Newsday

28th January 2014

By Phillip Chidavaenzi

Senior Features Reporter

THE pricing out of school of almost a million pupils following international donors’ withdrawal of funding to the Basic Education Assistance Module (Beam) speaks eloquently to how the programme has played a key role in turning around the fortunes of children from poor backgrounds.

The Zimbabwe government would only be able to support the education of 83 000 secondary school pupils after Beam was allocated just $15 million in the 2014 national budget.

Government had initially intended to fund 750 000 primary and 250 000 secondary school pupils this year and with the scarcity of resources, the targeted
167 000 secondary school pupils are going to miss out unless additional funding is secured.

Beam was conceived as part of the Enhanced Social Protection Project (ESPP), launched by the government in 2000 in response to “worsening social conditions in the country that were causing the poor to suffer deepening multiple shocks”, according to Nelson Marongwe of the Centre for Applied Social Sciences Trust in his 2007 report on the programme.

The “shocks” included escalating basic commodity prices, retrenchments and high unemployment rates, high drop outs of school children and high interest and inflation rates.

Labour and Social Welfare ministry Social Services director Sydney Mhishi recently told a parliamentary committee that the ministry had asked for a budget allocation of $73 million to cover Beam, but only received $15 million, just enough to pay for 83 000 children in need.

“We used to have a basket funding where (European Union) countries pooled resources and gave it to Unicef which would interface with our schools,” Mhishi said. “That fell off two years ago. Their argument was that primary education must be free and compulsory. The current circumstance is that there will be no free primary education.

“We still think DfID (Britain’s Department for International Development) might come again. If they don’t come, it means Government will have to look for the money.”

The module is a national programme implemented in the country’s 61 districts in both urban and rural areas. According to Marongwe: “Its main focus is the provision of educational assistance to orphans and other vulnerable children aged between 6-19 years. In brief, Beam targets children in school, but failing to pay fees, children who have dropped out of school and children who have never been to school. Its main support is in the form of payment of tuition fees, examination fees, building fund and school levies.”

In recent years, however, there have been calls for the overhaul of Beam owing to its failure to fulfill its objective, spelt out in the policy document as “to reduce the number of children dropping out, and reach out to children who have never been to school due to economic hardships . . . to prevent irreversible welfare losses for poor households who resort to perverse coping mechanisms, like withdrawing children from school in response to increasing poverty”.

On paper, the module remains a well-established framework implemented through community participation but has not been spared the devastation wrought by economic decline in the country and withdrawal of key funders.

Education Coalition of Zimbabwe national co-ordinator Maxwell Rafamoyo believes that the rate at which Beam is falling apart demands the need to implement the new constitutional provision of free primary education.

“The fact that there are a million children under Beam shows the extent of the need and right now, Beam is falling apart so there is need to look at other ways, such as free education. In terms of education, we are asking government to come in and make at least basic education accessible to all,” he said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare show that between 2002 and 2005, a total of 2 738 903 pupils benefited from the programme. Out of these, 1 384 298 were boys while 1 354 605 were girls.

Beam, however, has always been problematic, as noted by Marongwe who said: “Despite the existence of Beam and other educational initiatives, most of the pupils attending primary and secondary education remain self financing in terms of paying school fees, implying that their parents pay for their educational costs.

Thus in 2003 for instance, about 87% and 84% of primary and secondary schools were self-financing respectively.” He further noted that Beam was a national programme conceptualised with donor support as an important pillar for its successful implementation.

Former Education Minister David Coltart said it was clear that government had failed to provide basic education and Beam-related challenges were symptomatic of a bigger problem.

“The government is allocating insufficient funds to education and if we are to ensure that children at least get a primary education, this has to improve significantly. Beam is a symptom of a bigger problem,” Coltart said.

“It is underfunded and was devised a decade ago for a much stronger economy when there were far more people in formal employment than the current situation where a lot of people are poverty-stricken and can’t pay fees. The scheme simply can’t cope, and compounding the crisis is that donors have pulled out.”

The withdrawal of donors has consequently forced the government to fund the programme through public funds channeled through the national fiscus, but budgetary limitations have crippled its effective implementation.

From as far back as 2006, the number of children in need of educational support through Beam was on the ascent, exceeding the number that could be catered for by the programme. Studies have shown that there is no evidence of linkages between government’s implementation of Beam and various interventions supporting children to attend school spearheaded by non-governmental organisations.

Rafamoyo argued that Zimbabwe was endowed with precious minerals some of whose proceeds could be chanelled to funding education. “We are endowed with a lot of natural resources like diamonds. We can say for every carat sold a certain percentage goes to education,” he said.

“At the moment, over 90% of the budget allocation to education goes to salaries so we need to find other initiatives,” he said.

Coltart recommended that government re-aligns its budget allocations through cutting expenditure by reducing Cabinet size and reducing military spending and re-examining Beam’s administration to make it more transparent and effective.

SW Radio Africa

27 January 2014

By Nomalanga Moyo

The ZANU PF government has asked Britain to pay school fees for one million poor children who are on social welfare, according to British newspaper The Telegraph.

The request was submitted to Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), on the same week that schools re-opened for the new term.

A fortnight ago Sydney Mhishi, the director of social services, told legislators that the State had failed to pay fees for 750,000 poor children who are eligible under the Basic Education Assistance Model (BEAM) scheme.

Under the scheme, the State is supposed to pay fees for primary school children from poor families. Free primary education is also a constitutional right.

Mhishi said unless donors resumed funding the education sector, as they used to until last year, many children will miss out.

“We still think DFID might come again,” Mhishi said.

A DFID official has confirmed receiving the funding request from Zimbabwe.

“We received an initial request from the Zimbabwean Government and we are considering our response,” a DFID spokesman told the UK Telegraph on Friday.

Britain is among other western donors that have kept Zimbabwe’s social service institutions functioning since ZANU PF embarked on its ruinous policies in 1999.

To date, donors have provided 13 million textbooks, with Britain paying school fees for more than 300,000 poor children.

In November, former education minister David Coltart said at least 380,000 disadvantaged children were turned away from the BEAM scheme due to a shortage of funds.

Speaking to SW Radio Africa two weeks ago, Coltart also raised concerns over the lack of transparency and the partisan way in which the BEAM has been managed.

“If government commits itself to free basic education then we don’t need that bureaucracy because every child will be able to get a free education,” he added.

Coltart has on many occasions criticised the government’s lack of commitment to adequately fund the education sector in the last two decades.

This year, the ministry asked Treasury for $73 million to cover BEAM but only received $15 million.

Tuition fee for each disadvantaged child is $8 a term, which translates to $28 million for the 750,000 pupils.

The government says it has no money, despite stupendous salaries being paid to civil servants at the country’s parastatals.

Last week, the State-owned Herald newspaper reported that Cuthbert Dube, head of the Public Service Medical Aid Society earns $250,000 per month.

Dube’s salary is enough to pay fees for one term for 31,250 primary school pupils.

Head of the Harare-based Council of Social Workers Philip Manyanye, a social worker, said the government was showing itself to be inefficient and unable to protect children.

“Many of these children end up on the streets and this exposes them to exploitation. Some end up being accommodated at homes where they are abused.

“Primary education should by now be free as stipulated by our constitution but yet again they are failing in their duty of care,” Manyanye added.

With many of the country’s social programmes underfunded, it is not surprising that the country will keep going cap in hand to western donors for assistance.

Although ZANU PF government officials continue to aim potshots at the British government and claim the country does not need any western support, the majority of Zimbabweans have survived the past decade thanks to foreign assistance.

The Telegraph

24th January 2014

The Globe and Mail

20th January 2014

By Geoffrey York

It’s the biggest event to hit Zimbabwe in years. Within 10 hours of the announcement that Bryan Adams would be performing in Harare, every ticket was sold out – and at prices that most ordinary Zimbabweans could never afford.

The concert on Friday by the Canadian rock singer – the highest-profile Western star to visit the impoverished African country for many years – is being welcomed eagerly by many Zimbabweans who yearn for an end to their long isolation on the world stage. But some worry that it could also give legitimacy to Robert Mugabe, the autocratic President who has ruled the country for the past 34 years.

he Harper government is among those who might be less than happy with the Adams concert, though it has said little publicly. Last year, it boycotted a United Nations tourism conference in Zimbabwe, after questioning Mr. Mugabe’s latest claim of election victory. It has expressed “profound concerns” over human-rights violations in Zimbabwe and it has maintained sanctions on Mr. Mugabe and his inner circle despite the election results.

Some of Mr. Mugabe’s critics in Zimbabwe’s media and political circles are concerned that the Adams visit could give “comfort” to the Mugabe government. But the star’s handlers are dismissing the criticism.

“Bryan is an international artist with a worldwide audience, whether it is Pakistan or Vietnam or Zimbabwe,” said Bruce Allen, the long-time manager of the Canadian star, in an e-mail on Monday.

“To paraphrase what he has said over the course of his 30-plus year career, ‘Everywhere he goes, kids wanna rock.’ Music will, I hope, always remain a universal language.”

The latest Adams world tour was scheduled to arrive in South Africa this month, and his Zimbabwe show was added for Friday, a day before his first South African gig. All of the nearly 3,500 tickets at the Harare International Conference Centre were quickly snapped up, at prices ranging from $30 (U.S.) to $100.

“Zimbabweans have a real hunger for contact with the outside world,” said Petina Gappah, a Zimbabwean novelist.

International attempts to impose sanctions on the Mugabe government are failing, she said. “Isolation has not worked. I think engagement is the way to go.”

In fact, some governments – including the European Union – have reduced their sanctions on Zimbabwe in recent years. “There’s been a creeping normalization of relations,” said Brian Raftopoulos, a leading analyst of Zimbabwean politics. “There’s a slow movement toward re-engagement with Mugabe and his government.”

But some Zimbabweans are outraged by the Adams concert. “He’s creating a false comfort zone,” said Vince Musewe, a Zimbabwean newspaper columnist who believes the election last year was rigged.

“It’s inappropriate, and it’s not going to help. He could have contributed to transformation by refusing to perform. High-profile people should refuse to go to African countries where ordinary people are fighting their rulers.”

At a time of widespread poverty and unemployment in Zimbabwe, the Adams concert will only benefit the country’s elite, he said.

He compared it to a performance in Angola by American singer Mariah Carey, who was reportedly paid $1-million to perform for Angola’s authoritarian leader, José Eduardo dos Santos.

David Coltart, a human-rights lawyer and opposition leader who served as minister of education, arts and culture in a coalition cabinet in Zimbabwe from 2009 until last year, said he is “of two minds” about the Adams concert.

“On the one hand, it is good that he has come because that opens up political space, but I hope he comes with his eyes open and does not take a superficial view of what is going on,” he said. “There is no doubt that this will be a concert mainly attended by the elite.”

In the past, the Zimbabwean government has brought singers to Harare as “celebrity hosts” to promote tourism, but most were lesser-known performers, including Jamaican reggae singers.

On Monday, in response to the Bryan Adams concert, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said: “We will continue to work with the people of Zimbabwe to foster a more peaceful, democratic and prosperous future for all, one that respects the fundamental human rights of the Zimbabwean people. We hope that would be the goal for all those visiting Zimbabwe.”

The Standard

19th January 2014

By Phyllis Mbanje

The screeening of Grade Two pupils will not improve the country’s education system, but would, instead create a bloated structure and add a financial burden in the form of examination fees, parents have said.Most parents rejected the idea saying it was an “unnecessary expense”.

The parents’ comments come following a recent announcement by the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Lazarus Dokora that there would be an introduction of an assessment at Grade Two.

Dokora said the assessment was in line with the new school Early Childhood Development curriculum which is designed to improve the quality of education.
Most parents who spoke to The Standard last week expressed displeasure at this new concept, and some outrightly rejected it.

“Pupils in Grade Two are aged around seven and many are still very immature. It is unfair to make them write an examination,” said Peter Hwata from Sunridge in Harare.

Another parent, Isaac Mukumi said, “As parents, we are saying no to this idea of making the children take an exam at Grade Two. At that age, they are too young to be assessed fairly. Those who fail may have low self-esteem issues.”

Mukumi, who was picking up his child at Alfred Beit Primary School in Harare’s Mabelreign suburb, called on the ministry to consult parents and other stakeholders before rushing to make useless policies.

Remgio Musimuvi, who was also picking up his child at the same school, shared the same sentiments.

“It is our children they are talking about,” said Musimuvi. “We have a say in this and our position is very clear, we do not want this idea of screening children at that level.”

Some parents accused the Ministry of Education of trying to “create money spinning” projects at their expense.

“We are now convinced that they are just trying to make some money through examination fees. If they are really concerned about the quality of education, they should address teachers’ salaries and capacitate schools,” said Sheila Madhuku, a vendor along Sherwood Drive in Mabelreign.

However, some parents supported the move saying it was a noble idea that would improve the quality of the country’s education.

“I do not see anything wrong with my child being tested at Grade Two. We all want the quality of education to improve. As long as it is done in a manner that promotes the well-being of children,” said Cleopas Masimba of Ashdown Park in Harare.

A senior official from the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec), who refused to be named, said government had not yet approached the examinations body, but dismissed the idea as “a misguided mission”.

“It does not make sense to introduce an exam at that level and it will not benefit the children,” said the official. “I suspect it might be a psychomotor-based exam. They are trying to find relevance for Hungwe,” he said.

Josaya Hungwe is the Minister of State for Liaising on Psychomotor Activities in Education and Vocational Training.

Hungwe could not be reached for comment last week.

The social networks on the internet were last week awash with comments from angry parents from across the country dismissing the introduction of exams at grade two level.

“Who is going to test these children at primary level whilst we have failed to revive ZJC [Zimbabwe Junior Certificate]. We are merely inviting more costs when the government is broke,” said one Nyikadzino

“It’s a good idea where resources are available. Think of constructing more schools, more buildings, more lecturers to train these teachers, more teachers expanding the public service,” Taps said.

The government scrapped ZJC tests in the late 1990s because it had no money to run the exams.

Research has shown that since government scrapped the ZJC examinations and localised ‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations in the mid-1990s, education standards have been tumbling.

The junior certificate examinations were considered a good way of monitoring the quality of education that is being offered in schools and they served as an opportunity to prepare for the “O” Level examination.

“Not only did it monitor the quality of education, but it also inserted some seriousness in students as they would aim to perform better,” said the Student Christian Movement in Zimbabwe (SCMZ).

Former Minister of Education, David Coltart said it was important to understand what exactly the screening exercise would involve.

“It is not yet clear what kind of screening the ministry is talking about. Obviously, if it is about an exam it is too early for children that age and it is not going to work. However, if it is a systematic assessment then it can improve the quality of education greatly,” he said.

Educationist, Oswell Hapanyengwe who is also the deputy Dean in the Faculty of Education at the University of Zimbabwe, said although he was still to familiarise himself with the development, the issue of testing pupils was not new and could reap huge benefits.

“Unfortunately I have not read the article that talks about this development, but if it is the normal assessment then there should not be any problems with that,” he said.

Contacted for comment on Thursday, Dokora said he was attending a lecture at the UZ and would only be available later in the day.

Efforts to get a comment from him later proved fruitless.

Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) shadow minister for education, Concilia Chinanzvavana however said the ministry officials had indicated that it was just an assessment and not an examination.

“We engaged some officials from the ministry and they said it was not an examination but an assessment,” she said.

Bulawayo24 News

16th January 2014

President Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba yesterday said the 89-year-old leader was completing his annual leave at his Borrowdale home, quashing speculation that he had either died or was very ill.

Since Mugabe arrived last Friday from vacation, speculation has been rife on social media that all was not well with the veteran leader.

Speaking over the phone yesterday, Charamba said his boss remained on holiday until month-end so there was no need for the president to make a public appearance.

Charamba, said in a statement the president would spend the remainder of his leave in the country but made no reference to the health issue. Over the years, reports of Mr Mugabe’s failing health have been repeatedly confounded by public appearances where he has displayed remarkable physical form for a man of his age.

Charamba said Mugabe had not made a public appearance because he was still on his annual leave.

“I know for a fact that what has prompted your inquiry is the fact that there is a story on the (news) wires that if the president is alleged to have come back, why are they not using fresh images of him,” Charamba told the Daily News.

“It is not the responsibility of the presidential spokesperson to produce fresh images. That is a press function.”

He said it was the responsibility of media houses to dispatch reporters and photographers to cover the departure and arrival of the president.

But the independent media was not informed of his travel itinerary before he returned home, with Charamba only advising in December that Mugabe was due back in Harare mid-January.

“When the president left, I informed you and you took my word, when have we ever given you a picture to say he has left?” Charamba asked.

“Now the president comes back at around 6:30 pm, which we told you and now you want a picture? The president came back through the airport which is open to the public. He used the tarmac which is not a no-go area but newspapers did not come to take a picture.”

Asked how Mugabe, who makes frequent trips to the Far East ostensibly for cataract treatment was feeling, Charamba was non-committal.

“I do not know how he is. The president is still on leave and I am not obligated to go every morning to say Mr President, how is your limb,” he said, adding: “President Mugabe has the right to go on leave. It is a statutory right. It is a human right.”

Official sources said he had visited his rural home last weekend, and also visited his sister in hospital in Harare last week.

Mugabe traditionally takes his annual leave in January each year.

In a move that is raising eyebrows in Zimbabwe, Vice-President Joice Mujuru, the frontrunner to succeed 89-year-old President Robert Mugabe, will continue her unusually long stint as acting head of state until the end of this month.

This is understood to be the longest period that Ms Mujuru has served as acting president, having temporarily taken over last month. Mr Mugabe is on his annual leave but there has been speculation in social media about the state of his health since returning home from Singapore last weekend.

He turns 90 on February 21 and is serving his seventh term after he and the ruling Zanu-PF party scored landslide wins in last year’s general elections.

Zimbabwe’s internet mole, Baba Jukwa, kicked off the speculation about the president on Facebook, alleging that he was seriously ill. Zanu-PF officials trashed talk of Mr Mugabe’s ill health as “absolute nonsense” designed to cause “fear, alarm and despondency”.

But Zimbabweans noted the absence of any topical official pictures of the veteran ruler’s homecoming from his holiday break in the Far East. Instead state media used archive photographs in reports on Mr Mugabe’s return.

The Herald newspaper ran a picture of him returning from an African Union summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January last year. The president was last seen in public on December 29, as he left for the Far East, and previously on December 22, while presiding over the unveiling of a statue in honour of the late vice-president, Joshua Nkomo, in Bulawayo.

Ordinary people in Harare, Bulawayo and other cities went about their business as normal yesterday, unfazed by the chatter on social media platforms.

Award-winning author Petina Gappah, who has relocated to Harare, wrote on her Facebook page: “OK. I am now getting worried.

“I have foreign news agencies writing to ask me to prepare some ‘reflections on Mr Mugabe ‘ and they want this in the next two weeks. What is happening to my President? Where is he?”

David Coltart – a former education, sport, arts and culture minister in the coalition government that ended last July – wrote on Facebook : “I think the most telling thing was the Herald’s attempt to dupe the public by printing last year’s photo, but against that we know there have been so many reports in the past that one should treat this with caution.

“I think we will know when he is in serious trouble, because I suspect that tension in the military will rise dramatically – something I have not sensed thus far.”

Business Day

By Ray Ndlovu

16th January 2014

IN A move that is raising eyebrows in Zimbabwe, Vice-President Joice Mujuru, the frontrunner to succeed 89-year-old President Robert Mugabe, will continue her unusually long stint as acting head of state until the end of this month.

This is understood to be the longest period that Ms Mujuru has served as acting president, having temporarily taken over last month. Mr Mugabe is on his annual leave but there has been speculation in social media about the state of his health since returning home from Singapore last weekend.

He turns 90 on February 21 and is serving his seventh term after he and the ruling Zanu (PF) party scored landslide wins in last year’s general elections.

Zimbabwe’s internet mole, Baba Jukwa, kicked off the speculation about the president on Facebook, alleging that he was seriously ill. Zanu (PF) officials trashed talk of Mr Mugabe’s ill health as “absolute nonsense” designed to cause “fear, alarm and despondency”.

But Zimbabweans noted the absence of any topical official pictures of the veteran ruler’s homecoming from his holiday break in the Far East. Instead state media used archive photographs in reports on Mr Mugabe’s return.

The Herald newspaper ran a picture of him returning from an African Union summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January last year. The president was last seen in public on December 29, as he left for the Far East, and previously on December 22, while presiding over the unveiling of a statue in honour of the late vice-president, Joshua Nkomo, in Bulawayo.

Mr Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, said in a statement the president would spend the remainder of his leave in the country but made no reference to the health issue. Over the years, reports of Mr Mugabe’s failing health have been repeatedly confounded by public appearances where he has displayed remarkable physical form for a man of his age.

Ordinary people in Harare, Bulawayo and other cities went about their business as normal yesterday, unfazed by the chatter on social media platforms.

Award-winning author Petina Gappah, who has relocated to Harare, wrote on her Facebook page: “OK. I am now getting worried.

“I have foreign news agencies writing to ask me to prepare some ‘reflections on Mr Mugabe ’ and they want this in the next two weeks. What is happening to my President? Where is he?”

David Coltart — a former education, sport, arts and culture minister in the coalition government that ended last July — wrote on Facebook : “I think the most telling thing was the Herald’s attempt to dupe the public by printing last year’s photo, but against that we know there have been so many reports in the past that one should treat this with caution.

“I think we will know when he is in serious trouble, because I suspect that tension in the military will rise dramatically — something I have not sensed thus far.”

Political analyst Charles Mangongera played down the latest rumours. “I wouldn’t read too much into it.

“It has almost become routine that as soon as Mr Mugabe goes on his annual vacation the rumour mill goes into full swing, speculating on the state of his health. I think he is alive and well, although it must be worrying for him and his inner circle that so many people seem not to want him to be.”

SW Radio Africa

By Nomalanga Moyo

15 January 2014

The government has failed to pay fees for thousands of poor children who are eligible for assistance under a special scheme that entitles them to free primary education.

The government is supposed to assist children from poor backgrounds with school fees under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM).

Schools re-opened Tuesday but for 900,000 children on the scheme, fees will be in arrears after the Social Welfare ministry said it has no money to pay for them.

The number of children on the programme is pegged at one million, according to a senior ministry official Sydney Mhishi, who was addressing legislators Tuesday.

At least 750,000 primary school pupils need help at a total cost of $8 per child per term, and to achieve this $28 million is required.

Mhishi said the ministry had asked for a budget allocation of $73 million to cover BEAM but only received $15 million – which is just enough to pay for 83,000 children in need.

Unless donors resumed funding the education sector as they used to until last year, Mhishi said many children will miss out on education.

“We used to have a basket funding where (European Union) countries pooled resources and gave it to UNICEF which would interface with our schools,” Mhishi said.

“That fell off two years ago. Their argument was that primary education must be free and compulsory. The current circumstance is that there will be no free primary education,” Mhishi continued.

“We still think DfID (Britain’s Department for International Development) might come again. If they don’t come, it means Government will have to look for the money,” Mhishi added, and revealed that funding from DfID ended last year.

Last year November, Mhishi told the same committee of legislators that his ministry owed schools $15 million in school fees.

Former Education Minister David Coltart said it was clear that the government was failing in its obligation to provide basic education to children, as required by the country’s constitution.

“The government is allocating insufficient funds to education and if we are to ensure that children at least get a primary education, this has to improve significantly,” said Coltart.

He added: “BEAM is a symptom of a bigger problem: it is underfunded and was devised a decade ago for a much stronger economy when there were far more people in formal employment than the current situation where a lot of people are poverty-stricken and can’t pay fees.”

“The scheme simply can’t cope, and compounding the crisis is that donors have pulled out,” the former minister said.

Coltart explained that one of the ways in which the government could address the growing crisis was by cutting spending in other areas, such as the size of Cabinet and reducing military spending.

He said there was also need to re-examine the administration of the financial assistance scheme to make it more transparent and effective.

Coltart also said that in the past committees set up to conduct vetting processes for the scheme had been accused of being partisan, and this had seen deserving children being left out.

“The question that government needs to ask itself is ‘do we really need the entire civil service and bureaucracy around BEAM at all?’”

“If government commits itself to free basic education then we don’t need that bureaucracy because every child will be able to get a free education,” Coltart added.