Sunday News

By Sunday News Reporter

21 July 2013

“COMMUNICATION is culture and culture is communication,” these words were said by famous communications theorist, media critic and a journalism instructor at the University of Illinois and later Columbia University, Mr James Carey.

The turn of the century has also witnessed a subsequent revolution in the communication sector; gone are the days of the normal conventional means of communication but there has been the introduction of the internet which has brought with it terms such as social networking and the social media.

Someone once said that social media is like a drug. You get hooked on it and then it consumes you, gives you reason to return to it and eventually makes you dysfunctional as you struggle to meet deadlines or even have imagined “insomnia” caused by the desire to chat and follow friends in the world of social media.

In this age of smart phones, people are being distracted from their mainstream work. If one can spend five minutes in every 30 minutes to check chats on his or her cellphone or computer, this translates to at least 80 minutes of an eight-hour working day – meaning one would have wasted more than 80 minutes of the time they are expected to be productive.

Social media has by and large become a part of our everyday living with the youth being the most affected.

Schoolchildren have now been introduced to the famed search engines such as wikipedia and google, to an extent that even during lessons you find them “googling” their assignments.

Parents and educationists have also raised concern over the time children spend on the social networks.

Interaction has moved from being face to face and has gone beyond borders due to these social networks.

It is no surprise to get a four-year-old talking of Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter or Mixit. Educationists have further raised concern over a tendency to allow schoolchildren to have their mobile phones during lessons, with the main bone of contention being the fact that these children end up abusing the facility by viewing x-rated sites while in some cases they are said to be using the gadget right in the middle of lessons thereby interfering the learning process.

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, a leading Australian psychologist, called parents who allow young children to use mobile phones “insane”.
Dr Carr-Gregg, a University of Melbourne professor of paediatrics, is worried about the power of mobile phones to distract and overexcite.

According to a survey conducted by Dr Carr-Gregg, 40 percent of children with mobile phones are sleep deprived on school nights, as peer pressure has made it normal for children of 6 and 7 to stay up until the early hours texting friends.

His evidence, revealed in a series of Australian academic seminars, suggests that millions of children are allowed mobile phones in their bedrooms, creating a generation of overtired “zombies”.

Other new research have linked sleep deprivation in children with hyperactivity symptoms and hormone imbalances that increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.

According to another research done in America by Daniel Flannery, 89 percent of the youths send or read email, 84 percent go to websites about movies, TV shows, music groups or sports, 81 percent play online games 76 percent go online to get information about current events and 57 percent go online to get information about college.

The research states that social media promotes lower academic achievement grades, lower attachment to school and shorter attachment spans.

Just last year the nation raised alarm over the drop in the country’s overall pass rate in Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations. Could we thus lay the blame squarely on the children’s dependency on social media and the internet.

Unlike past generations that had neither cellphones nor televisions, let alone DStv, this current generation has to manoeuvre its way around all these distractions and still achieve greatness in the work it conducts.

Global experts have, however, on the other hand, praised technological advancement for being on the cutting edge, connecting the globe, creating a small village and enhancing our capacity and speed to share information across the length and breadth of the world.

It should, therefore, be noted that the media not only serves as a source of information but also provides a source of entertainment. Media sources have relentlessly worked on creating appealing images that entice the youth to their content. Although these may be informative, the youths have been coerced into consuming more time reading or browsing for such information.

Recent advancements in computers and mobile phones have led to ease of access of the internet via advanced wireless devices. Whereas this creates a tech-savvy generation, the content provided by some media houses may be uncensored and entails violent acts, obscene scenes and vulgar language.

Education, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Senator David Coltart said social media had played a crucial role in the education system where it has become a source of delivering messages in schools.

He, however, said youths were spending more time on social sites and less on their studies and there was now a need for laws to be put in place to ensure that the youths are distanced from such.

“The danger of the social media is that it can be so addictive and in this day and time I think it is important that youths are distanced from the internet especially at schools.

“I really think it would have been proper if some policies or laws were implemented so that we protect our children from over reliance on these social networks. The idea is let’s use the social media or the internet but let us not over use it,” said Minister Coltart.

Information scientist Dr Lawton Hikwa, however, noted that the social media was not a new phenomenon, he said it was one of the forms of public communication that had been invented with the rise of technological advancement.

Dr Hikwa said the social media had not just become a communication tool but an interactive tool that could be used in delivering messages in the learning process.
“I understand students are no longer doing much of reading books but referring to information on search engines like Google or Amazon.com, but then at the end of the day when they download the information they just don’t paste it like that; they have to read through it thoroughly.

“At the end of the day, it might be accurate to say yes it is affecting society but then it has been a helping tool as well. Students can engage in discussions through these and at the same time download stuff that can be of much importance,” said Dr Hikwa.

Veteran educationist and Zanu-PF secretary for education Dr Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said while it was acceptable that we were living in a global village it should be appreciated that the social media and the internet at large were now playing a more involved role in people’s interactions.

He said it was promoting cultural imperialism, which saw the youth taking up a Western culture at the expense of their own culture.
“While I fully agree that the internet helps to a certain extent, the basic communication process, our children are no longer using it for this function but use it for self-aggrandisement and other immoral activities which impact negatively on the whole education process.

“As parents we should see to it that while we allow our children to spend more time on these social networks, they should also have an appreciation of their own culture and know the sacrifices made by their forefathers to fight this Western infiltration,” said Dr Ndlovu.

He said it was well known that communication technology also played a role in the developing of a child especially with the rising technological era.
“I am not saying deprive the children of the gadgets completely because whether we like it or not they have a huge impact on the growth of the child. We don’t want to produce a generation that is technophobic considering that nowadays you find a five year old freely using the computer or any of these technological gadgets.

“What I’m simply saying is that let’s not interfere with teaching curriculum because we end up depriving our children of a fundamental right, this being that of education,” said Dr Ndlovu.

So at the end of the day social media is quickly evolving in front of us and it is almost impossible to reject and hide from this new form of media. Not only is it an important part of socialisation within peer groups but now it is used to market and motivate people to become a part of a larger community.

It is thus our duty to see how we make use of it and ensure that it does not affect our lives, work or even schooling activities.

Sunday News

By Nobuhle Nyoni

21 July 2013

GOVERNMENT has expressed optimism  that efforts to bring in six South Korean Science and Mathematics teachers into the country will improve the standards of education in Zimbabwe.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said South Korea is recognised as having one of the best education systems in the world.

He said according to the agreement the ministry had with the Korean government, the teachers were expected to arrive in the third term of this year’s school calendar.

“Korea is recognised as having one of the best education systems in the world and they are particularly strong at teaching Maths and science. It is hoped that these teachers will not only fill a gap but also raise the teaching standards of Zimbabwean teachers who they will interact with,” said Sen Coltart.

Sen Coltart said since this was a pilot programme the teachers would be based in three schools probably in urban areas.

“The teachers will be in the country for a year since this is a pilot programme. We will see how it works out first and if it is successful then it will be expanded,” he said.

Sen Coltart said this venture would be a boost to the education sector because a lot of Maths and science teachers left the country during 2007 and 2008.

“During 2007 and 2008 we lost 20 000 teachers including many of our best maths and science teachers most of whom we have not been able to replace. In the 1980s many teachers came from the UK, the USA and other countries. I hope that the Korean programme can be expanded and that we may also attract teachers from other nations to come and raise our educational standards until we have a full complement of Zimbabwean teachers,” said Sen Coltart.

The education sector is still recovering from a decade-long economic meltdown that saw most qualified teachers especially in the maths and science departments leaving for greener pastures outside the country.

Zim Eye

By Zim Eye Reporter

20 July 2013

Binga- Welshman Ncube’s MDC party is continuing with its campaign in rural and small towns of Zimbabwe in an effort to deliver its campaign message, ‘Devolution is our new revolution’

Today, the party anchors its ship in Binga where it says it has  successfully made the local language Tonga to be officially recognized, taught and examined in schools.

MDC Spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube speaking ahead of the Binga meeting where the party is to launch its manifesto said:

“Today the MDC will be launching it’s policy and manifesto documents in Binga. It is not an accident that we are doing this in this remote part of our country, it is a statement of intent and a celebration of diversity, celebrating the work done by many of our comrades such as Minister David Coltart who has worked tirelessly to make Tonga a recognized, taught and examined language. The policy and manifesto launch goes by the theme Devolution is Our New Revolution.”

When MDC’s David Coltart took over the Education portfolio in February 2009 he immediately declared that minority languages “deserve to be taught and spoken especially at schools where they are most predominant”.

“I am committed to minority languages. All indigenous languages are going to be taught in schools and for the first time, you are going to get books in indigenous languages,” Coltart said.

Future testing will also be done in other minority languages including Kalanga, Venda, Shangaan, Chewa (Nyanja), Nambya and Sotho.

Devolution has been one of the contentious issues in the just concluded new constitution  exercise, with a number of regions in the country crying foul that they are marginalized, feel dominated by central government and have seen very little or no development at all in their communities since independence in 1980.

The Herald

The Herald Reporter

20 July 2013

Ever asked yourself what people will remember you for when you are gone? Do we even allow ourselves to think of a time when we will no longer be there? It is a known fact that because we are human beings, there shall be a time when we will no longer be around on this earth and there has to be some form of legacy we leave behind surely?

I had a telephone conversation this week while chasing up a story for Star FM with the Minister of Education, Arts, Sport and Culture, David Coltart and he spoke about how young people in the country are losing it because there were not many positive older role models in society.

The minister and I were talking about how the country’s education sector is being adversely affected by HIV, which has seen some children being orphaned and having to drop out of school because there is no one to pay school fees for them.

He also touched on those children who are actually living with HIV, after being infected during and after birth, saying some of these children because of ill health do not regularly attend school and at times actually drop out completely, in the process destroying their future.

Minister Coltart also spoke about sugar daddies that prey on young girls as a serious challenge facing the young females of this country. And then he spoke about the behaviour of adults in the country which he said was no longer exemplary and as such is not helping young people much when it comes to positive modelling. Just what are we as adults of today teaching the children?

That got me thinking. A look at what is going on around us as a society will show that today people are just living for the moment. No one truly cares to think deeply about how some of the things and behaviour we practice today will affect the children, who happen to be tomorrow’s future. It is more like parents and adults are saying “do as I say and not as I do”.

Let us just look at the marriage institution today. Men and women today change partners as and when the feeling comes upon them. Divorce is no longer a word that people frown upon. It is no big deal.

We were laughing the other day with some family members that in the past by a certain age, both men and women were supposed to be married but nowadays what seems to matter is what one has accumulated in terms of personal wealth and not who they have in their life. In fact some younger nieces of mine were saying love is just overrated and it has become obvious to their generation that the more important thing is to go after money rather than love, which only brings with it heartache and HIV, they said before bursting up in giggles. One of them, who is in university said her mission in life is pretty simple in that all she has to go is get a job and a rich man who she would divorce after a couple of years, walking away with half his wealth.

I asked her why she would aspire to divorce and she said it was the in-thing plus relationships were just too taxing. This is what society has taught her.

Putting that conversation alongside the one held with Senator Coltart in my mind, I realised that the biggest problem we have today is that the children no longer have positive role models to look up to in the family and community. Every day they are waking up to images of men who are assaulting women. Every day they are waking up to reports of men who rape women and children.

They are seeing pictures of men and women who are cheating. They are faced by reports of acrimonious divorce cases each time they open the papers and magazines.

They are faced with violence everywhere, whether it is politically motivated or is happening in the domestic sphere. They are seeing society turning to guns, knives and fists to deal with problems.

Pornography has become easily available to them. The Internet, with all its advantages, also pollutes their minds if they go onto the wrong sites. Around them, instead of seeing adults and a society that advises them, they are faced with a society gone mad.

Young people of today are faced with adults who actually want to molest them, in the form of sugar daddies. They are surrounded by adults who change partners as if they are changing clothes. They are faced with adults who are violent towards each other. They are faced by adults who do not believe in dialogue as the best way to solve disputes.

They are faced by adults who do not participate in national processes such as voting. They are faced by adults who just complain. They are faced by adults who in some cases are lazy and do not pull their weight. They at times have fathers who need to be taken to court to provide for them.

They have parents who drink too much and talk too little. They are raised by parents who are absent, believing that what they are doing out there is more important than being there. In some cases the young people are raised by nobody and have to raise themselves.

Today’s young people have very few adults to look up to. There is a serious shortage of positive role models for them out there.

This brings me to the question I posed initially. As we live our lives, do we ever think what we want to be remembered for? As a parent and a leader, what do you want your children to remember when you have gone?

Is it the virtues of hard work, is it your honesty, is it your loving nature, is it your being there all the time you were needed, is it your strictness, is it your sense of responsibility, is it how you always treated your partner with love and respect, is it how you helped those around you?

Or shall it be about how many partners you had, how many people you duped, how many hearts you broke, how many people you robbed, how many people you fought with, among other such desirables?

Or maybe everyone will be so glad when you are gone that they will not want to remember anything?

Just think about it and who knows, we may all become better people.

Zimbo Jam

By Zimbo Jam Reporter

19 July 2013

The Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, this week announced a new board for the National Arts Council which will be chaired by world-renowned eye surgeon-cum-author, Dr Nozipho Maraire.

The Chronicle

By Chronicle Reporter

19 July 2013

The Minister of Education Sports Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart has appointed a new National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (Nacz) Board in terms of Section 5 of the National Arts Council Act. Sen Coltart said the Board’s tenure began on 8 July and will expire on 7 July 2016. “The new board was appointed after wide consultations with various players in the arts and culture sector, and included relevant Ministry officials,” he said.

The new board is chaired by Nozipho Maraire and its members are Chipo Mutasa, Samm Monro, Raphael Khumalo Nomathemba Halimana, Jackie Cahi, Mercy Mushore, Oliver Mutukudzi, Phathisa Nyathi and Misheck Masamvu

The appointed persons have been drawn from varying backgrounds that include music, visual arts, culture, historians, administration, media, commercial, entertainment and film sector, among others.

“I am confident that with this wide expertise, the new board will take the Zimbabwean arts and culture sector to greater heights and make it globally competitive,” he said.

News Day

By Phillip Chidavaenzi

18 July 2013 

MDC candidate for Bulawayo East constituency David Coltart was first elected to represent Bulawayo South House of Assembly constituency in March 2000 and was re-elected in March 2005.

In March 2008, he was elected Senator for Kumalo in Bulawayo.

Senator Coltart was sworn in as Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture in February 2009.

Coltart (DC) says his illustrious track record and ability to bridge the political divide is the ace up his sleeve in his bid to win Bulawayo East constituency.

The following are excerpts of an interview with NewsDay Senior Features Reporter Phillip Chidavaenzi (ND).

ND: Who is David Coltart?

DC: I am a Zimbabwean born in Gweru and raised in Bulawayo. I went to schools in Bulawayo and then went to the University of Cape Town where I studied law.
I have been practicing since 1983. I set up the Bulawayo Legal Projects Centre in 1986.

In the same year, I was appointed Director of the Bulawayo Legal Projects Centre and held that position for 10 years. I was instrumental in getting the Gukurahundi reports published between 1990 and 1997.

In 1999 I joined the MDC at its formation as the legal secretary and worked with (Prime Minister) Morgan Tsvangirai and Gibson Sibanda.
ND: What are you promising the Bulawayo East constituency?

DC: I have been the senator for the Kumalo constituency for the last five years. I have demonstrated my ability to set up large and small projects, including the Bulawayo Legal Projects Centre.

When I was still MP for Bulawayo South, I started a variety of projects including an irrigation scheme in Nketa, which is still running to this day.
As minister, I have been responsible for a variety of major initiatives that have benefited Bulawayo. These include the renovations at Khumalo Hockey Stadium.

I was also able to persuade government to allocate the Zone VI Games to Bulawayo and that has brought a $42 million investment for the building of new residences at NUST and the rehabilitation of Barbourfields Stadium, White City Stadium and Luveve Stadium.

ND: What do you consider the most pertinent issues in this election?

DC: The most pertinent issues are the national issues that have affected this country for a long time now and my drive is to make sure that the country does not slide back to the pre-2008 scenario.

ND: How do you reckon your chances of winning the seat? Do you see any threats from other contestants?

DC: I am under no illusions. This is going to be a tough battle. I appreciate that this seat was lost by the party that I am standing for in 2008. I am standing against Thabitha Khumalo, the incumbent MP, who is very hardworking. I recognise I have a lot of work to do.

But the electorate will see the work that I did while I was holding the senatorial seat (which encompassed Bulawayo East and Central) and they are able to realise that I have been a hardworking senator.

ND: Why have you opted for the parliamentary seat in the forthcoming elections?

DC: This was a request from my party and the reason was that this time, senators will not be elected directly. So the feeling in the party was that as the incumbent senator who has been in this area before, I should contest in the House of Assembly race to win as many votes as possible for the party.

ND: How has your use of social media ahead of this election impacted on your campaign?

DC: I have been involved with social media for a very long time. My websitewww.davidcoltart.com was set up in 2006 and I have been using Facebook and Twitter for many years now.

I was one of the first MPs to have a website. As of now, I have 12500 followers on Twitter and about 8 000 on my Facebook page. This is a very useful medium to get messages across to the electorate.

I have since initiated an sms campaign, through which I have reached over 3 000 people in the constituency.

It’s very expensive to have adverts in the newspapers and the electronic media is controlled by Zanu PF, so this has been an effective way of campaigning.

ND: What would you say voters should look for when voting for their representatives in Parliament?

DC: I believe in the old adage which says “all politics is local”. People are looking for an MP who has a track record in representing the interests of the constituency. They are looking for someone who has the national interest at heart.

Because the political environment is so polarised, it’s important to vote in people who can reach out across the political divide and take the country forward.

For example, when I was able to persuade Cabinet to allow the Zone VI Games to be held in Bulawayo, I convinced both the MDC parties and Zanu PF.

ND: Zanu PF accuses you of what it has called “donorfication” of education in their election manifesto. What do you have to say to this?

DC: I am actually one of the few people singled out for criticism by name (in the manifesto) and for me this shows that my contribution has been extensive.

They say I did it illegally. It’s nonsense. This was part of the Education Transition Fund set up by the United Nations Children’s Fund, with the involvement of the Education ministry.

It’s meant to ensure transparency. Donors have not complained and that means there has been transparency.

Had it not been for that fund, we would not have been able to achieve even a quarter of what we have been able to achieve in education in the last four years.

The education sector was supported by donors after independence. The reason why it had collapsed over the last two decades is because Zanu PF has not been able to access donor money.

The Financial Gazette

By Financial Gazette Reporter

18 July 2013

BUNGLING by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in the conduct of the two-day special vote could be a harbinger of worse things to come unless urgent measures are taken to capacitate the commission before the polls, which will take place in under two weeks.

ZEC is now under increasing pressure to restore credibility to the hurried election, which was affected by protracted disputes between ZANU-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations.

Zimbabweans are still haunted by the harrowing experience of March 2008 when election results were delayed by over a month.

George Chiweshe, now Judge President, presided over the electoral commission in the 2008 election.Back then, the commission was well-funded and had ample time to prepare  for the election, unlike the current situation.

Apart from concerns regarding the independence of its personnel that have dogged ZEC since Chiweshe’s time at the electoral body, more challenges have emerged before the actual voting.

The processes leading up to the elections are still being heavily contested between the parties in and outside the inclusive government, with Prime Minister (PM) Morgan Tsvangirai indicating last week that he was taking part in the poll with “a heavy heart”.

There have been disagreements over the election date, with ZANU-PF’s rivals approaching the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the courts requesting for more time to implement a roadmap that was to precede the elections.

They also decried President Robert Mugabe’s unilateralism in declaring July 31 as the poll date without following a 2011 roadmap agreed with the 15-nation SADC, which chartered a course of reforms to improve conditions for elections.

The proposed reforms included improved voter education and registration, inspection of the voters’ roll, changes to the Public Order and Security Act, media and security sector reforms.

While SADC had advised the coalition partners to approach the courts seeking a two-week poll extension, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku dismissed the application.

Preparations for the rushed election have also been hampered by lack of funding. Attempts to fundraise in the SADC region and the United Nations drew blanks after the ZANU-PF side of the unity government rejected funding predicated on reforms.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti earlier this month indicated that the election bill had a shortfall of US$85 million from the US$132 million budget drawn up by ZEC.

Justice Rita Makarau, the commission’s chairperson, however, said only US$38,5 million had been released, highlighting the financial limitations
the commission finds itself in.

Despite operating on a shoe-string budget, ZEC is desperate to conduct polls that measure up to SADC’s guidelines and principles on the conduct of elections.

The guidelines stipulate that for polls to be adjudged as democratic there must be full participation of citizens in the political process and equal opportunity to exercise the right to vote and be voted for.

A SADC member country must also ensure the availability of adequate logistics and resources for carrying out the elections.

Among other things, the guidelines also require equal opportunity for all political parties to access the state media.

Those administering the elections have been found wanting in all respects. The government media, especially the public broadcaster have been unrelenting in their partisan coverage of events while thousands of eligible voters were unable to register due to the administrative hiccups experienced during voter registration.

But the greatest challenge facing ZEC is that of convincing a skeptical nation desperate for a free and fair poll that it would be able to pull it off despite the enormity of the challenges.
ZEC has blamed PM Tsvangirai’s party for some of the logistical challenges.

It argued this week that it was unable to prepare voting material in time for the special voting due to the court applications filed by the MDC-T.

Despite the excuses, observers this week said the elections could be reduced to a charade because of the logistical nightmares encountered during the special voting.

They said anything less than a credible election would fuel intense fighting between the competing political parties while prolonging the Zimbabwe crisis, which SADC and the African Union had hoped to address during the sustenance of the coalition.

Scenes across the country of thousands of police officers unable to cast their vote due to the delays in the disbursement of ballot papers for the special vote held at the weekend have erased whatever good ZEC had achieved.

Prior to that thousands of potential voters were disenfranchised following a shambolic voter registration carried out by the Registrar General’s Office in conjunction with ZEC.

Justice Makarau is, however, still confident that ZEC would deliver.

“The fifth of August is the date on which, come hail, come thunder, we must announce the results. That is what the law says,” she said this week.

Election monitors are not convinced.

The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) this week said the special voting nightmare was a taste of worse things to come.

Solomon Zwana, ZESN’s chairperson, said: “We foresee doom in the upcoming election if what occurred within the last two days is anything to go by.”

“We therefore urge that adequate resources be availed to ZEC to ensure that the organisation carries out its constitutionally mandated duties.”

Mmachakga Mpho Moruakgomo, the head of delegation from the Southern African Church Leaders, said observers should be cautious in coming up with reports on the conduct of elections, adding that they should canvass views from a broad section of the population.

“We received with concern reports about delays in the registration process and the challenges faced by so-called ‘aliens’ in obtaining identity documents, which would have allowed them to register to vote… More could have been done to inform the nation about the requirements for voter registration. All these issues have disenfranchised thousands of Zimbabweans and are likely to compound voter apathy,” said Moruakgomo.

On Tuesday, David Coltart the secretary for legal affairs in the MDC, said they had been vindicated on their claim that the push for an early poll without leaving enough time to take care of all poll requirements was a recipe for disaster.

“The shocking failure by ZEC to produce ballot papers on time vindicates those of us who said we needed more time to hold a lawful election,” said  Coltart.

Tendai Biti, the secretary general of the MDC-T, said the special vote exposed what they have been saying all along, that Zimbabwe is not yet prepared to hold a credible poll.

“The special vote has been the mother of all disasters, exposing what we have known all along: That ZEC was not ready, that technically the country is not ready. If they failed yesterday with 100 000 people what about the millions on the actual polling date?” said Biti.

ZANU-PF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, said his party was generally satisfied with the process, even though there were shortcomings “here and there.”

He accused the MDC formations of concentrating on finding faults on the part of ZEC and ZANU-PF.

“We are generally happy with the process. There have been shortcomings here and there, but if you weigh the positives they are 70 percent, 80 percent and the negatives 10 percent, even five percent for that matter,” said Gumbo.

Gumbo also blamed the MDC-T for the chaos during special voting. Asked whether seeking legal recourse was not part of any aggrieved party’s constitutional right, an eventuality that points to the need to have allocated more time to the election roadmap, Gumbo said: “It is their right but they should know the time and place to go to court. They should have known that going to court would delay the production of the voting materials.”

On Tuesday, the United States said it was “deeply concerned” by lack of transparency in preparations for Zimbabwe’s general election and called on the government to ensure the vote was peaceful, fair and credible.

The election will see the third attempt by PM Tsvangirai to unseat President Robert Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since its independence from Britain in 1980.

Another disputed poll could see  Zimbabwe heading back to tough times that culminated in a decade-year-old political and economic crisis which pushed the nation on the brink of a civil strife.

Southern Eye

By Nduduzo Tshuma

17 July 2013

Outgoing Bulawayo East MP Thabitha Khumalo has been accused of insulting Education minister David Coltart’s campaign team as campaigns for the July 31 harmonised elections hit the home stretch.

Coltart, the former Kumalo senator, is standing on an MDC ticket. According to a member of Coltart’s campaign team, they met Khumalo in the constituency on Monday where she showed them a middle finger.
“We were putting up flyers in the constituency yesterday (Monday) and Khumalo passed us with her team.

“As she passed, she raised a middle finger towards us,” the member of Coltart’s team who requested to remain anonymous said.

“We later learnt that she had gone to Woodville where she and her team removed Coltart’s posters and replaced them with hers.”

When contacted for comment, Khumalo told Southern Eye that Coltart’s team was panicking because she was giving them, “a good run for their money”.

“Yesterday, I was putting posters along Airport Road and I turned into Woodville and put up more in Machikichori.

“I only saw Coltar’s team in Mahatshula and I never insulted them,” Khumalo said.

“Their greatest challenge is that I am giving them a run for their money. I have many things to do and I do not have time to be pulling down their posters and replacing them with mine.”

Khumalo said she and her campaign team “have painted the ground red. “We are making serious inroads and now some people want to get attention by claiming that I am sabotaging their campaign,” she added.

Khumalo later called Southern Eye and said: “I have been driving from Mahatshula to Suburbs and I have not seen a single Coltart poster.
“I do not know how I can be accused of pulling down something that is not there.

“The only posters I saw besides mine are those of Sulumani (Chimbetu) and a few for Zanu PF candidates and an independent.”

Khumalo challenged Coltart’s team to report her to the authorities if their allegations were true. Coltart said he could not comment on the matter as he had been busy with his ministry’s activities.

Southern Eye

By Dumisani Nkomo

17 July 2013

THE most successful MPs have been erroneously feted by many as those who distribute mealie-meal, computers and equipment in their constituencies.

Newspapers have also joined in the band wagon measuring the effectiveness of legislators by the amount of humanitarian work that they do.

This has been accentuated by some MPs who when asked what they will do in their next term, have outlined plans to start relief projects and to dole out this food item or the other.

The economic crisis of the past 10 years has clouded and distorted the core function of MPs who by law and right should be primarily law makers and not project co-ordinators.

The fact that many MPs are going around donating ambulances, computers, kapenta fish and textbooks is indicative of the collapse of State institutions which are supposed to ensure that citizens have basic goods and services available to them.

Parliament which consists of the House of Assembly and Senate exists for three fundamental reasons which are enshrined in the Constitution namely:

To uphold and defend the constitution
To initiate, debate, scrutinise, consider or reject laws
To bring the Executive arm of the government to account
It is the Executive arm of government consisting of the President and

Cabinet which is supposed to ensure that schools, clinics and communities have adequate resources.

Parliament through parliamentarians is supposed to put in place laws and policies for the good governance of the country and it is assumed with good governance comes effective service delivery, allocation of resources and adequate social safety nets for vulnerable communities.

In a normal country, with a normal economy, normal MPs and a normal functional governance system and normal social security mechanisms, MPs do not have to use money from their pockets to develop constituencies as this is not their primary purpose and function.

However, the collapse of the economy and with it the collapse of service delivery to pre-1960 levels has forced some MPs to become mini relief agencies at the expense of crafting legislation for the good governance of the country.

Surely in a normal country with a normal health delivery system an MP does not have to use his or her resources to mobilise free medical services for a community since this would already be in place through a health delivery system, which meets the demands of the citizenry.

In our context, however, and in other contexts in Africa it is permissible and beneficial to engage in development projects as an MP even though this is not the primary function of legislators.

It is therefore tragic when one reads some State-controlled publications, which focus on the number of projects that an MP has done and not how they have contributed to the formulation of laws and policies for the good governance of the country.

This would then translate to investment, growth, greater economic opportunities and activities hopefully accompanied by sufficient state revenue to provide capital for community and infrastructural development.

Even non-governmental organisations are there to complement the development projects of government in as far as developmental projects are concerned especially infrastructural development.

The government, however, may be unable or unwilling or unable and unwilling to initiate such development projects resulting in individuals and organisations initiating such projects.

Currently the government is largely willing, but largely unable to engage in such massive development or social development projects, thus necessitating the interventions from opportunistic or enterprising MPs.

This has been worsened by the introduction of the Constituency Development Fund which has been used and abused in some cases by MPs.

I note though that the fund also exists in other countries such as Kenya.

However, if a country has an effective local, provincial and central governance framework with clearly defined revenue and development strategy through existing structures, agencies and organs there would be no need for such a fund as basic services would be delivered through those relevant organs and not members of parliament.

MPs are supposed to be then exercising an oversight role in the allocation of public funds, state resources, efficacy of governance or economic delivery systems and social security nets.

In the absence of such a system MPs and aspiring MPs will continue majoring on what should be a minor for them.

Legislators should focus on law making and citizens should be able to track the contribution of their representatives through parliamentary debates aired live on television and radio as once suggested by David Coltart.

Gone are the days of the legendary Sydney Malunga, Lazarus Nzarayebani, Micah Bhebhe, Ruth Chinamano, Byron Hove, Steven Jeqe Nkomo who gave Cabinet ministers a torrid time in their hey days in the early ’80s.

We need more such MPs who are able to articulate the need and concerns of constituents linking this with legislative, policy-making processes.

A robust Parliament should keep the executive in check and not be obsessed with allowances. This is part of the problem of electing unemployed and unemployable legislators in the words of David Lloyd George “accidentally chosen from the ranks of the unemployed”.

We are also tired of sleeping MPs some of whom waffle in their sleep as well as missing persons masquerading as MPs who vanish for five years and reappear during election time. They should be given the boot.

Dumisani Nkomo is an activist and opinion leader