Radio VOP
Friday, 25 February 2011
GUTU – Teachers here are being forced to buy Zanu (PF) membership cards by war veterans led by controversial leader Jabulani Sibanda (Pictured), the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) has said.
“I went to see for myself after teachers came to our provincial office in Masvingo crying for help. The situation is extremely terrible,†PTUZ president Takavafira Zhou said last week. “Teachers are living in fear. They have no option besides buying Zanu (PF) cards for their safety.
War veterans are moving all over the district and teachers are jostling to get the cards.”?? Sibanda refused to comment on the matter when approached by RadioVOP saying he was too busy to attend to reporters’ questions. “I have no time for journalists right now. If you want arrange a day so that I will give you a press conference rather than calling me when I am busy doing my work,†the war veterans leader said.
Zhou said his union was planning to meet Education Minister David Coltart over harassment of teachers schools mostly in rural areas. Coltart has previously called on politicians and their supporters not to turn schools into political battle grounds.