Newsday

By Wellington Toni

20th June 2014

SPORT, Arts and Culture minister Andrew Langa yesterday dissolved the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) board, leaving Charles Nhemachena’s job as director-general (DG), of the supreme sports body hanging by a thread.
Langa was addressing a football indaba at the Zifa Village in Mt Hampden outside Harare, aimed at resuscitating the nation’s number one sport, but was not impressed that only one board member — Jessie Nyakatawa — turned up for the crucial meeting.

The out-going board, appointed by former Education Minister David Coltart on February 6 2013, was chaired by Bulawayo lawyer Joseph James. Other members are Edward Siwela, who had been retained from the previous board, Obadiah Moyo and former Zimbabwe Cricket boss Dave Ellman-Brown.

Former Hockey Association of Zimbabwe president Aaron Kanyangarara and ex-national team captain Aaron Kanyangarara, former Zimbabwe Ladies’ Golf Union president Nyakatawa, Zimbabwe Rugby Union vice-president Aisha Tsimba and former teacher Miriam Mushayi were also on the board.

But after only Nyakatawa attended yesterday’s meeting in Mt Hampden, Langa diverted from his prepared speech and told the board he will dissolve them.

“I can only see one board member here and it shows how we do things. I will dissolve them,” he said.

“When the parent association is not here, I can only say I am disappointed. There was never anything more important than this. You can’t fail me and we will ensure that you are gone. Tell James (Joseph), in Bulawayo that sport is dying and we have always said improve, improve and improve.

“There are a lot of DGs in this country and we are definitely going to restructure the SRC. DG and your staff, I will restructure and I am going to do that before I am moved.

“The objective of the new board would be to reconfigure the aim and visions and fit them into the National Sports Policy and I am sure that will change the way sport is run in the country. We need a new strategy for football and all other sports and we will be meeting all the other associations like cricket, rugby and volleyball in due course,” Langa said.

Reverting back to his speech, Langa said: “My ministry’s concern is in the lack of effective management of the national associations by the SRC. The mandate of the SRC is to develop sport and oversee the corporate governance of the national associations that need to be strengthened.

“This will be done through restructuring of the commission with a view to revitalise it. The SRC has to be hands on as the implementing arm of government policy. Its operations will be in line with my ministry’s strategic focus to industrialise the sports sector. It will be the objective of a new board to reconfigure the SRC to be in touch with the grassroots,” Langa said.

After presentations by the various speakers, a plenary session was then conducted which came up with resolutions that will be drafted into the national sports policy.

The Herald

19th June 2014

By Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor

TWO years after they convened a similar meeting government, the Sport and Recreation Commission and Zifa will come together for another indaba aimed at finding solutions to the problems haunting football today.The meeting being facilitated by the Sports Commission is scheduled for the Zifa Village and comes two years after former Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart arranged a similar initiative at Pandhari Lodge whose resolutions never really bore any fruit.

Sports Commission corporate communications officer Tirivashe Nheweyembwa said they were expecting Zifa to present a report on the state of football in the country with stakeholders then expected to offer possible solutions that could help drive the country’s biggest sport from its problems.

“The Sports and Recreation Commission in conjunction with ZIFA and the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture will be hosting a football indaba on 19 June 2014 at the ZIFA Village from 0830 – 1300 Hrs. The purpose of the Indaba will be to receive and consider a report on the state of football in the country, appreciate the challenges that our football is facing and to proffer solutions as stakeholders,’’ wrote Nheweyembwa in his notice.

Nheweyembwa said they had lined up Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa, his Primary and Secondary Education counterpart Lazarus Dokora, Zifa president Cuthbert Dube and the chairman of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Temba Mliswa among the key speakers.

There are however genuine concerns that the indaba may have been hastily convened and might not cater for a wider spectrum of stakeholders.

The indaba also comes just weeks after the country’s flagship soccer team, the Warriors sunk to new depths when Ian Gorowa’s men were bundled out of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers at the preliminary round stage following a 3-2 aggregate defeat by Tanzania.

There was no immediate respite for the local game as a week later the Mighty Warriors were also knocked out of the 2014 African Women’s Championships following back to back 1-0 defeats by Zambia in the final qualifier.

Those results sparked a public outcry as they put into perspective the problems haunting the national game and prompted Langa to convene a stakeholders indaba to try and thrash out those challenges.

But as some of the game’s stakeholders converge at the Zifa Village in Mt Hampden this morning, there is need for the participants to ensure the meeting does not fizzle into a mere talk shop as was the case when Coltart presided over the Pandhari indaba.

It is also clear that as parliamentarians, government officials, the Sports Commission, representatives of the corporate world and Zifa troop for the indaba, the biggest problem haunting the national game is that of funding.
That Zifa have had to rely on their president Cuthbert Due to fund the association’s activities is a serious indictment on a country that is eager to stake a claim among the giants of the continental game and become a regular feature at such competitions like the African Cup of Nations.

Dube who has over the years funded the Warriors campaigns and paid the salaries of Zifa staff including successive national coaches, has often argued that it is not sustainable for one man to continue bailing out the national game.

Thus the issue of funding is set to be topical in the discussions and government is expected to lead the way in coming up with workable solutions that would also ensure Zifa do not sink further into a debt trap that has already stalled development of the game.

Nheweyembwa last month also spoke of the need for a major funding policy for sport in the country to be put into place with the Sports Commission spokesman revealing that they had detected a number of similarities on the problems being faced by national associations including Zifa, Zimbabwe Cricket, Zimbabwe Rugby Union and the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe.

While the boarder picture would be to establish a national policy for the funding of sport, today’s indaba is about football and Langa and the rest of the participants will get to know the state of the game from a Zifa perspective when Dube presents his report.

Mliswa’s committee has since its inception also taken a keen interest in the goings-on at the sporting associations but the firebrand former Warriors fitness trainer has acknowledged that football has also been pegged back by inadequate resources.

Fifa with whom Zifa have been enjoying goodwill in the last four years, have also hinted that they could partly assist Zifa to wipe off their $4 million debt but only if government or the association start the ball rolling and show greater commitment towards that cause.

The indaba would also have to avoid focusing only on the Warriors and their failed Nations Cup campaign without addressing some of the major factors that have contributed to the decline of the senior national team which include lack of a vibrant junior policy on the part of Zifa who have not assembled an Under-23 team for four years.

Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela, however said they were looking forward to the indaba with optimism.

“Basically it if for stakeholders to appreciate the challenges in our football but I think this meeting has come at the right time and in the right direction because as it stands football needs the input of everyone ,’’ Gwesela said.

Apart from seeking the sympathy of stakeholders, Zifa would have to acknowledge their administrative shortcomings some of them so glaring that they do not inspire investor confidence in the game.

It is no secret that any corporate entity would want transparency and proper corporate governance f they are to inject financial and material resources into the game and Zifa would have to prove they can measure up to that task if provided with the resources.

Newsday

By Senior Parliamentary Reporter

18th June 2014

PROGRESSIVE Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general Raymond Majongwe has accused government of “lying” to the international community that it had incorporated civic education and counselling into the education curriculum in order to appear democratic and access international funding.

Addressing guests at a public meeting running under the theme Whither Our Education System? held in Harare last Thursday, Majongwe said in 2008 government officials told guests at the 48th session of the International Conference on Education in Switzerland that the new subjects had been incorporated into the education curriculum to promote democracy.

“The Zimbabwe government report which was presented during the 48th session of the International Conference on Education in Geneva was nothing, but a lie,” Majongwe said.

“Some of the false information they told the international community in their report was that they had introduced two new subjects at schools, civic education and guidance and counselling.”

Majongwe claimed the whole point in misleading the international community was to give the impression that the country was taking a democratic route in order to receive foreign funding.

“Other claims by the government in that report were that they were going to broaden the curriculum in order to strengthen the teaching of science and maths subjects, as well as construct science laboratories – which they said was already taking place. They also claimed they were going to have holiday camps for girls to be taught maths and sciences during holidays so that they bridged the gender disparity in sciences,” he said.

He said all these were not being implemented, but instead policies to further frustrate teachers were being pronounced.

Contacted for comment over the weekend, Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora professed ignorance over the matter.

“On the issue of introduction of civic education, I do not think it was the Primary and Secondary ministry then which presented that report,” he said.

However, his predecessor David Coltart said although the report was presented when he was not yet in government, he had personally pushed for the subjects to be introduced, but his efforts were shot down by fellow Cabinet ministers in the inclusive government.

“Introduction of civic education was part of my plans for curriculum reform, but the process was political and what I was trying to do ended before we had started the reforms because Zanu PF was worried about civic education and the teaching of human rights. If one reads the Education Act, you will also find that the minister is not given any power to reform the curriculum. That power is given to the permanent secretary,” Coltart said.

Daily News

By Staff Reporter

13th June 2014

Civil servants should brace themselves for challenging times ahead as government continues to shift pay dates, piling more misery on the already hard-pressed government workers.

Civil servants, who include nurses and ex-government workers, will be paid late over the next six months and will only receive their December salaries way after Christmas this year, according to a pay schedule that the Civil Service Commission released on Wednesday.

President Robert Mugabe’s government has been shifting the pay dates for its workers as sources of revenue dwindle in the face of a deepening economic crisis.

Representatives of workers and other stakeholders told the Daily News yesterday that government’s continued dithering on pay dates is not only illegal but also a dangerous precedent in a country hit by unprecedented company closures and sky rocketing unemployment rates.

David Coltart, the former Education minister, warned that delays in paying salaries could have a knock-on effect on morale in the already restive sector.

“This shifting of pay dates raises the question, will government be able to pay salaries at all?” Coltart asked.

“There are huge concerns whether government will be able to pay bonuses this year. The shifting of dates are just announcements. We know from what minister Patrick Chinamasa (Finance) and also Zimra have said about the strain salaries are putting on revenue collection, the ability to pay is put under strain and they have changed the dates to give themselves breathing space.”

The country, still recovering from a decade-long economic recession, currently relies on tax collections to fund its national budget, with the public service wage bill gobbling 73 percent of all government exdpenditure, leaving just 11 percent for capital investment and 16 percent for non-wage recurrent expenditure.

In April, Zimra warned of a “serious shrinkage of revenue” that could see government miss its tax income targets.

Efforts to get comment from Chinamasa were fruitless yesterday.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) said its membership of about 12 000 was the worst affected by the delays in payment, which apparently favour soldiers.

“This is only affecting nurses; they should alternate between all civil servants and not only one sector,” Chipfurutse Mugove, Zina’s organising secretary said.

“The good thing though is that we still hope that the salaries will come but we must all be treated equally.”

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country’s largest worker representative body, said the continued shifting of pay dates inconveniences workers.

“We are very clear on pay dates, there is an agreed pay date and government is not honouring that,” said Gideon Shoko, deputy secretary general of ZCTU.

“It should be noted that everyone wants to plan and under these circumstances it is very difficult to do so. To make matters worse, government is effecting the changes alone. It is now clear that the promises that the government made were all false. They promised poverty datum line-aligned salaries but they are not keeping the promises. These changes are wrong and devilish and should be condemned.”

In the run-up to last year general elections, Mugabe promised to adjust civil servants salaries to be in sync with the PDL but the cash strapped government only effected a marginal rise that fall far short of its workers expectations.

In April, government raised salaries of civil servants by $54, with the lowest paid worker now earning $375 a month. The PDL is pegged at $511.

The opposition National Constitution Assembly (NCA) yesterday described the government’s move as illegal.

“NCA party is concerned with the continuous violation of workers’ rights by Zanu PF government,” said Madock Chivasa, spokesperson of the NCA. “It seems as if there is no longer a fixed date or day for civil servants to get their salaries from government.

“The delays and change of pay days every month is a clear violation of workers’ rights and against the Labour Act that compels employers to pay salaries on time. As a result of yesterday’s (Wednesday) pronouncement by the Civil Service Commission, NCA party is now taking Zanu-PF government to court to ensure that workers’ rights are protected and respected. The NCA will seek to get a court order compelling the Civil Service Commission to fix a single day to pay civil servants their salaries every month. The sought court order can then be used for legal action once government fail to pay civil servants on the set day.”

The Chronicle

By Clemence Manyukwe

13th June 2014

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai is counting his losses as the list of former lieutenants that are deserting him continues to grow.

Since the party’s formation in 1999, he has been losing political friends at a higher rate than he could replace.

The most recent pronounced blow was his fallout with party secretary general Tendai Biti, who together with a sizeable number of senior party members such as Elton Mangoma are now leading a breakaway faction seeking leadership renewal.

Their differences have snowballed into parliament where some legislators no longer pay their allegiance to him, further shrinking the party’s influence in the legislative assembly.

Welshman Ncube, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, David Coltart and others gave the MDC-T leader a wide berth way back in 2005 and efforts to bring them back under his “big tent” theory seem dead in the water.

The party’s treasurer-general Roy Bennett has long ceased raising funds for the party whose finances are reportedly in a precarious state as donors and western embassies desert him.

The majority of non-governmental organisations appear to be taking a similar stand.

Even traditional backers like the Commercial Farmers Union and Raymond Majongwe’s Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe have publicly criticised his leadership.

There are those like former Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, who once referred to Tsvangirai as a hero upon entering Zimbabwean politics in 2006, only to leave government last year saying he was a weak and indecisive leader.

But the biggest question is: How does a man, who aspires to lead a country squander all the goodwill previously shown to him by friends and backers alike in such a short political space?

Political analyst Ricky Mukonza yesterday said there is no doubt that Tsvangirai’s support base has been shrinking. “There is no doubt that although Tsvangirai is still the most popular figure in opposition politics, his support base has been dwindling. What may be contested is the numbers that he has lost. One needs to look at the following developments to realise that MT has lost: one: the transformation of the NCA into a political party; two: the manifestation of the renewal faction in the MDC,” said Mukonza.

“In addition, scandals have continued to dent Morgan’s standing as an alternative leader. The question that should also be asked is whether Tsvangirai’s party/faction in its current state is able to attract new voters or those on the fence. The answer to this could be a ‘no.'”

Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said some of the senior members that Tsvangirai has alienated have people who back them, and are most surely likely to shift their allegiance and support from Tsvangirai, further reducing his support base.

Mukundu said the MDC-T is also not engendering confidence as an alternative party through what citizens may see as its leader’s undemocratic actions.

“Morgan Tsvangirai appears to have run full course and not in a position to strategise on the way forward after July 31. A party that has no strategic vision tends to turn internal rather than focus on the core business of winning power,” said Mukundu.

Newsday

Newsday Editorial

10th June 2014

THE Mighty Warriors became the latest national football team to crash out of a continental competition – the African Women Championships (AWC) – after they fell 2-0 on aggregate to Zambia on Sunday.

Their male counterparts – the Warriors – drew 2-2 against Tanzania the previous weekend to bow out of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers 3-2 on aggregate.

It has been a disaster in the making for Zimbabwe’s national teams due to a plethora of problems and the easiest way to deal with them, some believe, was to fire the coaches and the Zifa Board.

However, the problems will always be there as long as challenges affecting the national teams are personalised by targeting individuals in charge of football or the various national teams.

The trends that followed the two teams are similar –demand more money, boycott training and then lose. Well, that completes a miserable two weeks for Zimbabwean football lovers, who now have to take their sorrows to the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League and the Fifa World Cup.

The difference between Zambia and Zimbabwe is “naked”. The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) is led by a former footballer, who has all the football contacts in the world, including technical supplier Nike.

Zifa is led by Cuthbert Dube, a businessman, who might not even know where Luveve Stadium is and perhaps has never watched a football match there.

In 2008, FAZ president Kalusha Bwalya made it clear that if one of their national teams does not win an Afcon tourney, then he would have failed to develop the game in Zambia.

“If we don’t win one of two Afcons in 2012 and 2013, we may never do. Our girls should by 2015 be good enough to go to an Afcon,” Kalusha said then. He achieved all those goals.

The Zambia Under-15 women’s team qualified for the Fifa World Cup that was staged in Costa Rica and now their senior women’s team have qualified for the AWC after thrashing Zimbabwe’s Mighty Warriors.

Who knows, they might be in the top three at the end of the finals in Namibia later this year and earn a ticket to the Women’s World Cup.

Their men’s team was crowned the 2012 African champions. This can only happen when there is proper planning and putting the right people in charge of the game, harnessing the little resources available, setting realistic targets and hiring visionary coaches.

Sport, Arts and Culture minister Andrew Langa has suggested that a football indaba be held as a matter of urgency as the solution does not lie in firing the Dube-led Zifa Board, which will, no doubt, invite sanctions from world football governing body Fifa.

Under ex-minister David Coltart, Zimbabwe had one such indaba, but the country is yet to establish what the fruits of that gathering were. Perhaps it is time to be realistic and forgo another indaba, which will gobble the little resources that are available.

It is important to note that it will take more than roundtables to get the country’s football right. Besides talkshops, Zimbabwe needs the money to finance and develop football.

Zimbabwe’s football administrators must shape up or ship out!

The Standard

By Edgar Gweshe

8th June 2014

Former Education minister, David Coltart says government should treat the issue of teachers’ salaries as a matter of urgency or risk plunging the education sector into turmoil.

In an interview, Coltart said that government’s failure to address the issue of teachers’ salaries and working conditions was killing morale among the teaching staff.

He warned that the situation could get out of control if government did not take steps to address teachers’ concerns.

“If you have committed teachers, then you have a strong education system. Teachers make the difference and if we do not address teachers’ concerns then the education sector will be under threat,” said Coltart.

“Teachers are the most important facet of any education sector and government should be able to look into their concerns.”

The Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has since sought audience with President Robert Mugabe following government’s failure to improve their salaries and working conditions.

The PTUZ has also hinted on embarking on a job action in the event that their concerns are not addressed. The union also took a swipe at Education minister, Lazarus Dokora for failing teachers and bringing disastrous policies to the education sector.

Salaries for Zimbabwean teachers are below the country’s Poverty Datum Line (PDL) which is currently pegged at around US$560.

Neighbouring countries such as Botswana have since offered lucrative salaries for Zimbabwean teachers willing to work in their country, a development that could lead to further brain drain in the education sector.

Said Coltart: “I am concerned about the declining morale among teachers in the country. It has to be noted that before we talk of the success of the education sector, we have to make sure that teachers’ concerns are addressed but the current situation is very worrisome and poses a major threat.”

The former education minister was not convinced government would be able to carry forward with programmes introduced during his tenure that were meant to improve the education sector.

“We identified that teachers’ conditions of service were poor and morale was very low. I secured US$23 million from the Global Education Project for teacher retraining which was meant to be implemented starting this year,” he said.

“One of the goals that we had set was a review of the curriculum but I do not see much on the curriculum review programme and I remain concerned about the declining morale among teachers.”

Zimbabwe Independent

By Elias Mambo

6th June 2014

PLANS by Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora to revamp the education curriculum have set tongues wagging as stakeholders and educationists insist there is need for serious consultations before any policy is changed.

Although stakeholders agree that a review of the education system is long overdue, they insist Dokora should engage stakeholders and educationists to get advice on what direction the education system should take, instead of unilaterally making decisions.

Since his appointment Dokora has introduced a cocktail of policy interventions which include, among others, the banning of extra lessons at public institutions and fund-raising initiatives by Students Development Associations, cancellation of incentives for teachers and Form One entrance tests, suspension of development projects and recently the introduction of hot sitting in schools.

He is also changing the syllabus of all primary and secondary schools.While some educationists are supportive of curriculum change, they are worried by the lack of consultation.

Former Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart said the curriculum needs to be revamped but in a proper manner.

“The curriculum is in dire need of revamping as it was last done in 1986. However it needs to be done in an apolitical way by educationists not politicians,” Coltart said.

“I do not know what the current government wants to introduce but under my tenure I wanted educationists to review and reform the curriculum to ensure that it was brought up to date.”

However Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe secretary-general, Raymond Majongwe, said the Education minister needs to be properly advised before the education system collapses again.

“He (Dokora) needs to consult stakeholders including parents on where he wants to take our education system. He must not politicise our education system so that it serves purposes of the (economic blueprint Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation) ZimAsset.

“Parents are furious over a number of interventions by Dokora with the latest being that the Cambridge examinations will be banned.”
Government also banned payment of incentives to teachers by parents and guardians claiming to “restore sanity and equality in the education sector”.

In an interview with this paper Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said his association is looking forward to the curriculum review but said the minister has to investigate what needs to be done.

“Our curriculum is not aligned to the needs of the economy so as an association we are looking forward to this process,” Ndlovu said.

“It must be noted that the whole process should be done properly with all stakeholders including parents and industry being involved in the consultations,” he said.