Bleacher Report

24th August 2014

Zimbabwe, Australia and South Africa begin a brisk one-day tri-series as all three teams hit the high gear for World Cup preparations.

Venue: Harare Sports Club

Dates: Monday, 25 August

Start time: 8:30 a.m. BST (9:30 a.m. local time)

TV and live stream: SuperSport (South Africa and Zimbabwe), PTV Sports (Pakistan), Ten Sports (India and others), Orbit Show Network (Middle East), WillowTV (USA).

Weather: There’s no problem with rain in Harare this time of the year. AccuWeather.com forecasts a lovely day with bright sunshine and temperatures reaching up to 26 degrees Celsius.

Overview

After being schooled in both the one-off Test and the three-match ODI series against South Africa, Zimbabwe have little time for introspection. They need to save some face and they begin this task against Australia.

Australia have had a long layoff from competitive cricket and they have opted to not send David Warner or Shane Watson on the tour. Skipper Michael Clarke is also in doubt due to a hamstring injury. If he misses out, George Bailey will take over as captain. Still, the Australian batting order is strong with Aaron Finch, Phillip Hughes and Glenn Maxwell all part of the side.

Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc are the two quicks to watch out for, but if Zimbabwe opt for a pitch as sluggish as they did in the one-off Test against South Africa, it could be a challenge. Australia’s unfamiliarity with the conditions might be the only advantage to the hosts. It’s the first time in a decade that Australia have toured the country, but they have never lost here. Still, if Zimbabwe are reaching for positives, that might be the only one.

Sean Williams, Hamilton Masakadza and Elton Chigumbura showed some promise with the bat against South Africa, but overall, the team has not clicked. Brendan Taylor was dropped from the side for the final ODI against South Africa after just two failures with the bat. It prompted questioning from former Minister for Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart.

Taylor remains one of Zimbabwe’s key players and dropping him was indeed questionable. He is in the squad for the tri-series, but whether he will actually play only time will tell. Games for this tri-series come thick and fast so it’s important to get off to a good start early on. While this series certainly is being played with the bigger picture of the World Cup in mind, a little silverware never hurt anyone.

Key players

Zimbabwe

Sean Williams has played a handy role with both bat and ball in the recent one-day series against South Africa. The top order’s failure to string partnerships together has seen Williams take charge with the lower order. His ability to help his side save face lower down will come in very handy.

Australia

James Faulkner has been Australia’s best bowler over the last 12 months. He has taken 25 wickets in the time period, but they have come at a fairly high average of 30.20. The conditions will be testing for the bowlers, but if the batsmen can give their bowlers something to work with, Faulkner’s role will be crucial.

Squads

Australia

Aaron Finch, Phillip Hughes, Michael Clarke(c), George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Brad Haddin(w), Mitchell Johnson, James Faulkner, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Ben Cutting, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Richardson

Zimbabwe

Hamilton Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami(w), Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Elton Chigumbura(c), Luke Jongwe, Shingirai Masakadza, Prosper Utseya, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, John Nyumbu, Tendai Chatara, Tinashe Panyangara

Zimbabwe Independent

By Herbert Moyo

THE drastic 13,23% drop in the June Ordinary ‘O’ Level school examinations pass rate, though tragic, is not surprising to many Zimbabweans as it is a direct result of the hare-brained and destructive cocktail of policies introduced by Education minister Lazarus Dokora since his appointment in September last year.

Zimsec director Esau Shingirai Nhandara in a statement last week said 194 278 candidates sat for the June ‘O’ Level examinations and obtained an average pass rate of 37, 96%, which was 13, 23% lower than last year’s results.

Nhandara also said the ‘A’ Level pass rate of 51,46% is also lower than that of 2013 which was 54,35% and 2012’s 53%. “Compared with other years, the lowest pass rate is in June 2014 examinations,” Nhandara said without offering an explanation for the decline.

But for Takavafira Zhou, president of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), “the June results for both ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels are an indicator of the terrific speed by the ministry — in the wrong direction.

“Instead of steering the ship along the recovery path crafted by the previous Minister of Education, David Coltart, the new ministry regime erroneously believes that intelligence resides at Head Office and operates through unilateral policies formulated without teachers’ and stakeholders’ input, let alone consultation.”

Zhou added: “In spite of a strategic plan crafted with the participation of teachers that reflected that they are number one for meaningful learning and teaching to take place, followed by pupils and resources, the ministry has totally reneged on this and considered them as any other business.

“As such teachers’ morale is low and no meaningful learning and teaching is taking place although they have not necessarily engaged in industrial action.”

Among other controversial measures, Dokora has scrapped monetary incentives for teachers in the absence of a corresponding increase in their salaries.

He also banned extra lessons late last year, which have been credited for improving candidates’ overall performance, only to reverse that decision a week before schools closed but only for classes that will sit for public examinations.

However, there is still confusion over that decision, with some schools whose applications had been approved being told this week to stop conducting the extra-lessons.

Dokora, who only assumed the portfolio after last year’s general elections that brought Zanu PF back into power, inherited a ministry on a steady recovery path after the tribulations of the hyper-inflationary era which came to a head in 2008, forcing many teachers to abandon their jobs.

The education sector recorded gains from 2009 under the stewardship of former minister Coltart, who came in during the inclusive government of 2013.

The ‘A’ level pass rate in 2009 stood at 76,88%, up from 67,43% in 2008.

According to an analysis which Coltart presented to cabinet in April 2010, “pass rates had improved because teachers had been working hard during vacations to prepare their students for examinations, while parents/guardians went all out to mobilise resources and ensure their children accessed extra tuition”.

The 2011 national percentage pass rate for ‘O’ Level was 19,5%, up from 16,5% 2010 results, while for ‘A’ Level there was an increase to 85,25%, up from 75,99% in 2010.

The gains were achieved against the background of progressive policies that included the introduction of financial and other incentives to cushion teachers against their meagre salaries.
Teachers were also allowed to conduct extra and holiday lessons as the average US$300 monthly salary was seen to be woefully inadequate.

But the appointment of Dokora has reversed most of the gains made during the inclusive government. It seems Dokora, formerly Coltart’s deputy, learnt nothing from his predecessor, but is instead undoing some of Coltart’s morale-boosting policies that catalysed the gradual recovery of the sector.

In addition to scrapping the incentives, Dokora’s other unilateral policies include plans to re-train those already qualified. The ministry has also decided to extend primary education to nine years from the current seven by adding two years of early childhood development, while they would be tested at Grade two and Grade six, in addition to the Grade 7 examination.

It is not yet clear when these measures would come into effect, but there is a feeling the ministry should prioritise improving teachers’ conditions of service.

Despite revealing to the Bulawayo Zanu PF leadership that there was a critical shortage of trained mathematics and science teachers in the country, with more than 1 500 vacant posts, Dokora has astonishingly made a commitment to send an unspecified number of English and science teachers to the Republic of South Sudan.

According to the state broadcaster, the teachers will be sent to South Sudan “on a 12-month exchange programme in an effort to help Africa’s newest nation build its learning institutions.”

Such altruism would be welcome if government had first addressed the crisis on its door-step, especially in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces which have vacancy rates of more than 55%.
Some schools in Binga and Gokwe districts have been manned by untrained personnel since Independence — a development which Dokora could help redress by committing more funds to colleges for training programmes.

A headmaster from a school in Binga, who spoke to this paper on condition of anonymity, queried how his school could be expected to produce decent results when all the 18 teachers, except his deputy and himself, are ‘A’ and ‘O’ Level school graduates without any formal training.

Rather than re-training already qualified teachers, Dokora should be committing more funds to training unqualified teachers and ensuring that qualified teachers are also deployed to rural schools.

The situation can still be salvaged, only if the ministry reverses its policies and improves teachers’ working conditions.

But as things stand, teachers have, according to Zhou, “mentally resigned although they physically remain at their stations — a dangerous scenario for any profession.”

Newsday

5th August 2014

PRIMARY and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora’s crusade to scrap off teacher incentives earned through extra lessons has torched the professionals’ anger as they are now taking home much less than support staff that include school drivers, groundspeople and laboratory assistants.

This comes in the wake of indications that Dokora had prepared a dossier for Cabinet in which he, among other things, recommended the removal of teacher incentives which the minister claims were raising the cost of education and, consequently, burdening parents and guardians.

A snap survey done by NewsDay has revealed that support staff in schools — who fall under the National Employment Council for Educational and Welfare Institutions — were pocketing between $500 and $600.

In January this year, civil servants got a $54 salary increment which saw the lowest paid employee earning $375 against the poverty datum line set at $505.
Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (Zimta) chief executive officer Sifiso Ndlovu said the use of separate pieces of legislation — the Public Service Act and the Labour Act — has created discrepancies and contributed to the wide chasm between the earnings of teachers and support staff in schools.

“The people who are employed as civil servants are governed by the Public Service Act while others are governed by the Labour Act. This creates differences in the negotiation platforms,” he said.

During David Coltart’s tenure as Education minister under the power–sharing agreement entered into by Zanu PF and the two MDCs, teachers found succour in the earnings realised through incentives paid by parents and income realised through extra lessons.

When Dokora took over the ministry, however, he
re–arranged the matrix, saying paid extra lessons had been banned before scrapping the incentives which he argued made parents and guardians pay more for their children’s education.

In a recent circular to the country’s provincial education directors, the permanent secretary Constance Chigwamba, however, said the ministry had not imposed a blanket ban on extra lessons, but teachers should first seek the parent ministry’s authority to do so.

“Please be advised that no school will be allowed to conduct holiday or extra lessons without the express authority of the secretary for Primary and Secondary Education,” reads the circular.

“Any school violating this injunction should be dealt with in terms of Statutory Instrument (SI) 1 of 2000 (3) of the First Schedule (Section 2), Acts of Misconduct.”

Although the circular was likely to elicit a sigh of relief from the hard–pressed teaching professionals, they were still riled by the fact that drivers and groundspeople at their workstations earned more money than them.

Soon afterwards, Dokora did an about turn and said he had not imposed any bans, but ordered schools to first seek clearance with the parent ministry and confined extra lessons to examination classes only.

The ministry, however, specified that such clearance would only be granted for examination classes — Grade 7, Form 4 and 6.
Teachers who spoke to NewsDay said it was embarrassing that a groundsman earned more than a professional teacher.

“It’s laughable, but embarrassing at the same time,” a teacher at a school in Chitungwiza said.

“I think government should look into that and ensure that the dignity of the teacher is restored.”

Ndlovu said it was unacceptable that the lowest paid driver was earning better than a teacher and there was need for such glaring distortions to be corrected.

“Schools are paying more to groundspeople. The thing is that decisions are not made by SDAs [School Development Associations], but by NEC [National Employment Council], which produces schedules of grades and the accompanying salary scales,” he said.

During the recent launch of the $3 million Teacher Capacity Development Programme aimed at upgrading teachers’ educational qualifications to effectively contribute to the curriculum in Harare, President Robert Mugabe said it was important to improve the welfare of teachers so that they could fulfil their obligations diligently.

He said teaching was an honourable profession which involved the dispensing of knowledge.

“Those who make us know more must have the means, they must be capacitated and what does that mean? Give them more money as wages. Yes, I agree, they must be in a situation where they do not worry about food, clothes, families, travel and so on — they should be well salaried so we make them comfortable, comfortable physically, morally and spiritually so that they can undertake the process of research without worrying about that situation regarding their well-being,” he said.

Some teachers said it appeared as if Dokora was out to “reduce” them and many of them were likely to abandon the profession or look elsewhere for respite. They complained that instead of rewarding teachers for their enterprise, the ministry was out to frustrate them.

“That is the only way you can explain the removal of incentives,” a teacher with a Harare school said. “You would think as our minister, he should actually be coming up with initiatives to improve our situation like what Coltart used to do. He is actually slowly undoing all that Coltart did and it appears very deliberate.”

He said it was not surprising that parents felt insulted by the bid to stop extra lessons because such a move was calculated to undermine the gains made in the education sector.

He said the concept of incentives has been in existence in private schools and its positive effects have historically been cherished by students from elite families. This has contributed significantly towards quality education in private schools and students from these schools occupy most, if not all top executive posts and offices in the country.

Since 2012, support staff at mission schools earned salaries higher than school heads, forcing 75 mission schools to approach the High Court seeking to bar their workers from subscribing to NEC for Educational and Welfare Institutions.

At that time, the most paid auxiliary staffers got a basic salary of $509, exclusive of allowances with most school heads are earning an average of $400, following a collective bargaining agreement for NEC published under Statutory Instrument 6 of 2012.

Mission schools resisted paying the gazetted salaries arguing that only schools that do not have school development committees should be governed by NEC figures.

Early this year, Dokora issued a ban on extra lessons arguing that teachers were not pulling their weight during normal working hours in a bid to generate funds through extra lessons.

The lessons ranged between $2 and $10 per week.

Teachers’ unions, however, argued that teachers needed the extra money to supplement their meagre salaries.

Statutory Instrument 107 of 2005 states that a school calendar should provide for at least 180 days and not more than 200 days in each year.

Dokora told the media that extra lessons were a money–spinning initiative that disadvantaged learners.

“Learners need a break to renew their zeal and zest for learning. It is instructive to note that extra or holiday lessons were being organised purely for monetary reasons, not for circular considerations,” he said.

He said an analysis of school performance in public examinations showed that schools that conducted extra lessons did not necessarily perform better than those that did not conduct them.

He said holiday lessons disadvantaged children that needed a break and parents should appreciate the importance of allowing their children to have a break so that they can go back to school recharged.

“Parents should use holidays to spend quality time with their children. The ability of parents to pay for the lessons is not the issue. It is a deliberate attempt to deny children a break for monetary reasons that are of concern to the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education,” he said.

Ndlovu said it was important for government to remunerate people in line with the nature of their jobs and their qualifications.

He said as an association, they wanted government to make decisions and craft statutory instruments that would see workers remunerated accordingly and not just on the wishes of an employment council.

The Herald

5th August 2014

SPORT, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa will soon announce a new Sport and Recreation Committee board that will take over from the one led by Joseph James. Langa said they will be unveiling a board as early as this week. The present SRC board was appointed in 2013 by then Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart. There is a huge possibility that all the board members will be booted out after inviting the wrath of Langa after all but one board member attended a football indaba held in the capital a few months ago.

Langa immediately threatened to dissolve the board as he felt undermined. The Sport and Recreation Commission derives its mandate from the Sport and Recreation Commission Act and reports to the Government through the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture. Part of the mandate is to facilitate for the accessibility of sport and recreation programmes to the people of Zimbabwe and to oversee the general running of sport and recreation programmes by the National Sports Associations.

Daily News

31st July 2014

Former Sports minister David Coltart believes Zimbabwe Cricket’s latest slump at the hands of war-torn Afghanistan comes as no surprise and is a culmination of “lack of sound policy” by the sport’s leadership.

In a series where the Test playing nation was expected to run over the second-tier side, Zimbabwe found themselves drawing the four-match ODI series 2-2 before their A side fell to a humiliating 35 run loss in the first un-official Test match in Harare yesterday.

The result is undoubtedly disheartening ahead of the arrival of world number one Test side South Africa for a one-off Test match next week.

“I’m afraid it’s not surprising. When you deprive a team of an expert bowling coach, an expert batting coach and an experienced coach and then you appoint a coach with no international cricket experience it’s going to have its consequences. It’s inevitable,” Coltart told the Daily News yesterday.

Coltart added that poor decision-making and the “race card” has been ZC board’s greatest undoing.

“I am afraid they will say my comments are racist, but they are a lot of blacks who could have easily taken the coaching role, be it Ireland coach (Phil) Simmons or former West Indies players or Indian coaches and many other international coaches.

“But I wonder if there was any consultation with players.

“It doesn’t augur well for the future.”

Trinidadian Simmons has previously coached Zimbabwe.

Coltart said the continued presence of people within the ZC board without any recognisable cricketing background was a sad indictment on the leadership of the game.

“I don’t think there is a single member of that board who has played international cricket,” Coltart said.

“One only becomes a Supreme Court judge if you understand the pressure that comes with arguing a case and that’s the same with every job.

“Not to say everyone must have played international cricket, obviously there are passionate people who have not played but who do well in their positions, but in the current ZC board there is no one.” Turning to the future of the game in the country, Coltart’s heart bleeds for the crop of talent Zimbabwe possess that may never realise its full potential.

“Well, obviously the game will not die, but barring a miracle it will continue to go down until the coach, selectors and the board change,” Coltart said.

“One thing I want to stress is, our players have demonstrated skill and passion. I have confidence in all our players even in this A side, there are some encouraging signs.

“Luke Jongwe is a great prospect, Mark Vermeulen is a talent.

“With South Africa and Australia coming, we wish them well but there is no denying that we will be up against it.”

The Herald

By Robson Sharuko

AFTER four years in the background, Harare lawyer Wilson Manase stepped into the limelight on Thursday after taking over as Zimbabwe Cricket chairman and immediately promised to battle to stabilise the organisation’s shaky financial foundation. Manase replaced Peter Chingoka, the long-serving Zimbabwe Cricket leader, who decided to step down on Thursday, with a year still to run on his term of office, saying he needed time to provide mentorship to the person who is filling his big shoes.

Manase, who is also a prominent businessman in the capital, has been working closely with Chingoka in the past four years, fighting for the cause of their game, and now has been handed the baton to take cricket forward at a time the game is facing a number of challenges.

In his first wide-ranging media interview, after his elevation into the top post in Zimbabwe Cricket, Manase told The Saturday Herald that he was bracing for the big challenge and was confident that he had the right team to help the game take a huge leap forward.

“We face challenges and one of the big ones would be to try and stabilise our financial position,” Manase said.

“If we stabilise and improve our financial position we will then be able to also work to improve our game, creating a large pool of talented players who will be there, ready to take on the challenge of playing for the national teams.

“We have a mandate to try and spread the game, as much as possible, to all parts of the country so that anyone, any Zimbabwean child, no matter his race, can dream of playing cricket and taking this game as a career.

“Obviously, we can’t do it alone and we will need the support of everyone across the board to improve our game, improve the quality of our players, the quality of our coaches and, ultimately, the quality of the game that we will be displaying, through our national teams, to the world.”

Manase said there were going to be some changes, in the administrative structures of the game, in a grand vision to try and breathe life into Zimbabwe Cricket.

“We will, going forward, propose certain changes in our administration structures,” Manase said.

“This will also see the re-organising of our committees so that we bring in the efficiency that we are looking for and which is expected from us.

“I always believe that one should not remain in one position for a very long time, especially in sport, because there is a danger that person could lose a bit of steam and I want to see all-rounders, people who can deliver in different capacities within our committees and administration, people who can respond to a fresh mandate.

“The ultimate goal is to deliver players and a product that we can all be proud of and I am sure that, if we work together as a team, we can achieve a lot at the end of the day.”

The new ZC chairman said he would like to see, within the short-term, an engagement being made with the England and Wales Cricket Board to see how their two organisations can build bridges after years of a frosty relationship.

England have not played Zimbabwe, in a cricket series, for more than a decade and ZC leaders estimated that they have lost more than US$20 million from that impasse.

“Going forward, as a board, we would like to engage every board and England are one of the cricket nations and we want our players to play all the big cricket nations in the world, that is the only way that they can get better because the exposure can only be found in competing.
“We have no ill-feelings against anyone because our mandate is to try and ensure that we manager a cricket family that is moving forward.”

Manase also paid tribute to Chingoka and the board for the manner they handled the transition.

“The change of leadership was done in a very democratic manner and there was unanimity on the board on everything that we were doing at that meeting,” said Manase.

“Peter Chingoka felt that with one year of his term remaining, and with him not standing next year, he felt that it was important that he retires now and use the remainder of the year to impart his experience, knowledge and contacts, here and around the world, gained from 22 years of leading this organisation, to the new leadership.

“I have gained quite a lot of experience working with him and I have also come to know a lot of people, around the world, the key contacts you need as part of the leadership of the game, from the international meetings that we were attending in the last four years.

“I also need to get further guidance, in other spheres, to carry other duties needed in leading this organisation and Peter is the right man because his experience is priceless.

“I am happy that the board also appointed a woman as the vice-chairman, which was important, given that we have a growing female arm in our game and I was delighted that this was approved unanimously.

“We have a big job at hand but every job, no matter how huge, has to be done and we are confident that we will play our part and make a difference.”

Of course, there will be dissenting voices, and one of them was a familiar one with former Sports Minister, David Coltart, saying there was nothing to celebrate in Chingoka’s exit.

“Chingoka’s exit frm (from) #ZimCricket is nothing to celebrate given he’s been replaced by Manase who, whilst a nice guy, has never played the game,” Coltart posted on his Facebook page.

“Massive changes in Zimbabwe cricket? Not really – perhaps just a faster decline to oblivion.”

But others disagreed with the former minister, with Thammy Moyo, posting a reply on the same thread:

“Playing the game is not necessarily a pre-requisite to efficiently run the institution.

“That’s why they have coaching staff right?”

SW Radio Africa

By Nomalanga Moyo

Zimbabwe Cricket’s long-serving head Peter Chingoka has relinquished his position after 22 years as chairman and board member of the sports body.

Chingoka was first elected chairman in 1992 and held onto that position until his retirement this week. His deputy, Wilson Manase, will take over until Zim Cricket holds elections, at a date yet to be set. Maureen Kuchocha will deputise Manase.

Chingoka announced his decision to retire at a board meeting held Thursday during which other changes were made to the coaching structure.

In a statement, Zim Cricket said Chingoka’s “decision was based on the need to have a well defined succession plan in which it had been agreed that a year before his term he would step down and assist the incoming chairman.

“He will therefore impart his knowledge based on experience and at times undertake missions assigned by the Board upon request.”

The retirement was of Chingoka’s “own accord”, Zim Cricket indicated. Cricket fans say he had overstayed his welcome, with cricketers passing a vote-of-no-confidence in him on several occasions.

Some of the complaints against Chingoka are that he presided over the complete ruination of a once-vibrant sport through maladministration, financial misuse and rampant corruption.

One of his recent scandals involved the misuse of the $9 million loan obtained from International Cricket on condition that the money would be used to service Zim Cricket’s debts with local banks.

However Chingoka, Manase and former managing director Ozias Bvute defied this condition and invested $6 million of this loan in a non-interest bearing account at Metbank where they hold senior positions.

Morale within the team hit its lowest under Chingoka’s watch, with players going unpaid for months, leading to boycotts and general poor performance on the field.

Eliah Zvimba, chief executive officer at the Zimbabwe Professional Cricketers Association, told SW Radio Africa that Chingoka’s departure was long overdue.

“There isn’t much to celebrate as the damage has already been done. There has been no development in the sport, standards have nosedived, and Chingoka and the board have done little to nurture the talent we have in this country.”

Zvimba said players were not convinced that Manase will bring about any changes to the way Zim Cricket has been handling the sport.

“The mindset is the same and we will be surprised if he does things differently. We are willing to support him as much as we can but Manase and Chingoka are birds of the same feather and he is unlikely to improve anything.”

Former Education and Sports Minister David Coltart shared the same view. “Manase will continue where Chingoka left off but has the disadvantage of never having played cricket himself. As for the rest – no comment,” Coltart wrote on a Facebook page for cricket fans.

Zvimba however said as players they welcome the changes within the coaching department where Stephen Mangongo will be the substantive national team head coach, with Brendan Taylor and Elton Chigumbura splitting the captaincy.

In other cricket forums, supporters shared their reservations on Chingoka’s retirement, with James Kaseke comparing the move to securing the stable door when the horse has already bolted.

“I think Chingoka saw that he had squeezed as much as he could and he stood no more personal gain. We have stood still for over a decade and I seriously doubt we can ever recover,” he said.

Lwandle Ndebele told SW Radio Africa if the new administration is serious about restoring Zim cricket to its former glory, they will have to make sweeping but real changes.

“The players should be placed at the centre of the sport both in terms of looking after their welfare and giving them a chance to lead. We also need a system where politics has no role in the administration of sports because that is what has killed cricket, rugby and football in Zimbabwe,” Ndebele added.

New Zimbabwe.com

24th July 2014

MAJOR changes were announced Thursday by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC), with test skipper Brendan Taylor losing the one-day role and coach, Andy Waller, taking up the newly-created director of coaching role.

The changes came on the day Zimbabwe suffered a crushing 100-run defeat by Afghanistan with the ODI series ending in a disappointing 2-2 draw for the home side.

Commenting on the defeat, former education and sport minister David Coltart said the local game had hit rock bottom.
Writing on his Facebook page, Coltart said: “We have to face it – being thumped by Afghanistan is arguably the worst day in Zimbabwe’s cricket history.

Taylor’s replacement in the ODI and Twenty20 format was Elton Chigumbura while assistant coach Stephen Mangongo moved up to replace Waller, whose last game in charge was Thursday’s defeat.

Mangongo led the side as caretaker last year before the appointment of Waller.
”The board decided to create the position of national director of coaching responsible for development of cricket from grassroots and grooming of coaches,” a ZC statement said.

”Andy Waller was appointed to the position with immediate effect up to the end of his current contract and subject to renewal.”

Mangongo’s first task would be to prepare the team for a one-off home test against South Africa starting on August 9, before Zimbabwe welcome Australia for a triangular ODI series also involving the Proteas later in the month.

Long-serving ZC chairman Peter Chingoka also stepped down on Thursday after 22 years at the helm of the game in the country.
Commenting on the changes Coltart said: “I think the state of the game of Zimbabwe cricket after (Thursday’s) Board decisions is aptly summed up in the way they played (against Afghanistan).

“Chingoka’s exit from Zimbabwe Cricket is nothing to celebrate given he’s been replaced by Manase who, whilst a nice guy, has never played the game.”

The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)

8th July 2014

BUSINESSMAN Peter Holmes a Court’s African wedding to New York photographer Alissa Everett has been hit by tragedy after their guests were involved in a shocking train accident in Zimbabwe.

Members of the wedding party were among tourists who jumped for their lives from a sightseeing tram at picturesque Victoria Falls after a freight train ploughed into the back of it last week.

His best man, grocery millionaire Jason Gissing, and another man were flown to Johannesburg for specialist medical treatment and another 10 people were injured.

A 43-year-old father of two died of his injuries but it is not known if he was with the wedding group.

The group was reportedly heading for the town of Maun in Botswana for the ceremony late last week. ­African media has reported the couple postponed the ­wedding.

The Holmes a Court family has close ties to Zimbabwe which was where Peter’s father, Robert Holmes a Court, Australian’s first billionaire businessman, grew up.

Mr Holmes a Court has contacted prominent Zimbabwean lawyer and former politician David Coltart for legal advice following the crash, while friends back in Sydney are waiting for more news.

“We don’t really know much more than what’s been reported. We’re waiting to get more details and to find out how we can help,” one friend said yesterday.

The accident happened about 5pm last Tuesday as the open-sided tram, which had just picked up 32 tourists including four children, was due to leave Victoria Falls station for the 20-minute trip through the rainforest along the Zambia-Zimbabwe border and the sight of big game including ­elephants and buffalo.

Police national spokesman Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba said all those involved were foreign tourists from America, Australia and the Netherlands.

“While the tram train was at the Victoria Falls main station (it) was hit from behind by a goods train,” he told African media.

The brother of the dead man, named online as Stephen, has spoken about the family’s anger and grief: “We can never fully forgive those responsible and will go out of our way to warn our friends and loved ones to stay away from such corrupt places as Zimbabwe. There was no warning, no horn blast, and the tram operator cowardly jumped seconds before impact. Any small effort may have made a difference. Our hearts break from the tragic loss of such a great man.”

The wedding couple had asked guests and friends to donate to Safe Houses in Congo, which award-wining photographer Ms Everett has been supporting for six years after working in the area as a war photographer.

Mr Holmes a Court lives in France after divorcing his first wife, Divonne, who lives in Saanen, Switzerland where their children go to school.

Nobody from his family or their Perth-based company, Heytesbury, could be contacted.

The Zimbabwe Mail

7th July 2014

Former Education Minister David Coltart on Sunday said there is need to adopt an affirmative policy to ensure that teachers deployed in Matabeleland are conversant in the languages of the region.

Wading into the debate on Shona speaking teachers in Matabeleland, the former minister said the mother tongue plays a critical role in a child’s education.

“The most important building block in any child’s education is the ability to speak, read and write in their mother tongue. The best people to teach the child are those who know the language,” he said.

“We need an affirmative policy to ensure that we train our teachers to teach in those minority languages, including Ndebele, Tonga, Khalanga, Nambia, Venda and others, because if we don’t do so, the children in those regions will remain prejudiced.”

On Friday in Tsholotsho, the minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora, exonerated himself from blame over the thorny issue of teachers in Matabeleland who cannot speak Ndebele or other local languages in the areas they work in.

The issue of teachers in Matabeleland who cannot speak the local languages was one of the subjects of debate at the recent Matabeleland regional development indaba convened by senior minister in the President’s Office Simon Khaya Moyo at Elangeni Training Centre in Bulawayo.

Politicians in the region have spoken out on the issue with some suggesting the building of more teachers’ colleges in Matabeleland as the solution to the problem.

There has also been a suggestion that a crash programme be held to train the affected teachers in the local languages.

Commenting on the recent remarks made by the National Association of Secondary Schools (Nash) attacking Dokora for not consulting them before implementing some reforms in the education sector, Coltart said the minister had erred by not engaging the educators.

However, the former education minister differed with the headmasters on their sentiments that Dokora’s reforms had reversed the gains of the education sector since independence.

“It is too early to say the gains made in the sector have been reversed, but there is need for a lot of consultations. The education sector needs the aid of the teacher to succeed,” he said.

“We have been reading the reports in the media where Nash said decisions were being made without any consultations, it is worrying.”

Coltart said the education sector remains haunted by poor budget allocation and remuneration for teachers.