New Zealand Herald
By Andrew Alderson
6 November 2011
Zimbabwe’s minister for education, sports, arts and culture has pleaded for cricket tours like New Zealand’s to continue as the Unity government attempts to haul the country back from the brink of implosion.
David Coltart is an elected politician for a branch of the Movement for Democratic Change which forced president Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party into a coalition known as the Unity government after the September 2008 election.
He wants that process to continue, claiming his party has gained traction over three years to loosen Mugabe’s grip on power.
The other school of thought argues there should be a mandatory boycott of sporting links with Zimbabwe until remnants of the oppressive and brutal regime of 87-year-old Mugabe are gone.
Mugabe led the liberation movement against white minority rule and was elected in 1980. He has been there since but his health is deteriorating. He regularly travels to Singapore for medical treatment.
Coltart is the first to admit the running of the African state is flawed but says the installation of democracy is a process, not a one-off event.
“The situation is far from perfect. It is a fragile transition. There are a lot of things I dislike but we have no viable non-violent alternative. It is not as bad as it was before the 2008 elections.
“We faced rampant cholera, hyperinflation, the closure of schools and politically motivated murders. Today none of that applies. We tackled cholera, controlled the currency, got teachers back to work and there has not been a single politically motivated murder this year.”
Coltart draws comparisons to South Africa’s return from boycott in the 1990s when apartheid was in its death throes. While Nelson Mandela was released by president FW de Klerk’s government as part of a conciliatory step in 1990, he did not take office until 1994.
“There are always hardliners in and out of government determined to derail the process. In South Africa there were political assassinations as late as 1993. Yet the international cricket community embraced the South African cricket team as early as November 1991 when they went to play a one-day series in India. That was long before any guarantee everything would end happily. We are in a similar position.”
Coltart claims cricket is a microcosm of Zimbabwean society where those in charge have brought past players back from premature retirements instigated by Mugabe’s regime.
“We had ructions with white players leaving and racially discriminatory policies appearing to be implemented. We’ve sought to reconcile the racial fractures by bringing back disaffected players like Heath Streak and Grant Flower to coach. Some black players like Tatenda Taibu have returned as well.
“I believe efforts like that deserve to be rewarded by the ICC and national boards when deciding whether to tour. They are not superficial decisions. Our team is selected on merit. Any suggestion of discrimination is gone. It is reflected on the playing field. We could barely get through two days of a test six years ago. We were annihilated and axed from test cricket as a consequence. Compare that to now. We’ve beaten Bangladesh and competed against Pakistan and New Zealand.
“The relevance to New Zealand Cricket and other cricketing bodies is that we are making steps to rectify the situation. I’m hopeful people seeking reform from us will be encouraged. It is about rebuilding a national spirit.”
World cricket’s scepticism about Zimbabwe ambitions is not helped by Mugabe remaining the Zimbabwe Cricket patron, a curious affinity for the game driven by the British once piping the BBC’s Test Match Special radio commentary into his prison cell as a form of audio torture. He came to love or at least tolerate the game, but Coltart says Mugabe’s involvement is largely irrelevant these days.
“That fact is used against us because he looms large in all facets of our society. The reality is he has not been involved in cricket in any way since I became minister.”
Zimbabwe Cricket has still had problems of late. Taibu complained ahead of the New Zealand series that no player had received match fees or signed a contract for more than a year. Coltart acknowledges the issue.
“No sane person would argue Zimbabwe is perfect, cricket included. Zimbabwe Cricket is in financial difficulty but not alone in that regard around the world. Look at Sri Lanka and the West Indies. While you can’t condone the non-payment of match fees it is not a deliberate act.”
New Zealand Cricket Players Association boss Heath Mills visited Zimbabwe last year as part of pre-tour security.
“Our health and safety concerns were met, there were no issues from that perspective. We were comfortable the infrastructure would support the tour. The New Zealand government was supportive of us being there following David Coltart’s visit to New Zealand which demonstrated progress was being made.
“The MDC and Coltart were desperately keen for touring to resume. They felt the country had started to rebound from rock bottom following the establishment of the Unity government. You could see things were far from perfect but cricket coming back was a big thing for those trying to bring about change.”