IRIN – Humanitarian News and Analysis

24 Janaury 2013

Zimbabwe’s education system, once regarded as the finest on the continent, was a casualty of the country’s economic meltdown in the 2000s, when it nearly collapsed – but lately there have been signs of recovery.

The education malaise was widely blamed on hyperinflation, which made teachers’ salaries worthless and funding for school materials and maintenance impossible.

But with economic reforms of 2009 and the establishment of a donor funding mechanism, the school system is seeing modest, gradual improvement. Still, vast challenges – from poor infrastructure to teacher shortages – remain.

A turnaround

David Coltart, the education minister, told IRIN that the country’s education crisis actually predates hyperinflation.

“Contrary to what many people think, the downward spiral began long before hyperinflation occurred. It started with the sector not getting as much as it got during the first 10 years of independence,” he said. Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980.

The education system’s deterioration accelerated under the effects of hyperinflation. Then, in early 2009 the country ditched its local currency and adopted a multi-currency financial system using the US dollar, the Botswana pula and the South African rand, ending hyperinflation overnight.

By the time Coltart assumed his post in February 2009 – after the opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, entered a government of national unity with President Robert Mugabe’s ruling ZANU-PF party – the economy was beginning to turn around.

Coltart found the education system “chaotic”, with schools closed, teachers on strike and infrastructure in a state of disrepair. One of the first steps towards overhauling it was the establishment of the Education Transition Fund (ETF), a mechanism to allow donors control over their funds.

“The way the fund works is the donor community provides funding, I chair the education transition fund meetings, and UNICEF [the UN Children’s Fund] is the ultimate manager of the fund. So we reach consensus regarding how the money is to be spent, and the ministry decides what its priorities are,” Coltart explained.

Funding for the ETF varies from year to year. A variety of donors – including the European Commission and the governments of Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US – contribute to the fund, which UNICEF then administers.

In 2012, the ETF was funded to the tune of about US$12 million, and in 2013, $25 million is earmarked for it, UNICEF said in a statement.

Green shoots of recovery

Hyperinflation had prevented the publication of school textbooks. “In some schools, as many as 15 pupils shared a textbook, while in some rural schools only the teacher had a bedraggled textbook,” Coltart said.

Julia Mapondera, principal of Gwinyai Public Primary School in Mbare, a poor neighbourhood in the capital, Harare, told IRIN that erratic attendance by students and teachers, combined with the unavailability of text books, proved a toxic mix.

Prior to the crisis, students learned to read and write in their first year of school; student Kelvin Bimha, now 11, didn’t gain those skills until his fourth year, and then only with the assistance of remedial classes during the holidays.

Donor funding has since helped address the textbook shortage; the pupil-to-book ratio is now one-to-one, Coltart said. Next are plans for the distribution of non-academic books to encourage a culture of reading; $9 million is budgeted for this in 2013, with donor support through the ETF.

At the height of the crisis, in 2008 – during which food insecurity and waterborne disease were widespread, and schooling was disrupted by political violence and teacher strikes – the pass rate for the final year of primary school dropped to 52 percent. The previous year, it had been 70 percent.

In 2009, only 39 percent of those who sat for the final-year exams passed. It has since improved, with 2010 seeing a pass rate of 42 percent and 2011 a rate of 45 percent.

Still, Coltart expects the pass rate to remain low for several years and then gradually improve.

Long way to go

Principal Mapondera says lack of infrastructure continues to undermine the education system. In 2012, the number of students at Gwinyai was close to 2,000 – nearly double its intended capacity. The overcrowding has led to a practice known as “hot seating”, in which some children attend morning classes and others attend afternoon classes.

Coltart says the situation is not unique to Gwinyai. “We’ve got 8,000 schools. If you go to most of these schools, you’ll see the infrastructure is crumbling – schools not being maintained, toilets in a terrible state of disrepair. Many schools don’t have desks, don’t have blackboards.”

He said the $500,000 from the 2012 national budget for school maintenance was “less than drop in the ocean”, and his ministry would be seeking donor assistance. “We could spend a billion dollars on the education sector, and we wouldn’t address all these structural problems.”

The education budget for 2012-2013 is $750 million. More than half of this, Coltart says, goes to primary and high school teachers’ salaries, which average about $300 a month.

During the hyperinflation years, many teachers just walked off the job, as their salaries fell to the equivalent of $1 or less a month. The ministry has declared an amnesty for these teachers, and many have returned. But many others moved to other countries in search of employment and better salaries, and it has proved difficult to lure them back. It is estimated that 20,000 teachers left the country between 2007 and 2009.

There are currently about 106,000 teachers; about 30,000 more are required. However, even if the teacher target is achieved, Coltart says, there will not be enough classrooms available for them to teach in.

He says the government’s relationship with the teachers’ unions – such as the Zimbabwe Teachers Association and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe – is improving. But threats of strikes are never far from the surface.

The education sector had been stabilized, but remains fragile. “Until we see literacy rates starting to improve, until we see grade 7 [the final year of primary school] examination results getting back to the levels they were perhaps 10 years ago, I will remain concerned about the education sector,” he said.

News Day

By Kholwani Nyathi

23 January 2013

Debate on the need for a united front against Zanu PF in the forthcoming elections has been gaining traction at different platforms in the past few months.

MDC president Welshman Ncube, MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti and MDC secretary for legal affairs David Coltart are some of the prominent politicians who have shared their views about the proposed coalition.

There are some who appear convinced that such a coalition against Zanu PF and President Robert Mugabe will work only if it is led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Their argument makes sense because Tsvangirai had a good showing in the last elections where he beat Mugabe in the first round of the presidential elections.

His MDC-T also won the highest number of parliamentary seats against Zanu PF and the MDC.

These views are reportedly shared by the international donor community who are trying to coax other smaller parties to rally behind Tsvangirai.

Ncube and his party have taken the flak for insisting that they will not consider an election pact or re-unification with the MDC-T.

The MDC says it does not want to repeat the same mistake that it made on the eve of the 2008 elections where at the last minute, the MDC-T National Council rejected an election pact after lengthy and promising negotiations.

But that has not stopped some political observers from lynching Ncube and his party, with some accusing them of working in cahhots with Zanu PF.

People are entitled to their opinions, but it is wrong to behave as if other politicians owe Tsvangirai anything to be obliged to support his candidature.

The MDC-T leader has not demonstrated that he needs help from any of the opposition leaders and some of his public utterances showed some arrogance that might spoil his third attempt to unseat Mugabe.

Last week, Tsvangirai chose to fight in Mugabe’s corner rather than support Ncube in his battle to have the Zanu PF leader to respect a Sadc resolution on the Global Political Agreement (GPA) principals.

Sadc leaders at their last summit in Maputo resolved that Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara would no longer be recognised as a GPA principal because he had lost the leadership of the MDC.

Mugabe has stubbornly refused to respect the resolution and has stuck with Mutambara. Unwittingly, the MDC-T has isolated Ncube and his party by their stance. Tsvangirai has also labelled Ncube “a village politician” in the past suggesting that he is too popular to bother about an election alliance to fight Zanu PF.

However, such thinking is very short-sighted.

Previous elections have shown that there isn’t much separating Zanu PF and the MDC-T.

Although the MDC formations won most of the seats in the elections, Zanu PF won the popular vote in most provinces.

The next elections will be a different ballgame altogether for the MDC formations because the element of protest votes might not be a factor.

Zimbabwe has enjoyed relative economic stability for the past four years and voting patterns will be adjusted accordingly.

True, Zimbabweans are yearning for change, but they will not vote for Tsvangirai just for the sake of it.He has to demonstrate that he is a leader capable of uniting all Zimbabweans regardless of their political backgrounds.

If Tsvangirai cannot look beyond the petty issues that led to his fallout with Ncube and the subsequent split of the MDC, can he be trusted to reconcile with a defeated Zanu PF?

It is not too late for him to start reaching out not only to the MDC, but also Simba Makoni’s MKD and Dumiso Dabengwa’s Zapu.

The missing discourse in the way Ncube has been lynched on social media is the fact that it was Tsvangirai’s fault, not the MDC’s, that the coalition collapsed last time.

Failure to rally opposition leaders to support his candidacy will suggest that he still doesn’t understand that he needs these “smaller parties” more than they need him, judging by the margin with which he failed to secure an outright victory in March 2008.

The Chronicle

By Dosman Mangisi

21 January 2013

THE recent remarks by self-exiled MDC-T treasurer general Roy Bennett over the death of Vice-President Landa John Nkomo are insensitive and animalistic and expose the former farmer’s bitterness towards Zanu-PF.

The utterances he made over the messages of condolence mourning the late liberator, unifier, patriot and peace-maker, VP Nkomo are also disrespectful and derogatory. They are not only an insult to the departed national hero, his family and Zimbabwe, but also an unforgivable insult on the millions of comrades with whom he shared the same principles. It goes without saying that Bennett’s attack is an unprovoked political one; an attack on Zanu-PF.

What is wrong with the condolence message given by David Coltart, the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Trudy Stevenson Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Senegal and the United States Embassy in Zimbabwe? What is wrong with what the American embassy said about Cde Nkomo? The answer is nothing at all; they are deserved compliments to him.

It is enlightening to quote some of Bennett’s nonsensical views on VP Nkomo.

“Every time a prominent figure in Zanu-PF dies it becomes the occasion for all sorts of nonsense and stupidity. We recall the ridiculous things that were said when Vitalis Zvinavashe died. We are now seeing the same with John Nkomo’s death. The US Embassy is reported saying: ‘Whether as a teacher, a politician, an advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, or as a public servant, Vice-President Nkomo was a patriot who dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and prosperity.’ Excuse me. We may not like to speak ill of the dead, but let’s not tell lies.”

He continued:“I’m not sure what the American agenda is, but this is total rubbish. How can anyone with any sense say that John Nkomo dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s prosperity? Since 1980, he has sat at the heart of the heart of the beast that destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy. He has held the hand of the dictator that has obliterated our hopes and freedoms. He must now be remembered by the choices he made. He chose to oppose people than to serve them”.

Now Bennett has to answer key questions. What good has he done to the citizens of Zimbabwe? Was he not part of the heinous Rhodesian machinery that killed thousands of innocent people in Zimbabwe during the liberation war? His hands are dripping with blood of innocent citizens of this country –this violent remnant of Rhodesia who floored fellow MPs in Parliament. How much diamond did he amass from Chiadzwa, bartering sugar for diamonds in the area and spiriting it out of the country for personal benefit?

Why is he craving to be back in this land if he has lost hope for Zimbabwe? He knows that Zimbabwe is well endowed with natural resources which he hungers for not his preposterous claims that he is Zimbabwean.

If Bennett cannot see the dedication that defined VP Nkomo, fighting the liberation war he (Bennett) opposed but fortunately lost, then he cannot see anything.

Vice-President Nkomo was a teacher, politician, advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, and a public servant. He is a known patriotic son of Zimbabwe who dedicated his life to the country’s sovereignty and prosperity. He nearly lost his life as a result of that. The revolutionary was there when Rhodesia sent a parcel which exploded on that horrific day in Zambia, killing fellow comrade Jason Moyo. A brave fighter, VP Nkomo survived that covert Rhodesian assault and more overt ones in the war of liberation.

His credentials are there for all to see. Bennett recognises them, no doubt but because he is a bitter man, he seeks to tarnish them for political reasons with no success.

I must put it that Bennett is worse than a witch who respects the dead, even offering condolences by day although he prowls in the dark to pounce on graves.

The Chronicle

21 January 2013

ACTING Bulawayo High Court judge, Justice Meshack Cheda has dismissed an urgent chamber application by a Rastafarian family seeking the reinstatement of its child to a school she was expelled from on religious grounds.

Mr Patson Makhiwa, whose 13-year-old daughter was last week expelled from the Seventh Day Adventist-run Bulawayo Adventist Secondary School (BASS) for wearing dreadlocks, had sought a provisional order against the school after the expulsion.

However, Justice Cheda ruled that the provisional order could not be granted because the Applicant’s child was declared to be a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church when in fact she was a Rastafarian thereby fraudulently acquiring a place.

He said on that basis alone, the school would still be entitled to cancel the admission of the child and dismissed the application with no order as to costs.

A pastor at the Davidson Seventh Day Adventist Church allegedly filled the admission form for the girl,  where her stepmother is a member and she would go with her on a regular basis.

The church is a breakaway group from the mainstream SDA to which BASS belongs.

The Applicant had cited the Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart, BASS and the school’s headmaster, a Mr N Marandure, as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.

While the respondents’ lawyer, Ms Nomsa Ncube, of Lazarus and Sarif Legal Practitioners submitted that the girl’s admission was based on misinformation, the applicant through his legal representatives, Mr Jonathan Tsvangirai, of Dube-Tachiona and Tsvangirai Legal Practitioners maintained that there was nothing fraudulent because the girl’s stepmother was a regular member of the breakaway SDA church while the father was not aware of the admission form, which was only availed to him in court.

The applicant’s lawyer is now considering making an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, as they feel the court erred in upholding the school’s decision of segregating the girl on the basis of religion.

It is the applicant’s contention that the SDA-run school is segregatory and would have even not offered the girl a place had she said she was Rastafarian on the admission form.

This comes after the school’s argument that it offered the girl a place because she said she was SDA.

The girl has been wearing dreadlocks since she was three years old and finished Grade Seven last year at Hillside Primary School where she attained seven units.

She applied for a Form One place at BASS and was invited for entrance tests, which she passed.

The school enrolled her but expelled her from the school on the opening day on 8 January, as the school accused her of having dreadlocks, which it said was against its rules.

The girl has not been going to school for the past two weeks and the family said she is now traumatised.

The applicant said the school should have told the girl that she was not eligible on the day she went for the interviews because the locks were noticeable.

The applicant accuses the respondents of trying to force the girl to denounce her religion and to cut her dreadlocks, which is against her religion, as a Rastafarian.

In his founding affidavit, the applicant said he is a Rastafarian and his daughter is a Rastafarian. He said he did not know about the application form, which was filled by the pastor, who knew the girl as a regular at the church and her stepmother accompanied her to the school.

The girl had been going to the church for sometime in the company of the stepmother, who the applicant said was trying to blend with her by going with her to church.

The applicant said he was not shown any copy of the school’s rules.

The grounds on which the application was made are that the minor child has been barred from entering the school premises and from attending classes until she complies with the “illegal” demand made by the 2nd and 3rd respondents to cut her dreads, which is contrary to her beliefs, as a Rastafarian.

The applicant further said it would not be in the interests of the minor child to be denied education, which is an inherent right of any child of her age and barring her from school is in violation of Section 19 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

He said soon after the child was accepted as a pupil, he paid fees in full and the school authorities saw the girl with dreadlocks, which she had not cut since birth.

The applicant said he had previously communicated with the school’s deputy head, who told him that the child would not be discriminated on the grounds of her religion.

He said he believed the deputy head’s words, as the girl was offered a place and her money accepted.

Sunday News

By Mehluli Sibanda

20 January 2013

The recent directive by Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Minister David Coltart through the Sports and Recreation Commission that all national teams’ selectors should have at least represented the country at international level has sparked a fierce uproar from those affected.

While Coltart’s instruction has noble intentions, it has unfortunately has not been welcome especially in some sections of cricket where the convener of the selection, for instance Givemore Makoni who did not play international cricket for Zimbabwe, feels that the minister is targeting him.

Having covered cricket in Zimbabwe at all levels since 2001, I am fully aware that selection has been a contentious matter. At some stage Bulawayo-based players used to confide in me that they had been openly told that if the do not re-locate to Harare, play for certain clubs, they will never play for the national team and for sure the national cricket team at some stage was made up of Harare-based players.

If that was not abuse of powers by the selectors, then I do not know what that was.

When the player revolt of 2004 came, the biggest issue centered around selection because the convener of selectors then Macsood Ebrahim, had never played cricket. Ebrahim was eventually removed but our selection panel has continued to have people who have not played cricket at highest level.

I do not see anything wrong with such a directive but I feel it is a little too late; controversy has always surrounded our national cricket team selection.

The biggest problem we have especially when it comes to the Makoni issue, is that he is a Zimbabwe Cricket employee as chief executive officer of Southern Rocks. How can we have another ZC member of staff deciding the fate of fellow employees? Are the no other qualified personnel that can do the job? Why can’t Makoni just walk away from team selection? He still has a job which I am sure pays handsomely, he doesn’t need a selector’s role.

I do not see why this issue id even being debated. Why should ZC now look for black former players to be selectors? An ex-player is an ex-player no matter their colour. As long as they are based in Zimbabwe and still follow the game at all levels, they can select the national team.

There is no need to ask Mpumelelo Mbangwa to quit his job as television commentator or Henry Olonga to give up his life in the United Kingdom, both to come home and be selectors.

It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that our national cricket team is not doing well on the international scene; it is the laughing stock of international cricket. Addressing selection issue might be the beginning of solving our problems.

Since it is an order form the SRC, ZC will have to soon appoint selectors with the requisite qualifications. Those who do not meet them, Makoni included, will not be re-appointed; it is as simple as that.

Coltart last year also gave an order to all sports associations to stop the tendency of holding all matches of note in Harare. We wait to see if our national associations will stick to that order this year.

In cricket, there is a busy year ahead with Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka set to invade Zimbabwe. ZC have for the past six years used logistics as an excuse for  hosting all visiting  teams in Harare and on wonders how they are going to finally tame this animal called logistics and have matches spread all over Zimbabwe.

The Sunday Mail

By Itai Mazire

20 January 2013

The recruitment of unqualified school teachers at most State-run learning institutions has begun taking its toll on the education system in Zimbabwe amid revelations that the affected schools are recording poor pass rates. The Government is, however, plan­ning to train the teachers as part of measures to address the matter.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Senator David Coltart told The Sunday Mail last week that author­ities turned to unqualified staff, among them Ordinary and Advanced Level graduates, after qualified tutors migrated en masse at the height of the 2008 economic downturn.

He said Zimbabwe required 136 000 teachers, but only has 106 000. The situ­ation, he said, had negatively affected pupils. “We estimate that we lost over 20 000 teachers between 2007 and 2008. The country, however, regained about 15 000 teachers after the 2009 amnesty,” he said.

“This situation has resulted in authorities being forced to employ and deploy unqualified teachers to fill the gap, meaning there is no improvement to our education.”

Sen Coltart said his ministry was working with a cross-section of stake­holders to address the matter.

“Cabinet is aware of this matter. I have already held discussions with the Minister of Finance (Mr Tendai Biti), highlighting that the education sector needs a boost of both financial and human resources.

“We are in the process of implement­ing a series of measures that include the mass training of the unqualified per­sonnel. We want them to become profes­sional teachers and have already made great strides under this initiative.”

Former Zimbabwe Teachers’ Associ­ation (Zimta) president Mrs Tendai Chikowore said the union would soon approach the parent ministry over the continued deployment of such teachers.

“It is not logical for Government to deploy untrained teachers while we have thousands of qualified personnel in the country,” she said.

“There is need for clarity since the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture is not the employer. There is now need for us as Zimta to establish if this is a directive from the Public Ser­vice ministry.Government should waive the recruitment freeze it introduced and let normalcy return to schools rather than having children being taught by untrained staff.”

Between 2007 and 2008, Zimbabwe suffered a serious economic downturn that saw skilled manpower, including teachers, migrating in search of greener pastures. Government later encouraged the tutors to return home after the multi-currency system introduced in 2009 brought relative economic stability.

The numbers that heeded the calls could not, however, fill all the vacancies, a situation that led to the mass recruit­ment of unqualified teaching staff.

A manpower recruitment freeze introduced in the civil service has also made it difficult for trained personnel to occupy the available posts.

Sen Coltart said his ministry would soon compile a database of all teaching staff across the country.

“Since 2006, we have been failing to account for the number of teachers countrywide or even the number of unqualified personnel in our schools.

“We now have a management educa­tion system that can give us all the data and statistics on the employees in the education sector. We will be able to provide all this information in a couple of weeks since it is vital to improving education stan­dards.”

The Chronicle

18 January 2013

HUNDREDS of qualified teachers, who were re-engaged by the Government last year, have been left stranded after their contracts were not renewed this year.

An estimated 800 000 pupils are expected to be affected by the development.

The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) yesterday held a marathon meeting to discuss the issue.

Affected teachers accused the Government of deliberately sidelining them to reduce its wage bill.

A large number of teachers left the profession during the hyper inflationary pre-dollarisation era but were recalled last year to fill about 20 000 vacancies countrywide.

The teachers said the Government offered them contracts that were supposed to be renewed after every year.

“We were told that after two years, the Government would consider engaging us permanently. We are therefore disappointed that our employer has not communicated with us on the issue and we understand we have been replaced by temporary teachers,” said a  teacher from Matabeleland North who declined to be named.

The teachers said according to district education officers, about 3 000 of them were affected.

Another teacher said she now regretted having left her employment in neighbouring Botswana.

“I have tried to talk to the head at my school, but he says he cannot help me. He says he cannot allow me to teach without a contract because there will be problems if the Ministry ultimately decides not to give me a new contract. I could be far by now, if I had not heeded Government’s call and left my teaching job in Botswana,” said the teacher.

Contacted for comment on Thursday, Zimta chief executive officer Mr Sifiso Ndlovu said numerous complaints had been received on the subject.

“Hundreds of teachers are complaining. We know that vacancies are there because last year 13 000 temporary teachers were employed and there were about 20 000 vacancies. Now that Government has terminated these contracts, we estimate that about 800 000 pupils will have their learning disrupted,” said Mr Ndlovu.

He said Zimta would schedule a meeting with Public Service Minister Lucia Matibenga to iron out the problem.

“We think the Government is creating bottlenecks to save on labour costs.

“The teachers have families and responsibilities. We are totally against the sudden decision that has left them jobless. We need to urgently meet with the Minister to solve the problem. By not renewing their contracts, these teachers cannot be permanently employed next year,” he said.

Mr Ndlovu said the issue of teachers’ contracts needed to be thoroughly examined and revised.

“Another issue is that, some of the affected teachers are aged above 50 years and the Government is treating them as retired teachers. We are against this because the Public Service Commission allows teachers to retire when they are 65 years old,” he said.

Yesterday, Mr Ndlovu was reportedly still locked in a meeting by the time of going to press.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, said he doubted that the number of teachers whose contracts were not renewed was that high.

“I need to get specific details like names and Employment Code Numbers so that we can assist those whose contracts were not renewed.

However, I need to get facts on the ground, because I do not think the number can be that high. I am surprised that so many could have been laid off,” said Sen Coltart.

Minister Matibenga could not be reached for comment.

News Day

By  Philip Chidavaenzi

18 January 2013

Vice-President (VP) John Landa Nkomo died yesterday at a Harare hospital after a long battle with cancer.He was 78.

Nkomo had been in and out of hospitals in Zimbabwe and South Africa since last year.

“We have lost Vice-President John Landa Nkomo,” President Robert Mugabe told journalists at State House.

“He was sick for a long time and the situation became worse yesterday (Wednesday) and he was rushed to St Annes Hospital where he died later in the morning.

“We have lost a real revolutionary, fighter for freedom, friend of the people and lover of children.

“He will be dearly missed by all of us.I want to express on behalf of government, my party Zanu PF and the Cabinet our sincerest condolences to the family, his relatives and all his friends.”

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai also sent his condolences to the Nkomo family.

“VP Nkomo is an eminent nationalist, a liberation war icon and a committed patriot who will be sadly missed by all Zimbabweans,” he said. “On behalf of the MDC, my family and my own behalf, I wish my heartfelt condolences over the loss of such a committed Zimbabwean.” The late VP is survived by his wife Georgina and several children. Mourners are gathered at his Milton Park home.

One of his longtime friends and Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart said Nkomo’s death was a great loss to the country.

“Although Vice-President Nkomo was a member of a political party I clash with often, I always had a very cordial personal relationship with him,” the minister wrote on the social network Facebook.

“I first got to know him some 27 years ago when many of his colleagues in Zapu were detained and I as a young lawyer was instructed to represent them. “He would often come into my office at Webb, Low and Barry to enquire after his colleagues and we developed a good friendship which stood the test of time.“In the last four years in Cabinet we have been able to rekindle that friendship and I always found him a moderating influence in Cabinet. I last saw him when we opened a secondary school (Manqe) together in Tsholotsho last year which has been built near the primary school where he went. We had a very pleasant day together and I am pleased that he was able to do this in the twilight of his life.”

Nkomo took over from the late Joseph Msika who died in 2009. His involvement in politics dates back to 1958 when he became a member of the African National Congress from 1958-59 before joining the National Democratic Party in 1960.

In 1961 he joined Zapu and was arrested and detained at Gonakudzingwa between 1966 and 1968. The veteran nationalist went on to join the African National Council becoming deputy secretary-general in 1971. In 1976 he attended the Geneva Conference as part of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo’s PF Zapu delegation.

The following year he was seriously injured in a parcel bomb that killed top Zapu official Jason Ziyapapa Moyo. At Independence in 1980, Nkomo was elected Matabeleland North MP and became deputy Industry and Energy minister the following year.
He went on to occupy various ministerial positions, which included Industry and Energy, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office, Labour, Local Government and National Housing.

Between 2005 and 2008 he was Speaker of Parliament and became Zanu PF national chairman until 2009 when he ascended to the post of VP. Funeral arrangements were still unclear by the time of going to print last night, but it is most likely that he would be buried at the National Heroes’ Acre.

New Zimbabwe

16 January 2013

VICE President John Nkomo lost his battle with cancer on Thursday at the age of 79. The former ZAPU stalwart died at Harare’s St Anne’s Hospital after being admitted overnight. Here are some early reactions to his death:

President Robert Mugabe: “We’ve lost our vice president John Landa Nkomo. He was suffering for a long time with cancer. All of a sudden now we heard his situation had become worse … deteriorated from yesterday [Wednesday].

“So I would like to express on behalf of the government of Zimbabwe, myself, the Cabinet and the Zanu PF party my sincere condolences to the Nkomo family, relatives, friends and everyone else who new Cde Nkomo.

Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono:“The sad and untimely departure of our revered Vice President John Nkomo is an incalculable loss to the nation.

“The board of the RBZ, management, staff, my family and I join the Nkomo family, President Mugabe, government and the whole nation in mourning the loss of a leader, businessman of impeccable repute and a father whose contribution to the liberation, progress and development of this country places him in the supreme category of departed heroes.

“His unassuming disposition despite his position of authority, knowledge, wisdom and rare credentials made him a personal friend of almost everybody he interacted with. He will be missed by many.”

Education and Sport Minister David Coltart: “I’m very sorry to hear through Reuters of the death of Vice President John Landa Nkomo. Although Nkomo was a member of a political party I clash with often, I always had a very cordial personal relationship with him.

“I first got to know him some 27 years ago when many of his colleagues in ZAPU were detained and I as a young lawyer was instructed to represent them. He would often come into my office at Webb, Low and Barry to enquire after his colleagues and we developed a good friendship which stood the test of time.

“In the last four years in Cabinet, we have been able to rekindle that friendship and I always found him a moderating influence in Cabinet. I last saw him when we opened a secondary school together in Tsholotsho last year which was built near the primary school where he went. We had a very pleasant day together and I am pleased that he was able to do this in the twilight of his life.

“I was very impressed with the dignified way in which he dealt with his illness. I will miss him in Cabinet. I convey my deepest sympathy to his family and political colleagues.”

United States Embassy statement: “The Embassy of the United States of America expresses its condolences to the family and the people of Zimbabwe on the death of Vice President John Landa Nkomo.

“Whether as a teacher, a politician, an advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, or as a public servant, Vice President Nkomo was a patriot who dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and prosperity.

“As a leader of PF Zapu and Zanu PF, Nkomo played an important role in shaping the course of Zimbabwean history. May he rest in peace.”

MDC-T treasurer Roy Bennett: “Every time a prominent figure in Zanu-PF dies it becomes the occasion for all sorts of nonsense and stupidity. We recall the ridiculous things that were said when Zvinavashe died. We are now seeing the same with John Nkomo’s death. The US Embassy is reported as saying: ‘Whether as a teacher, a politician, an advocate for Zimbabwe’s independence, or as a public servant, Vice President Nkomo was a patriot who dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and prosperity.’ Excuse me. We may not like to speak ill of the dead, but let’s not tell lies.

“Assuming they are being reported accurately, I’m not sure what the American agenda is, but this is total rubbish. How can anyone with any sense say that John Nkomo dedicated his life to Zimbabwe’s prosperity. Since the 1980s, he has sat at the heart of the beast that has destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy. He has held the hand of the dictator that has obliterated our hopes and freedoms. He must now be remembered by the choices he made. He chose to oppose the people, rather than serve them. He walked around in tailor-made suits while Zimbabweans walked in rags.

“He received private medical treatment in South Africa, while Zimbabweans in South Africa were dying in the townships. And he has many questions to answer even prior to his joining Zanu PF. Why was it that he was one of the last Zapu people to be dismissed from government in the 1980s, long after Joshua Nkomo and others had been sacked? Why was he, of all people, chosen to accompany Mugabe to an international conference in early 1983 while his fellow party members were being slaughtered in the Gukurahundi?

“Go and ask our Zapu friends if you think I am making this up. My advice to the Americans and others who appear to be bending over backward to show their neutrality in 2013 is this: better to shut-up and say nothing than to insult the millions of Zimbabweans who have been murdered and impoverished by Zanu PF.”

The Herald

18 January 2013

THE Matabeleland region has been plunged into mourning following the death of Vice President John Landa Nkomo yesterday. VP Nkomo (79) died at St Anne’s Hospital in Harare after a long battle with cancer.

In separate interviews yesterday, Zanu-PF chairpersons for Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South provinces described VP Nkomo as a respected politician who would be missed by all Zimbabweans.

“Bulawayo as a province is shocked by the death of VP Nkomo. We have lost a political leader who always gave us guidance. We sympathise with the Nkomo family and the entire nation in this time of grief,” said Cde Killian Sibanda, the party’s chairman for Bulawayo.

Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial chairman Cde Richard Moyo said VP Nkomo was a distinguished veteran politician and his province was devastated by his death.
“We would like to send our condolence message on the passing on of VP Nkomo, a distinguished veteran politician,” said Cde Moyo.

“The news of his death came at a time when we had a party meeting in Hwange today. The provincial co-ordinating committee quickly met and resolved to write to the national leadership requesting that VP Nkomo be accorded National Hero status.

“No one can doubt the remarkable work that VP Nkomo, who came from this province, did for the nation. He deserves this lofty status.”

Matabeleland South Zanu-PF chairman Cde Andrew Langa said VP Nkomo was a beloved national figurehead.

“On behalf of Matabeleland South I would like to send my sincere condolences first to His Excellency President Mugabe who worked so closely with VP Nkomo.

“I also convey my condolence message to the Nkomo family and the nation as a whole for losing a beloved father,” said Cde Langa.

“Zanu-PF has lost an admirable administrator who knew how to run the party above personal issues. VP Nkomo ran the party with no interests of his own.

“Matabeleland region as a whole is saddened by his death. The whole country will miss him. It will be difficult to replace him.”

VP Nkomo’s son, Jabulani said the Nkomo family was devastated by the death of their father whom he said was in a lot of pain.

“My father has rested. This time around it is not a rumour. He was in a lot of pain and died today at 12.05pm,” said Mr Nkomo.

“For all this time he was recovering at home and only last night he developed some few complications. We quickly took cautionary measures by taking him to the hospital, but his condition deteriorated and he passed on in the afternoon.”

Mr Nkomo said the family was still shocked by the passing on of their father and said consultations were being made with the State on the way forward.

“We are consulting with the elders and a delegation of some elders has been sent to tell Ugogo (VP Nkomo’s mother) in Tsholotsho. We are sending the information to all relatives through our family system,” he said.

Mr Nkomo said mourners in Bulawayo would be gathered at the family home, House Number 59 Muchbinding Road in Worringham.

He said the family would work closely with the State in making burial arrangements. VP Nkomo’s cousin, Mr Charles Mazibisa, who comes from Tsholotsho, also said the Matabeleland region as a whole had lost a dedicated leader who would be hard to replace.

“He made sure that he worked for his Tsholotsho community and we praise him for that. We have too many people who pretend to be leaders but most of them are clearly playing mind games with the people unlike the late VP Nkomo,” said Mr Mazibisa.

He added that no one would fill the political gap left by VP Nkomo adding that already some political figures were jostling for his post.

Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Senator David Coltart via Facebook said:
“I am very sorry to hear through Reuters of the death of Vice President Landa John Nkomo. Although I have not had it confirmed I believe that Reuters would not release such a story without verifying it.

Although Vice President Nkomo was a member of a political party I clash with often I always had a very cordial personal relationship with VP Nkomo.

“In the last four years in Cabinet, we have been able to rekindle that friendship and I always found him a moderating influence in Cabinet.

“I last saw him when we opened a secondary school together in Tsholotsho last year, which has been built near the primary school where he went.

“We had a very pleasant day together and I am pleased that he was able to do this in the twilight of his life. I have attached a photograph of us together outside one of his old classroom blocks.

“I was very impressed with the dignified way in which he dealt with his illness. I will miss him in Cabinet. I convey my deepest sympathy to his family and political colleagues.” VP Nkomo was the third born of Mr Lufele Nkomo and his wife, Macitshi.