Southern Eye

By Njabulo Ncube

10 November 2013

TWO rhinos at Matopos National Park were discovered killed with their horns hacked off by suspected poachers as renewed attacks against the endangered species sparked outrage from environmentalists still smarting from the cyanide poisoning of elephants in the Hwange National Park.

The two rhinos, one estimated at over 50 years known as Swazi and another aged 10, were suspected to have been killed last Thursday.

Investigations by Southern Eye yesterday established that the Parks and Wildlife Management of Zimbabwe (Zimparks) had commandeered crack rangers from Hwange National Park and Matopos National Park in desperate attempts to trace the poachers thought to be highly sophisticated.

Sources said the two animals were killed on Thursday. The same sources added that Zimparks officials were unsure whether the culprits were a local, regional or international syndicate. There were suspicious the syndicate could be from South Africa.

“There is a big follow-up, Parks are on it. Rangers have been brought in from Hwange and Bulawayo,” a source familiar with the incident said.

Environment minister Saviour Kasukuwere was not immediately available for comment yesterday. However, David Coltart, a former minister in the past coalition government and a wildlife enthusiast, expressed outrage about the poaching of two rhinos in the Matopos.

“This is a national outrage. I hope that the minister responsible for our national parks will get on a plane and fly to Bulawayo to find out what has happened and what measures we need to take to protect this unique national resource,” Coltart said.

Kasukuwere and a coterie of government minister have chartered planes to tour Hwange National Park in recent weeks in the wake of the death of more than 300 elephants poisoned by poachers.

Coltart added: “It would be good if the Tourism minister (Walter Mzembi) flew down with him (Kasukuwere) as our rhinos will increasingly become a magnet for tourists the scarcer they get in the world. My heart goes out to those in national parks and the local community who have worked so hard to rebuild the fence and to protect these magnificent animals. We must all publicise this and express our outrage. Only a stirring of our national conscience will stop these animals from being rendered extinct.”

The former Cabinet minister said the Zimbabwe government should speak with governments of the countries where the rhino horn is traded “to see what measures they are going to take to prevent this destruction of one of our national assets”.

“If countries like China are truly our ‘all weather’ friends they will demonstrate their abhorrence by acting to deal with their own nationals involved in this scandal.

It is with deepest sadness and anger that the trustees hereby confirm two rhinos have been found poached in the Rhodes Matopos National Park yesterday.”

By David Coltart

8 November 2013

One of my favourite verses of Scripture, especially in times of trouble, is Romans 8:28 – “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.

Sometimes when things appear to be going badly, or against our desires of the moment, that verse is hard to understand or stomach. Our natural reaction on the spur of the moment is to question what God’s purposes are when He chooses to direct our lives in a direction we perhaps had not chosen for ourselves.

Being voted out of Parliament for me was one of those moments this year. However it is increasingly clear to me that the Lord has been gracious and merciful towards me. When I view videos such as the one reported on today by Newsday (below) I realise that I have been saved from a huge trial and that my time will be far better and more productively spent outside of Parliament.

Lest anyone misunderstand me – my commitment to work towards freedom, tolerance and genuine democracy in Zimbabwe is undiminished. I simply realise that my time is going be far better employed outside a Parliament which is demonstrating that it is simply not serious about confronting the major problems facing Zimbabwe today.

https://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/11/08/parliament-stand-comedians/

The Zimbabwean

By Nelson Sibanda

6 November 2013

As secondary school public examinations get underway, debate about what makes mission and some government boarding schools perform better than council and some government day institutions, has gathered momentum.

The performance gap between these schools continues to widen with each public examination, forcing parents and other stakeholders to seek answers about contributory factors. But it’s not rocket science – most experts agree that the high pass rates achieved by church-run and government boarding schools are down to discipline, dedicated and qualified teachers, adequate learning materials and an environment conducive to studying.

Authorities at mission schools, parents and teachers’ unions believe standards at church-run schools will continue to dominate their rivals for as long as resources are not equitably distributed to schools throughout the country.

Former Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, said mission schools had better pass rates than government schools partly because they enjoy better funding from churches and parents.

He was quick to point out that there were also some mission schools that performed worse than government schools, though generally church run institutions had an upper hand.

“Government schools have been poorly funded during the past years, hence the poor performance by children,” Coltart said.

The Secretary General of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, Raymond Majongwe, blamed poor results on indiscipline among students at non-mission schools and on the large numbers of unqualified teachers at council and other schools.

“Children at church-run schools also have enough study time and materials. The teaching staff complement is 100 percent qualified and experienced,” said Majongwe.

He also attributed the high pass rate at these institutions to the conducive learning environment and the examination-based teaching approach adopted by mission schools and some government boarding schools. “These top flying schools teach children to pass examinations,” he added.

A Harare parent, Godfrey Siwela, attributed the success story at mission schools to adequate resources such as food, learning material and a well remunerated staff.

“Children at mission and some boarding schools attend lessons on a full stomach. Teachers are well paid and dedicate their time to assisting children pass,” Siwela said.

While boarding and mission school teachers dedicate their working hours to teaching, many of those at low paying schools are engaged in private businesses to supplement their poor salaries.

Poorly paid teachers lack commitment to their duties and the majority of them spend most of their working hours selling sweets, biscuits and other edibles to children, while their working conditions in general are not attractive.

Government and council school teachers earn an average $260 per month, excluding transport and housing allowances – despite the poverty datum line standing at over $534 per month for a family of five.

The Bishop of the Anglican Church Harare Diocese, Chad Gandiya, said mission schools obtained high pass rates because of child discipline, conducive learning environment and dedication to work by the teaching staff, the majority of whom are members of the church.

“Several of our schools have won The Secretary Award of excellence and we lift the performance bar among our learning institutions. In fact we are working towards a 100 percent pass rate at all our schools,” said Gandiya.

Parents interviewed by The Zimbabwean blamed economic hardships for the poor performance at non-church run schools.

They said after school hours children would be engaged in household chores such as fetching water and firewood while others would be helping to provide for the family through street vending.

“Children no longer have spare time for studies as they are busy fending for their families after school. Government was also failing to boost morale of teaching through attractive salaries and other benefits,” said Moses Makwara of Mufakose.

Peter Steyl of the Commercial Farmers Union said boarding school children had more discipline as they lived under direct control of school authorities. He attributed poor discipline among day school children to peer pressure and laxity on the part of parents and guardians.

“Outside school hours some day school children engage in activities that have nothing to do with education. This make them lose focus on their studies, leading to a high failure rate,” said Steyl.

Another key factor is the break-down of the family unit which has seen many school children left without parental supervision and guidance towards homework and other studies.

The Sunday News

By Sunday News Reporter

6 November 2013

THE Zimbabwe National Boxing and Wrestling Control Board has come up with provincial liaison offices that would be manned by selected individuals throughout the country’s nine provinces. Lorraine Muringi, the board’s vice-chairperson, said they had already appointed Gabriel Moyo as liaison officer for Bulawayo and that the appointment was with effect from 25 September.

She said the provincial coordinators would be appointed in all provinces besides Harare.

“We want to facilitate easy interaction with the boxers and also enable them to register easily with the provincial officers. We have already appointed the Bulawayo liaison officer Moyo and we are currently looking at others we can appoint in other provinces. We believe the positions are critical hence we need to appoint able and dedicated people who have a great passion for the sport,” said Muringi, adding that liaison officers for other provinces would be appointed in due course.

Meanwhile, some of the country’s former top boxers met in Bulawayo last Saturday as part of an initiative to revive the sport in the country.

The meeting was held at Tshaka Centre in Makokoba and was convened by Moyo.

The gathering came up with various ideas that have been forwarded to the board for consideration. The attendees agreed that they should go back to the drawing board and focus on the grassroots.

Among the participants were former Commonwealth champion, Alfonso “Mosquito” Zvenyika, Mordecai Donga, coach Philip “Striker” Ndlovu, Mandla Phuti, Thembani Nyoni, Morgan Maphosa and boxer Lawrence Gandanga.

The meeting was the first among several to be held countrywide to solicit views from stakeholders on how boxing can regain its lost glory. Zvenyika said there was need to create a strong link between the amateur side and the professional side of the sport.

He said in order to nurture good professional boxers the amateur side of the sport must be monitored so that it progresses well.

“We cannot work independent of each other but we have to complement our efforts so that we can groom boxers who can shine on the international stage,” he said.

Donga felt they had to start from the bottom and groom officials including judges, timekeepers and also have ring doctors to give the sport a touch of professionalism.

 “We call upon the Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture to give companies incentives to come on board and support boxing otherwise corporates will not find any reason to support the sport. We are in dire need of sponsors and that is the only way we can get them,” he said.

Moyo said transparency and accountability were needed for the sport to attract partners.

 “Despite boxers remitting money to the previous board, there was no accountability, with no financial audits being done so it was always a worry that money was not being accounted for properly,” he said.

Nyoni said teachers at school level had to be equipped with adequate training in both coaching and officiating to ensure boxers were groomed at a young age. He said although there had been talk of boxing being introduced in schools, there was little action in that regard with little being done to equip teachers.

While introducing the sport in schools would be a noble idea, Muringi said expensive equipment would prove a hindrance.

Muringi said the best development option would be to work through community centres where members of the community would contribute funds to the buying of equipment.

Registration fees would also be paid at the provincial officers instead of boxers and promoters having to go to Harare. Registration fees have been set at $25 for boxers, $50 for managers and $75 for promoters. Other practitioners such as trainers and medics are required to pay $25.

Earlier this year former Education, Sports, Arts and Culture minister, David Coltart appointed former radio sports commentator Paul Nenjerama, boxing promoters Lorraine Muringi and Dr Farai Muchena, as well as renowned boxing trainer Edgar Peter Hammond to the new board that will run the sport of boxing over the next three years.

The other new members of the board are Gilbert Munetsi, Tsitsi Muzuva, Alexander Kwangwari and Rangarirai Charles Dzimba.

The Zimbabwean

By Magari Mandebvu 

5 November 2013

A while ago, I heard a very temporary untrained teacher announcing that former Education Minister David Coltart’s opposition to beating schoolchildren was a British plot. “It must be; he’s white.”

Ignoring that last illogicality doesn’t leave him with much evidence, since our schools were built on a foreign model and the idea of beating discipline into “schoolchildren” many of whom would have been 20 years old before 1980, was a colonial innovation. Nonetheless, it has taken root in our societies.

I taught for a while in a neighbouring country where beating the children was forbidden, but all the local teachers brought sticks to school and used them. I discovered how that colonial habit destroys any real discipline. Children who are taught to be afraid of the stick will obey just as long as the stick wielder is present and looking at them.

Like the dog that attacked me in the street the other day, they will take any advantage they can when the teacher with the big stick turns his or her back, or when any unarmed adult comes along. That dog obviously had a lot of experience of sticks, stones and kicks.

Since I didn’t have time to stop and undo all the wrong training that dog had received, I threw a few stones at it to clear my way. That did nothing to solve the real problem, but the real problem wasn’t mine. I suppose that temporary teacher was in the same position when facing an unruly class as I was with that dog. He was only interested in cowing the children enough for him to present his lesson. Leave the underlying problem of what they do when you are not looking for those who would have to face it for more than a couple of months.

A classroom ruled by the big stick is a jungle, in a state of constant war. Establishing peace demands that the teacher makes an effort to convince the children that they need to learn and that requires a minimum of good order.

What is true of children and dogs is true of most of us. Look at the number of kombis whose windscreens declare that their crews are veterans of the ongoing war the police are waging against them. In this case, the problem is that, unlike a teacher who wants children to accept a minimum standard of order so that lessons can be conducted effectively and the children who want to learn have a chance to do so, and unlike the householder who wants his/her dog to defend their house against unwanted intruders, there is very little reasonable, legal or moral basis for the exactions of the cops. If they stop you, you know they are determined not to let you go without contributing to this income-generating project – their income, that is. They’ll find some excuse and they’ll use the big stick to back it up.

But – using the big stick is admitting that you don’t have any other authority except the force you can exert with that big stick. The big stick was essential to the colonial system, because it had no moral basis and no other reason than force for people to respect its claim to power. In fact, forced obedience doesn’t leave much room for the respect that a morally justifiable authority can earn. Just because we inherited a colonial police force and a colonial education system is no justification for continuing to use colonial methods. There are alternatives, and they are a much deeper part of our tradition than this modern, foreign-introduced reliance on brute force.

What happened to the traditions of the dare, where everyone was free to speak, decisions were by consensus and more. Answering these questions will take more space. Watch this column.

Zim Eye

By Zim Eye Reporter

3 November 2013

The MDC-T Oxford branch held its celebration of the election victory for Bulawayo East Thabitha Khumalo’s conquest over David Coltart.

The jubilant meeting which attracted more than a hundred delegates from around the country unanimously concurred that they are going to rally behind Morgan Tsvangirai for the 2018 elections. It was all celebration and dance throughout the meeting with an informal speech delivery at the beginning.

During that time Khumalo was handed several questions on her work. She answered several but refused to speak on the party’s position in the just ended elections for which she said everything had been done by her boss, Morgan Tsvangirai.

Khumalo said she was not in a position to comment on any party issues as she was bound by party protocols.

Refusing to answer particular questions, she declared that any questions to do with the party should and must have been directed to Morgan Tsvangirai who was in the UK earlier in the week ahead of her celebratory event.

Khumalo who is much loved by the MDC UK members for her straight forward talk and openness enjoyed the night as she danced and celebrated her victory with Zimbabweans in UK. But she was firm and direct to the attending members as she told them they have the duty to demand and hold their leaders accountable and any compromise to these values, she would not be part of.

Khumalo defended her visit as speculation was rife that the MDC Harverst House had not approved her journey to the UK. She said all protocols were followed to the letter as approved by the Secretary General to which reference should be made to the terms and conditions of twinning of MDC UK branches and Zimbabwe Constituencies.

News Day

By Conway Tutani

1 November 2013

The Welshman Ncube-led MDC is not looking in the best of health. Maybe something was going to give after the party did not even win one contested seat in the July harmonised elections.

Earlier in the year, Ncube had, in a page-long interview in the State-controlled Sunday Mail, boldly predicted a landslide victory for himself, but only got about 2% of the vote. What could have informed this way-off prediction? Maybe there was too much self-belief without factoring in the possibility of loss. On that scorecard, they grossly overrated themselves. They should have been their sternest critic; they should have looked at the worst case scenario and taken it up from there.

They also took strong exception to being labelled by the media as the smaller formation of the MDC. “Those who say that we are few need to have their heads examined,” said Ncube, but the July poll results reconfirmed that this was in fact so. The media was only reporting the state of affairs at that point. This was not meant to imply that they would be smaller forever. Zanu was smaller than Zapu when it broke away from the latter in 1963, but over the years it became bigger through hard political work. At times like these, the MDC needs some perspective.

They also accused the media of not covering them enough and favouring other parties. The media is there to report the good and bad times without fear or favour.

So the outburst by MDC deputy spokesperson Kurauone Chihwayi this week that: “This is hogwash and baseless . . . It is none of your business to know every move that Ncube makes,” when asked about Ncube’s whereabouts, was uncalled for.

It should be restated here and now that the MDC failed to see that the interests of the Matabeleland region are much the same as those of the whole country – jobs and the economy. This has made their invocations and strategies redundant. For one, Ncube could have overplayed the devolution card. Some of the issues he blamed on marginalisation had nothing to do with that, but everything to do with climate because Matabeleland is an arid region – like most parts of Masvingo.

Although there are ethnic dynamics in any body politic, these should not be highlighted too aggressively and insensitively. If you do so, things can easily get out of hand and boomerang on you. Maybe there was wrong pitching on the part of the MDC regarding this issue. In 2008, Barack Obama presented himself as the best candidate nationally without any reference to his African-American roots, pulling the rug from under the rabid white racists who then failed to project him as undeserving, ineligible, an aberration or ogre; and pacifying the moderates across race who were naturally wary of something new. He carefully crafted his campaign so as not to make his race an issue, but his worth, his high-value worth. He did not dwell on tired, old issues and prejudices, but redefined the political discourse to articulate his own vision and mission. Indeed, preoccupation with past failures and injustices can bog one down while others are moving forward.

Ncube also did not come out strongly when abhorrent things were publicly said by some top MDC officials. There are nasty people in every organisation – Zanu PF, MDC-T, MDC, etc – but these have to be restrained by bold, no-nonsense leadership. Obama’s Republican presidential opponent John McCain, a white American, cut down to size openly on live TV a white woman supporter who had made offensive racist remarks about Obama during the election campaign in 2008. He told her Obama was an American like her, but who happened to be black. MDC women assembly chairperson Thandiwe Mlilo in 2011 made shocking remarks about MDC-T deputy president Thokozani Khupe, who was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, as having “lost her hair for following a Shona leader”, Morgan Tsvangirai. This was as bad as it could get, but no one publicly rebuked Mlilo over that. This “kindness deficit” rubs people the wrong way. You cannot blank this out. The political context is everything here.

They should ask themselves why the more conciliatory David Coltart fared far much better than other MDC candidates, losing by the narrowest of margins in Bulawayo South. Coltart, who evinced common sense and self-evident truth, honestly and correctly assessed the slim chances of victory for a divided opposition, but this political realism was absent among his colleagues who were living in fantasyland. Even in the animal kingdom, species like lions, cheetahs and baboons make strategic alliances within their groups to ensure safety and security and maximise benefits.

Which brings out the next point: Conflict happens in any organisation and set-up, but its management is not a given. There has been poor conflict management in the MDC. For a small party, conciliation would have strengthened them than suspensions and expulsions left, right and centre. By so doing, they created barriers.

Ncube has also been accused of operating a kitchen Cabinet, particularly favouring party secretary-general Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, which thing, ironically, he accused Tsvangirai of doing in the lead-up to the MDC split in 2005.

When I wrote in October 2011 about these shortcomings in the MDC, Qhubani Moyo, the party’s then national organising secretary who has since deserted it after the crushing loss and is reportedly on the verge of defecting to Zanu PF (which is very much his right), shot back: “Tutani should take a break to learn more and read more so that he comes with a better understanding, appreciation and analysis of national issues.”

Qhubani, there is quite a lot of learning to do on all sides, isn’t there?