulen’s views were widely shared among the broader white community.

“My friend Jonathan was determined to involve me. Racist comments like this are disgusting and retrogressive and need to be condemned,” tweeted Coltart.

“The danger is that some will try to argue that this represents the views of most whites (of) which it doesn’t. Most are appalled by it.”

Radio VOP

October 14 2015

By Sij Ncube

HARARE, October 14, 2015 – PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe’s government has intimated it wants to make mandatory the teaching of foreign languages at all primary schools in Zimbabwe but analysts say the ambitious strategy fails to appreciate the country is failing to enforce the teaching of Shona and Ndebele nationwide.

The targeted foreign languages include Swahili, Zulu, Portuguese, among others.

But critics note that Shona and Ndebele languages are the country’s two major indigenous languages yet both are hardly taught outside Mashonaland and Matabeleland provinces.

In Harare and Bulawayo for instance, there are a handful of primary schools that offer both languages but both languages are not mandatory at most schools.

Linguists and educationists canvassed by Radio VOP point out that very little has been done to fully recognise the 16 official languages enshrined in the constitution, describing the government’s proposal to teach Swahili, Zulu, Portuguese as “a hare-brained after thought coming from a government beret of constructive ideas.”

Former education minister, David Coltart, said Zimbabwe children should be able to “read, write and speak their mother tongue and English, plus ideally one other indigenous language. “Why teach all these foreign languages when most children cannot even speak other indigenous languages,” asked Coltart.

Chofamba Sithole, a former journalist now turned academic, wondered how the government dreamt up the proposals when “we hardly teach Ndebele and Shona to all our kids. Should we start there?

Sithole said it would be impossible for the country to unlock its national culture’s intellectual heritance with no language keys to do so.

Bekithemba Mhlanga, a former journalist and scholar, described the idea to teach foreign languages at the expense of local indigenous ones as crazy. “It shows lack of strategic insight. If they cannot meet current educational needs how will this be delivered or funded? Of late authorities in Zimbabwe have been behaving as if there is some weekly stupidity contest to be won,” said Mhlanga.

“Just last week one legislator called for the establishment of chieftainships in cities and times,” he said in reference to Makokoba’s legislator Tshinga Dube’s proposals that chiefs should be installed in towns.
Educationist Takavafira Zhou added his voice to the issue, saying the proposal is as unfortunate as it is ill-conceived.

“Why the government wants to teach foreign languages when we have several local languages that are not taught in the country remains a mystery,” said Zhou. He pointed out that several local languages such as Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa have not gained a foothold in Zimbabwean schools yet officials are busy thinking of introducing foreign languages.
“It only shows how officials have lost touch with reality and happenings in schools so much that they want to impose what they dream as important in schools. What we need most is a language policy that can ensure that various local languages are offered in an area with students being given a choice to choose a local language from three local languages.

At any rate research has shown that up to the age of ten pupils learn best in their local languages. The greatest problem with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is that they think intelligence only exist at their head office. Sadly, the Ministry suffers from self-pollination with the consequent warped up policies. The earlier the education officials learn to consult widely, the better for our education system,” said Zhou.

The Standard

By Richard Chidza

4 October 2015

HIGHER and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo has stirred a hornet’s nest by declaring that secondary school students who fail maths and science will not be allowed to enrol at local universities.

Moyo made the announcement in Masvingo last week during one of his consultative meetings with tertiary institutions in the country, declaring that soon learners would not be allowed to proceed to A’ Level as long as they did not pass mathematics and science at O’Level.

He said the education curriculum should emphasise on mathematics and science from an early level.

Moyo said the curriculum should be anchored on science, technology, engineering and mathematics, if Zimbabwe was to transform its economy.

The pronouncements sparked heated debate on social media, with most critics accusing Moyo of trying to exclude disadvantaged Zimbabweans from tertiary education.
Former Education minister David Coltart said while the idea was noble, the Zanu PF government had no capacity to transform the education sector because of its misplaced priorities.

He said the government was underfunding education as it prioritised institutions that entrenched President Robert Mugabe’s power.

“The root cause can only be addressed if resources are shifted away from defence, the Central Intelligence Organisation, police, the size of Cabinet, the President’s Office and the allocation of the money saved to education,” said Coltart.

“Countries with the strongest economies have children with very high maths and science knowledge.

“However, the problem lies in the fact that we have grave shortages of good maths and science teachers, so unless that issue is addressed, this will place impossible requirements on children.”

Coltart said Moyo’s proposals would address the symptoms instead of the real problems facing Zimbabwe’s education sector.

“At the bottom of this is that Zanu PF has got its funding priorities wrong,” he said.

“We have to start with a huge increase in our investment in primary and secondary education, including the payment of teachers so that we can attract good maths and science teachers.

“But this process won’t happen overnight, it has taken Finland five decades to get their education system where it is and we have lost two decades, save for the GNU [government of national unity] period.

“If this policy is implemented in this vacuum, it will have catastrophic consequences because there simply will not be sufficient numbers of children who have a sound knowledge of maths and science.”

United Kingdom-based lawyer Alex Magaisa, said most rural schools in Zimbabwe were poorly equipped to teach science subjects.

“Trouble is most rural schools don’t even have a beaker or Bunsen burner,” Magaisa said on Twitter.

Academic Ibbo Mandaza said the government wanted to punish Zimbabweans for its mistakes as the policy Moyo was proposing existed in the past.

“It is nothing new,” Mandaza said. “The thing is government must explain whose mischief it was to scrap it in the first place.

“In my time, both as a learner and teacher, one would have to repeat if they failed mathematics or science.
“You would never proceed to A’ Level without the two subjects.

“It is a British system that is still in place in England under the General Certificate of Education [GCE].

David Dzatsunga, the Zimbabwe College Lecturers’ Association president, said the government had no capacity to enforce the proposed policy, which he said was wrongly premised.

“It is a pipe dream given government’s well-documented capacity issues,” he said.

“We need to interrogate the theory that academia is a matter of natural inclination.

“Some students might naturally be brilliant in mathematics and science but very poor in social sciences and vice-versa. There should not be an attitude that the arts are not essential.

University of Zimbabwe lecturer Fred Zindi was more scathing, saying the government was relapsing into the Rhodesian thinking where access to education was a privilege of the elite.

“It is like going back to the Rhodesian era where education becomes a privilege for the selected,” he said.
“It becomes selective because while I think maths and science are essential subjects, not everybody is oriented towards them.

“The fact that there are other alternatives then means people will have a career choice on what to follow without necessarily being bottle-necked into a particular area.”

Veteran educationist Caiphas Nziramasanga, who inspired the government’s latest curriculum review, refused to comment, saying he first wanted to see an official document on Moyo’s proposals.

Nziramasanga has recommended that the government scrap Grade 7 and O’Level examinations, arguing that the school leaving tests were introduced by the colonial regime to prevent blacks from reaching tertiary education.

Moyo also revealed that from 2017, Zimbabwean universities would not hire lecturers without Doctor of Philosophy Degrees (PhD) to help improve standards.

However, Coltart said although the intervention was noble, it would be hard to implement in a depressed economy.

“The issue of college lecturers having PhDs did not start with Moyo. It is something that has always been there and at the University of Zimbabwe, there are certain programmes we are not offering now because there has been an unwritten rule from authorities that they can only be taught by people who hold PhDs,” he said.

“The fear is that those who will fail to gain the PhDs might be forced to migrate to countries or institutions that will allow people of their experience to teach without PHDs, which means another form of brain drain that we should be working hard to contain,” he said.

“In theory, it is a good idea but he clearly either hasn’t thought it through, or doesn’t understand the difficulties in implementing such a policy. PhDs — proper ones that is — take at least 18 months to two years to acquire,” Coltart added.

“They are expensive to get. Lecturers will need time off from their current jobs; universities themselves will need additional qualified staff to oversee the PhD programmes.

“The question then is, who is going to pay for all of this? Who is going to provide the lecturers with the scholarships they will need to undertake PhDs?

“Who is going to provide our universities [which are already short of qualified staff] with the money needed to hire highly qualified staff who can supervise the PhDs?

“Moyo needs to get a grip on reality,” said Coltart.

The government has been accused of eroding gains made in the education sector after independence through chronic underfunding of the sector, leading to a brain drain and a high school dropout rate.

The Standard

By Richard Chidza

4 October 2015

Former Education minister David Coltart is a victim of Zanu PF politician Jonathan Moyo’s acerbic rants on social media, which always have racial undertones.

President Robert Mugabe does not hide his disdain for people like Coltart and once encouraged his supporters “to drive fear into the white man’s heart”.

The MDC secretary for legal affairs has also been repeatedly accused by Moyo of being a former member of the infamous Selous Scouts, or a Rhodie, as part of crass tactics to silence him.

Yet Coltart remains one of the most vocal opposition politicians in Zimbabwe as he uses social media to speak truth to power.

He is one of the few still standing after the likes of former MDC-T treasurer-general Roy Bennett were driven into exile through persecution by Mugabe’s government.

Coltart said he had been able to stand the heat because of his love for Zimbabwe.
“It is quite simple really,” he said. “First of all, I was born in Zimbabwe and have lived here my entire life, so I know nothing else.

“Secondly, I have a deep passion for Zimbabwe which enables me to put up with a lot of abuse.

“Thirdly, I get so much encouragement from all Zimbabweans, right across the racial spectrum, that enables me to put Jonathan’s vitriol in perspective — he represents a tiny minority of embittered men.”

The former Senator has a proud track record in post Zimbabwean politics after representing members of late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s Zapu at the height of the Gukurahundi atrocities in Matabeleland and Midlands in the 1980s.

Former National Healing minister Moses Mzila-Ndlovu, who is also a Zipra war veteran, said the reason Coltart remained relevant in local politics was because he was above race.

“The best I would say of him is he has his head screwed in the right place over his shoulders, he is an honest, frank and forthright human being who points out people’s mistakes, not because they are black or white, but because such things have to be said,” Mzila-Ndlovu said.

“He stuck his neck out at a time when the environment was extremely hostile to white Zimbabweans and here was a Rhodesian who was saying he accepted the new order but wanted the authorities to stick to their side of the bargain under the call for national reconciliation,” Mzila-Ndlovu said.

“His activities with the CCJP [Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace] and representing a lot of people who were being persecuted by Mugabe under the emergence measurers adopted from Ian Smith impressed me most.

“He has been called all sorts of names, even by his own kith and kin, but has refused to be drawn into racial fights — maybe because of his Christian upbringing and legal background.”

CCJP was instrumental in documenting the Gukurahundi atrocities, where an estimated 20 000 civilians were killed by the Fifth Brigade.

Mzila-Ndlovu said despite his track record in fighting for the down-trodden, Coltart had been abused by fellow opposition figures, especially during the 2005 split of the MDC. Coltart then joined the faction led by Welshman Ncube.

“Even white colleagues were not happy with his stance against [Morgan] Tsvangirai’s [MDC-T leader] excesses and move to overrule the national council over participation in senatorial elections,” Mzila-Ndlovu said.

“Some whites wanted to smuggle into the MDC struggle their supremacist agenda, but Coltart stood his ground on principle and said there would be no reason to oppose Mugabe, if we were to allow Tsvangirai to ride roughshod over collective and electoral decisions even within the party.”

Coltart’s struggles mirror those of other white politicians that have remained active in Zimbabwe’s political terrain.

Former Mutare mayor, Brian James, who was singled out by Zanu PF officials because of his skin colour, said he was fighting for a Zimbabwe that does not discriminate people because of their race.

“Home is home and one always wants to positively help to the development of their country. It is a belief in doing the right things that drives me and being fair to the ordinary people,” James said.

“The abuse, as you might have noted, takes different tones but we continue to do what we can to make sure the rights of the people are observed without regard to their colour.”

James bemoaned MDC’s failure to stand up for Bennett as he was hounded out of the country for daring to challenge Zanu PF misrule.

He revealed that the former Chimanimani legislator was a bitter man.

“Roy is basically in exile along with at least four million others, but they remain as Zimbabwean as you and me,” he said.

“They hanker for home and country of birth. Bennett has lost an enormous amount of money and is as disappointed as I am.

“He is disappointed at the way he was treated within the party.

“He believes the party did not do enough when he was jailed for kicking out at Didymus Mutasa and the scuffle that involved [Finance minister] Patrick Chinamasa,” James added.

“He is also of the belief that not enough was done by the MDC-T to fight for him when Tsvangirai had nominated him to be his choice of deputy Agriculture minister and Mugabe rejected the proposal.”

Mugabe refused to appoint Bennett into his Cabinet after the formation of the inclusive government and never gave reasons.

In the run-up to the 2000 elections, Bennett — popularly known as Pachedu — was dispossessed of his thriving coffee farm before he was jailed for eight months following a brawl in Parliament.

Former Marondera MP Ian Kay, who has also been targeted by Zanu PF because of his race, said his political career was based on principle.

He said some white Zimbabweans were forced to support Zanu PF because of persecution, instead of principle.

“Those who are in Zanu PF are in there for the money, they are allowed to operate and in a round-about way make money out of the party. They therefore get preferential treatment from those in power,” Kay said.

His wife Kerry, a former top MDC-T official, said she had also suffered at the hands of fellow opposition activists.
“At the height of the splits in the MDC-T, mainly due to leadership challenges, yes, I did take flak from some members which was disappointing, but that is to be expected,” she said.

“As for insults from Zanu PF people, yes, there are individuals who were racist and derogatory about whites, but that is their well-known rhetoric.

“One has to rise above such insults. I have never been racist — unfortunately racism is mostly only seen as white against black, but it works both ways.”

She does not regret her 14 years of commitment to the MDC-T cause and fighting for democratic change, but is not happy with the way the party treated her.

“In the final analysis we are all Zimbabweans. My husband was born here, speaks Shona better than most black Shonas, so there is no reason we cannot take part in the governance of the country. He is indigenous.

“I don’t care if whites want to join Zanu PF, it’s their democratic right.

“However, I feel that it is as a means to their own selfish ends because they are benefitting by keeping their land and homes, making money and basically being a part of the ongoing cycle of corruption and beneficiation.”

A few white Zimbabweans such as Timothy Stamps have remained in Mugabe’s corner despite his rhetoric about their race.

The Chronicle

By Prosper Ndlovu

2 October 2015

PROPERTY magnate Philip Chiyangwa is “angry” after the former Education Minister David Coltart blamed him for causing the demise of Bulawayo industries. Chiyangwa took over the running of several companies in Bulawayo after he bought them for a combined Z$30 million from Tirzah Group of Companies Investments in May 1998, a transaction which Coltart facilitated as a liquidator.

Among the companies was G & D Shoes, Belmont Leather as well as property companies that included Express Investments, Zimdelta (Pvt) Ltd, M&C Swiel and FFT Private Ltd. In the face of viability constraints since the turn of the millennium, most of these companies shut down and rendered scores of workers jobless.

Annoyed by Coltart’s sentiments in an article published in a private weekly, Chiyangwa yesterday blasted the Bulawayo-based lawyer and former MDC senator accusing him of bringing his name into disrepute and “misleading” the nation. In a June 26 article, Coltart accused Chiyangwa of “enriching himself at the expense of Zimbabwe’s working class”.

Said Coltart: “I’ve no problem when wealth is made as a result of innovation, hard work and ingenuity. However, most of Zimbabwe’s millionaires have made their money off the back of the working class, through plunder, asset stripping and corruption.

“I don’t know how Chiyangwa made his money save for what he did to a variety of Bulawayo-based companies that he took over and drove into the ground.

“I also have a concern when Zimbabwe’s wealth and precious foreign currency is spent on very expensive imports such as Bentleys, Rolls Royces and the like. Surely our foreign currency would be better spent on vehicles made either in Zimbabwe or at least South Africa, which is on the African continent.”

In a written response seen by The Chronicle yesterday, Chiyangwa turned the sword on Coltart for peddling “spurious allegations” that he said cannot be supported with facts. The prominent businessman said the demise of Bulawayo industries, while it is a national crisis, cannot be blamed on the collapse of a single individual.

“I’ve never bought a single operating company in Bulawayo in the sense of a going concern. What I simply participated in was public auctions of the disposal of assets of dead companies through the Master of the High Court, through the active direction of liquidators,” he said. “What David Coltart is selectively failing to inform the public is that these companies had been severely stripped and run-down by their former owners, mostly the Jewish friends of Coltart who controlled the industry in Bulawayo,” he blasted.

“For the record, I simply picked up assets way after some core and critical pieces had been cherry picked and sold away. Coltart doesn’t want the world to know of his role in getting without going to tender a contract with the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ), which is for 80 years, and they’re still getting payments. His role in destroying NRZ needs to be publicly interrogated.”

Coltart together with Barbra Lunga and Robert Michael McIndoe represented Tirzah Group in their capacity as provisional liquidators while Chiyangwa represented Native Investment Africa as purchaser on May 5, 1998. Yesterday, Coltart stuck by his words, insisting that Chiyangwa could have done better to keep the Bulawayo companies running.

“He took over the company, which is now dead. As I recall, him and others took over companies which are now shells, go to G & D now and see. What he says is his point of view but he needs to speak to two or three people and see if they’ll agree with him,” said Coltart.

“He (Chiyangwa) had access to finance, which is what those firms needed at the time – access to capital and removal of red tape. No doubt the companies were in trouble but he could have helped.” Coltart confirmed he was a liquidator in Chiyangwa’s purchase of the companies “conscious of the fact that it was a difficult business environment” but insists Chiyangwa could have done better.

“He never made an effort to make the companies viable despite the links he had with political power,” said Coltart. Chiyangwa is accusing Coltart of dragging his name into the mud for political expediency. He said Coltart and his partners should have purchased the properties in their own right after “they made good money by presiding over the liquidation of the outlined properties”.

Chiyangwa later sold off the businesses to an investment concern of former attorney general, Sobusa Gula Ndebele. – See more at: http://www.bulawayo24.com/News/Local/75138#sthash.V0o6XPzA.dpuf

New Zimbabwe.Com

2 October 2015

ZANU PF politician and flamboyant tycoon Philip Chiyangwa has angrily rejected charges that he is responsible for destroying companies in Bulawayo – once the country’s industrial heartland.

Through his Native Investment Africa group, Chiyangwa became a huge player in Bulawayo beginning 1998 when he bought companies such as G & D Shoes, Belmont Leather as well as the listed Zeco Holdings.

Most of the companies have since closed with Zeco, which was founded in 1964, in mortal decline.

The former engineering behemoth once supplied rail wagons to the NRZ locally as well as regionally to countries such as Ethiopia Kenya, Mozambique, and Zambia.

AS of Friday, Zeco’s market capitalisation stood at US$46,000; its share price 0.01 US cents on the local bourse.

Cue Bulawayo opposition politician and top city lawyer, David Coltart, who was the liquidator when Chiyangwa bought most of the companies in 1998.

“I don’t know how Chiyangwa made his money save for what he did to a variety of Bulawayo-based companies that he took over and drove into the ground,” wrote Coltart in a recent article.

“I also have a concern when Zimbabwe’s wealth and precious foreign currency is spent on very expensive imports such as Bentleys, Rolls Royces and the like.

“Surely our foreign currency would be better spent on vehicles made either in Zimbabwe or at least South Africa, which is on the African continent.”

He added: “I’ve no problem when wealth is made as a result of innovation, hard work and ingenuity.

“However, most of Zimbabwe’s millionaires have made their money off the back of the working class, through plunder, asset stripping and corruption.”

Not best pleased, Chiyangwa hit back.

“I’ve never bought a single operating company in Bulawayo in the sense of a going concern,” he said.

“What I simply participated in was public auctions of the disposal of assets of dead companies through the Master of the High Court, through the active direction of liquidators.

“What David Coltart is selectively failing to inform the public is that these companies had been severely stripped and run-down by their former owners, mostly the Jewish friends of Coltart who controlled the industry in Bulawayo.”

The businessman added: “For the record, I simply picked up assets way after some core and critical pieces had been cherry picked and sold away.

“Coltart doesn’t want the world to know of his role in getting without going to tender a contract with the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ), which is for 80 years, and they’re still getting payments. His role in destroying NRZ needs to be publicly interrogated.”

Chiyangwa also accused Coltart of profiting from the troubled companies saying “they made good money by presiding over the liquidation of the outlined properties”.

In response, Coltart insisted that Chiyangwa could have done a better job of recapitalising and reviving the companies.

“He (Chiyangwa) took over the company, which is now dead,” said the opposition politician.

“As I recall, him and others took over companies which are now shells, go to G & D now and see. What he says is his point of view but he needs to speak to two or three people and see if they’ll agree with him.

“(Chiyangwa) had access to finance, which is what those firms needed at the time – access to capital and removal of red tape. No doubt the companies were in trouble but he could have helped.

“He never made an effort to make the companies viable despite the links he had with political power.”

Southern Eye

By Nqobani Ndlovu

29 September 2015

POLITICAL analysts yesterday gave the thumps-up to former Education minister David Coltart’s assertion that white Zimbabweans had an equally crucial role to play in shaping the country’s politics just like other races.

In an interview with Southern Eye on Sunday, Coltart spoke strongly against racial discrimination, describing politicians who always raised the race card as divisive elements.

His assertion, however, stirred a hornet’s nest with some top Zanu PF officials labelling him an “intolerable Rhodie” who had “nothing to offer but hate”, but analysts interviewed by Southern Eye described the ex-minister’s statement as spot-on.

“This @DavidColtart is full of intolerable Rhodie hate against Zimbabwe’s independence. Nothing to offer but hate,” said Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo, a staunch Coltart critic.

President Robert Mugabe has often publicly chastised whites citing their ill-treatment of blacks during the colonial era.

Analysts, however, said it was wrong to approach politics with racial lenses, saying every Zimbabwean had a democratic right to participate in national politics.

“Every Zimbabwean, whether black or white, has a democratic right to be involved in politics, our Constitution is clear on who is a Zimbabwean,” analyst Blessing Vava said.

“Mugabe is not sincere in his remarks because there are many white people who served both in his party and Cabinet before, Denis Norman and Timothy Stamps being examples.” Stamps is currently Health Advisor in Mugabe’s office.

South Africa-based media scholar Trust Matsilele said Mugabe was living in the past.

“It’s embarrassing for a President to try and divide the country across whatever line — race, tribe, ethnic, gender or region — but Mugabe has unfortunately done that unabated. He is caught up in the pre-1980 era if not 1890.

“He has also been divisive first through regional politics, tribal politics, ethnic politics, racial politics and even went as far as dividing the nation through religious, cultural and class lines,” Matsilele said.

Mugabe, as the then Prime Minister, offered a hand of reconciliation to white minority former colonisers after the liberation struggle in 1980, saying oppression by any race was unacceptable.