The Chronicle

By Pamela Shumba

17 October 2012

THE Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (Zimsec) has withdrawn 13 Ordinary Level examination papers at all its examination centres countrywide after the acting headmaster of Sijawugwe Secondary School in Bubi District lost them while travelling from Bulawayo to the school on Sunday.

The timetable for O-Level examinations, however, remains unchanged and they will start on 29 October as scheduled.
The withdrawn papers are English Language (Paper 1 and 2), Mathematics non calculator version (Paper 1 and 2), Geography (Paper 1 and 2), Integrated Science (Paper 1, 2 and 3), Commerce (Paper 1 and 2) and Ndebele (Paper 1 and 2).
Confirming the developments yesterday, Zimsec board chairman Professor Norman Maphosa said the examination body was working on replacing the question papers.
He said examinations would proceed at all the 2 118 O-Level centres without disruption.
“Zimsec has cancelled all the question papers for missing subjects at all examination centres countrywide,” he said.
“Zimsec is now replacing the 13 question papers with new ones and the examinations are going to proceed as indicated on the original timetable. There are not going to be any changes to the timetable and examination centres will be notified accordingly.”
Prof Maphosa apologised to the O-Level candidates, parents and stakeholders for the unfortunate incident, saying investigations were still in progress.
“Zimsec is aware and regrets the anxiety this incident may have caused to candidates, parents, guardians and other stakeholders. I would like to inform them that everything is under control.
“We are yet to get full details on how the question papers went missing. Apart from this incident, other centres had managed to collect their papers without any challenges,” he said.
Prof Maphosa urged those involved in handling of the question papers to exercise “due dilligence and care”.
“We would not expect a recurrence of this unfortunate incident. We believe the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture will take the necessary disciplinary measures against the headmaster as they are the employer,” he said.
Prof Maphosa said it was the responsibility of Zimsec and the parent Ministry to ensure the examination papers were safe.
“We are always security conscious and because of lack of resources, we cannot deliver the examination papers to every school that is why we work together with the Ministry,” he said.
The acting school head, Mr Panganai Zimhuno, reportedly lost the examination papers in a bus between Renkini Long Distance Bus Terminus and the 30km peg along the Bulawayo-Nkayi Road when he was coming from Bulawayo.
It cost Zimsec $996 000 to print examination question papers for the 286 343 candidates who registered for the O-Level examinations this year.
To replace the missing question papers for the six subjects, Zimsec needs about $850 000.
Prof Maphosa said they were negotiating with their printing partners for the new question papers to be printed as soon as possible.
Zimsec prints and delivers the examination question papers to cluster collecting points where heads of various examination centres collect them.
The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart said Government would only comment after getting the full details of what transpired to the examination papers.

News Day

By Daniel Nhakaniso

17 October 2012

HUNDREDS of people turned out at St Georges College Cathedral in the capital to pay their last respects to former Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran who passed away in Mutare last Wednesday while jogging.

Curran, whose unexpected death shocked the cricketing world, received a befitting heroes’ sendoff with several tributes led by former teammates, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) officials and family members.

The two-hour service was attended by several dignitaries, friends and family, current and former cricketers, the late Curran’s colleagues in the local cricket fraternity and the Minister of Education, Sport Arts and Culture David Coltart.

Former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Pycroft, who is now a member of the Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, was the first to read out tributes on behalf of former national team players John Traicos and current Indian coach Duncan Fletcher.

ZC chairman Peter Chingoka delivered the eulogy, while former managing director Ozias Bvute spoke about his personal experiences with Curran.

Mid West Rhinos’ chief executive Kenyon Ziehl, Curran’s cousin spoke on his experiences with Curran from their early childhood in Rusape, while his son Tom also paid tribute to his late father.

Mashonaland Eagles players then did a guard of honor as a sign of respect to their coach as his white casket, which had a large flower arrangement on top, was led to the hearse after the church service.

Curran was expected to be laid to rest later yesterday at a private funeral.

He was born in Rusape in 1959.

Curran made his international debut at 20 and was an integral part of the Zimbabwe team at the 1983 and 1987 World Cups, but played the majority of his cricket for English counties Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire and for Natal in South Africa.

Curran was coaching Mashonaland Eagles, who were in Mutare to play Mountaineers in a one-dayer and Twenty20 game when he died.

He was known throughout his playing career for his physical fitness and stamina and retired in 1999 after a first-class career spanning over two decades.

Curran returned to Zimbabwe in 2004 to take up a full-time position as director of the national academy and coach of the Under-19 team, but assumed the role of national coach a year later following the departure of West Indian Phil Simmons.

Holiday Inn Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe

Speech given by Senator David Coltart, Minister of Education, Sport, Arts, and Culture

17 October 2012

Today marks a milestone in the launch of the evaluation of the BEAM programme. In response to the rising challenges associated with the macro-economic meltdown which undermined social services provision, the Government of Zimbabwe launched a unique safety net in the form of Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) in the year 2001.  BEAM is the educational funding component of the Government of Zimbabwe Poverty Alleviation Action Programme.  Its launch filled the gap created by the discontinuation of the Social Dimension Fund Fee Waiver Programme. The economic situation since that time has changed substantially.  BEAM aimed to reach 560,000 children.  A figure based on the 2003 poverty assessment survey study[1].

Unlike its predecessor which was centralized, the BEAM programme attempts in a very serious manner to empower communities to make decisions about the welfare of their less privileged children.

The Education Act, as amended, and the UN Convention on Children’s Rights classify education as a human right.  It is in that spirit that access to education by all becomes a critical national concern.  Hence the importance of BEAM whose objectives include the following:-

• Ø Prevention of school drop outs

• Ø Fostering the return to school by those who had left school due to inability to pay

• Ø Making it possible for children who have never been to school due to poverty to participate in education

• Ø Breaking the poverty cycle

• Ø Bringing the BEAM service in the people and fostering their ownership of it through nomination, vetting and selection of beneficiaries.

The BEAM evaluation was long overdue.  Gaps and weaknesses identified should form the basis for continuous training of Heads of Schools and the Community Selection Committees (CSC) in BEAM processes and procedures.  The values of integrity, empathy and transparency should be enhanced through such training.

It is also important that the two Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture and Labour and Social Services are materially and technically supported to effectively monitor, communicate with stakeholders and timeously disseminate information on payment of schools as well as to attend and respond to queries or other issues arising from such payments.  Monitoring of BEAM should be a continuous exercise at District, Provincial and Head Office levels involving both Ministries (Ministry of Labour and Social Services and Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture) whose officials should expeditiously process the BEAM application forms.

We have as a Ministry, and I have as Minister, borne the brunt of the concern expressed by the public, parents and guardians regarding children out of school. Not a week goes past without the press phoning for comment regarding children who have been thrown out of school for non payment of fees. It is also painfully obvious to me as I drive around Zimbabwe during school hours that there are many children not attending school. Whilst my observations are anecdotal they are now supported by empirical studies conducted in Zimbabwe during the last few years.

I note from the report that it is estimated from the BEAM Evaluation Report[2]that there are approximately 1 million children currently in need of BEAM support.  There are an estimated 3.6 million school age children (primary and secondary) in Zimbabwe.  The BEAM evaluation estimates that approximately 27% of these children are on average orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) who are too poor to be able to afford school fees and levies.  This finding is further supported by the Zimbabwe Early Learning Assessment (ZELA)[3] that estimates the number of OVC’s to be 25%.  Those children identified in the BEAM and ZELA report are of children who are registered and in-school.  The number of out of school children, not included these assessments is not known. However, the 2012 Vulnerability Assessment Committee report[4] suggests that 14% of the rural school age population are not in school, this is higher for boys (16%) than for girls.  Some districts (Tsholotsho, Bubi, Gwanda) report out of school percentages as high as 24%.  44% of the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee respondents indicated that the reason for being out of school was financial constraints, with a further 10% indicating that they had to work for food or money.

The BEAM evaluation indicates that 28% of primary school students need BEAM and yet only 16.3% received BEAM.  There are an estimated 2.8 million primary school students.  (28% = 784,000) : (16.3% = 456,400).  Approximately 327,600 primary school children are in need of BEAM and do not receive support. For secondary 24% of secondary school student required BEAM and only 17.5% received BEAM.  There are an approximate total of 800,000 secondary school students in the country.  (24% = 192,000) : (17.5% = 140,000). Approximately 52,000 secondary school students needed BEAM and did not receive support.  A total of 976,000 primary and secondary school students are identified as needing BEAM support, however, approximately 380,000 do not receive any form of support.  From this, one can conclude that we have a very grave situation on our hands.

The BEAM evaluation indicated that in 2011 the per capita cost of a primary school BEAM beneficiary was $37.66 per year (up from $8.20 in 2009).  The average cost of secondary school student was $113.98.  Based on these 2011 figures, to cover the needs in full, approximately $29.56 million would have been required for primary and $21.89 for secondary.  Accordingly, a total of approximately $51.45 million was required for 2011.  Given an approximate 3% enrollment increase an estimated $53 million is required to cover the full annual BEAM requirement in 2013.  This will not cover the ‘out of school’ children, the number of which are still not known, but could be as high as another 1 million children.  A comprehensive ‘out of school’ assessment is planned in partnership with ZIMSTATS (on the back of the Population Census) in early 2013.

The funding of BEAM has until now been inadequate and resources to the education sector are severely limited.  MoESAC to date in 2012 has only received $8.1 million for non salary expenditure, to run 8500 schools, and sport, art and culture!  BEAM has also been identified as one of the four major priorities of the Government’s agenda of accelerating their commitment to MDG 2.  Without these additional funds, Zimbabwe risks not meeting its commitments to the children of Zimbabwe.

This is a very serious situation that we face and the only way it can be adequately addressed is if massive additional funding can be obtained both from Government and from our friends in the international community. The former will require a dramatic change in Government’s priorities. For example how can it be that we have deemed the construction of a US$98 million Defence College more important than building and maintaining primary and secondary schools? We need to commit ourselves to a radical change in direction; countries like South Korea and Singapore decided to invest in education 5 decades ago and they are only really reaping the benefits of that now. Sadly an investment in education does not yield the immediate short term results that politicians need to be re-elected and that appears to be the reason why education is so neglected. But if we have a vision for a strong, vibrant Zimbabwe then that substantial, long term and sustained investment must be made.

Turning back to this report I agree that the long term recommendation that BEAM must “review its role in the social protection framework” is important. Ultimately Government must move towards honoring its obligation to make primary education compulsory and free (for those who cannot afford to pay), which in turn will remove some of the necessity for BEAM. But even in the short term we need much closer liaison between the Ministries of Labour and Education to ensure that we jointly arrange for all children to be educated through the most efficient mechanism possible. To that extent I see the launch of this report as the beginning of an intense process to address the deficiencies of our current system. It is simply unacceptable that so many children are out of school or dropping our of school.

I look forward to the two Ministries urgently implementing the recommendations of the Evaluation Report in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance.

Defence Professionals

By Tawanda Karombo

16 October 2012

The Zimbabwean government is spending too much on defence and the military at the expense of other development sectors such as education, says a senior official in the splinter Movement Democratic Change (MDC), lead by Professor Welshman Ncube. Earlier this month Zimbabwe opened its $98 million National Defence College.

Zimbabwe is currently being run by a joint administration, bringing together the three major political parties in the country – Ncube’s MDC, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T and President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party.

Tsvangirai has criticised African leaders for “investing in arms and the military”. David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s Education Minister, has castigated Zimbabwe’s excessive spending on the military and defence for a country that is not at war. He said Zimbabwe’s “defence has been allocated $35 million” in the first half of the current year while education has received only $5 million, about 6% of the money budgeted for education.

“We are spending so much on defence and only a pitiful amount on education. If we don’t address these issues then the education of an entire generation will be lost.”

However, the views of Tsvangirai and Coltart are in sharp contrast with those of Mugabe, whose ZANU-PF party has seconded army personnel to senior positions in state parastatals and other government organisations. Retired Major-General Mike Nyambuya was appointed to head the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board two weeks ago in the latest move to militarise key institutions. Key parastatals and strategic public institutions in which ex-military personnel are heavily involved include the National Railways of Zimbabwe, Grain Marketing Board, Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and Zimpapers.

Last month, Mugabe officially opened the National Defence College just outside Harare which was built with assistance from China, with whom Zimbabwe is said to enjoy stronger military ties. In his address, he said there was need to enhance the security systems and intelligence systems of Zimbabwe.

He said China and Pakistan would avail expert military training for Zimbabwean army personnel at the defence college. Those to be trained there include military personnel from the ranks of colonel and others ranked above the colonels.

The defence college, built on a total area of 40,000 square meters, was constructed at a cost of $98 million (loaned by China) and took two years to complete.

China is Zimbabwe’s leading arms supplier, providing at least $66 million worth of small arms during Zimbabwe’s involvement in the civil war in the DRC (1998-2002). Since 2004 China has sold to Zimbabwe 139 military vehicles and 24 combat aircraft. Last year it was reported that Zimbabwe had taken delivery of 20 000 AK-47 assault rifles from China, together with other military and civil security equipment.

However, Zimbabwe sometimes struggles to take delivery of weapons due to sanctions. In 2008 South Africa prevented delivery of six containers of small arms and equipment when they stopped the China Ocean Shipping Company’s vessel An Yue Jiang from unloading in Durban. The weapons on board were shipped by Poly Technologies Incorporated of China.

According to the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), a Belgian research hub, in August 2008, 53 tons of ammunition were allegedly flown from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Harare. The ammunition was flown by Enterprise World Airways, aboard a Boeing 707-3B4C aircraft registered as 9Q-CRM.

The first shipment on August 21 contained 32 tons of 7.62mmx54 cartridges. Two days later a second shipment arrived, containing 20 tons of 7.62mmx39 cartridges, which are used in AK-47s. The ammunition arrived in Zimbabwe four months after the arms shipment was turned away at Durban, only to be flown into the country later from Angola, the report claimed.

Despite denials from Luanda and Beijing, an employee of the state-owned Zimbabwe Defence Industry (ZDI) in Harare told IPIS that the shipment, which contained mortar bombs, rockets and ammunition, had arrived in the country.

“The most prominent supplier of arms to Zimbabwe has been China, which supplied more than one-third of the volume of Zimbabwe’s major weapons between 1980 and 2009,” the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has said.

The Institute said that China supplied 100 Dongfeng military vehicles to Zimbabwe via the Mozambican port of Beira in early 2005.

David Maynier, the Democratic Alliance’s defence spokesman said South Africa “should not be exporting conventional arms to a repressive regime such as Zimbabwe” after it emerged that South Africa had sold military equipment worth R2.2 million to Zimbabwe.

“The fact is there has been a de facto arms embargo on exporting conventional arms to Zimbabwe for nearly a decade,” he said.

The Chronicle

By Lillian Sibanda

15 October 2012

THE Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart has blamed the Warriors’ defeat on poor administration and

corruption that is clouding Zimbabwean football.

His comments come after the Warriors lost 2-0 to the Palancas Negras of Angola at the 11 November Stadium on Sunday.

The defeat cost the nation the chance to play in the African Cup of Nations that will be held in South Africa next year.

“When we clean up Zimbabwe football and rid it of political influence, we will start getting better results on the field, the two are linked,” posted the Minister on his twitter account.

He expressed disappointment at the defeat but felt the Rahman Gumbo coached boys put up a good performance.

“I am reluctant to blame the players who I think tried their hardest — some really put their all into it. We just need to sort out the administrative side of the game. Believe you me I am doing everything within my limited powers to clean up the mess.

“The problem is fundamentally administrative, too much politics, abuse of office, corruption in football affects everything,” charged Coltart.

“Along with the rest of Zimbabwe, I am bitterly disappointed with our failure to qualify for the 2013 African Cup of Nations. But it was so close and well done,” he said.

It was a dark sporting weekend for Zimbabwe as four other representative sides were on the losing end.

The Young Warriors succumbed to a 2-1 loss to Congo Brazzaville in a African Youth Championship qualifier on Saturday while the Mighty Warriors were hit 0-1 by Banyana Banyana.

The hockey women’s side lost 0-2 to Kenya while their male counterparts were thrashed 11-0 by South Africa.

The final blow came on Sunday when the senior team lost to Angola.

Coltart urged Zifa to wrap up the investigations into the infamous Asiagate scandal so that the nation can be able to move on and focus on the future.

“Now we need to analyse the Asiagate report this week and continue the process of cleaning up and de-politicising Zimbabwe football,” he said.

The Chronicle

15 October 2012

A TOTAL of 4 000 disadvantaged pupils will be able to sit for Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations starting towards the end of this month after Government paid US$1,1 million for the students.

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) had threatened to bar 16 000 Ordinary Level and Advanced Level pupils supported under the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) from writing the public examinations over Government delays in paying fees.

But Labour and Social Services executive assistant director Mrs Fortunate Zengenene said Government recently paid US$1 185 243 to enable the pupils to write examinations.

Zimsec recently said the disadvantaged pupils had until yesterday to register for the examinations. We commend Government for the swift action in ensuring the pupils write their examinations. We also hail Government for directing schools not to bar pupils with outstanding tuition fees and levy from writing public examinations.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart has said no pupil should be prevented from writing public examinations for failing to pay tuition fees and levies. School authorities should heed the call by the Government and allow the pupils to write the examinations. Minister Coltart’s suggestion for schools to withhold results for defaulting pupils until they pay is reasonable.

The BEAM programme and the cadetship programme for students at universities and other institutions of higher learning have shown Government’s commitment to ensuring every Zimbabwean has access to education. But the programmes have been hamstrung by under-funding and we call upon the Ministry of Finance to prioritise education. Most people holding positions of authority in Government today, from politicians (the ministers) and bureaucrats (senior civil servants), in the ministries benefited from Government’s education for all policy, which it implemented soon after independence. Under the policy, education right up to university level was heavily subsidised by Government. Such heavy subsidies are no longer possible these days because of mounting responsibilities for Government. But we expect the politicians and bureaucrats serving in the inclusive Government to at least spare a thought for the poor pupils and help them to access education. In fact it is every Zimbabwean’s right to have access to education.

The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education has been criticising the Ministry of Finance for delaying paying universities  and other institutions of higher learning fees for students under the cadetship programme. This compromises the institutions’ capacity to offer services. The same goes for Zimsec, if examination fees are not paid on time, conducting the public examinations will be difficult because of inadequate funding. It is in this vein that we congratulate Government for the timely intervention to help pupils under BEAM. The same urgency should be applied with regards to the cadetship programme.

Government has come up with several noble safety net programmes ranging from the Aids levy, food for work, farming inputs programmes, BEAM and now the cadetship programme for students in tertiary institutions. But a good number of these programmes are beset with problems of under-funding or getting their priorities wrong. Government must go out of its way to make sure such programmes are adequately funded and getting their priorities right so that they save their intended  purpose.

The Herald

By Robson Sharuko, Senior Sports Editor, with additional reporting by Zvamaida Murwira

15 October 2012

ZIMBABWE plunged into mourning last night after the Warriors crashed, for the umpteenth time, at the final hurdle and blew away a golden chance to qualify for the 2013 Nations Cup finals in South Africa. Millions of football fans, stationed inside and outside the country, had been hoping for late night celebrations to mark the end of a six-year barren pursuit for a place at the Nations Cup finals by the country’s senior national football team.

The Warriors were in prime position to qualify for their third Nations Cup finals after arriving for the final battle in Angola carrying a healthy 3-1 first leg lead and their ranks having been boosted by the addition of some experienced players. A united nation, which had pooled more than US$500 000 towards their cause in just two weeks, in which the players were promised a whooping US$10 000 each to win the game and residential stands in the northern suburbs of Harare, had played its part to try and rally the team.

But Zimbabwe’s advantage was erased, within the first 10 minutes of the second leg at the 11 November Stadium in Luanda yesterday, and the Warriors never recovered from their shocking collapse, with the home side comfortably hanging on for a 2-0 win that was enough to secure a ticket to South Africa.

Although the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate, the Angolans qualified by virtue of the away goals rule with the golden goal scored by their winger, Djalma, in Harare last month, now counting double to give them a 4-3 aggregate victory.

It was a cruel ending to the Warriors’ latest quest for a place at the Nations Cup finals but, having edged Burundi on the away goals rule in the last round, coach Rahman Gumbo and his men will find it difficult to find sympathy in the event they curse this format of deciding matches.

What isn’t in dispute is that this was, by far and large, the easiest possible qualifying campaign that the Warriors have played in, for the past three decades, to book a place at the Nations Cup finals. For once, they needed to just play two teams, on a home and away basis, and, in the event they succeeded, get a place to South Africa where an army of their fans was waiting for them to paint the tournament in our gold and green national colours.

But, somehow, the Warriors failed to clear just two hurdles. Having laboured against Burundi, losing 1-2 in Bujumbura, and then squeezing a nervy 1-0 win in Harare, to go through 3-2 on the away goals rule, the Warriors appeared to have found their rhythm with an excellent first half performance against Angola at Rufaro.

But Djalma gave Angola a lifeline with a golden away goal, as the Warriors fizzled out of the picture in the second half at home, struggling to mark the Turkey-based winger and gangly striker, Manucho, after the pair had been thrown in after the interval.
Angola ended the contest in Harare strongly, and got off to a flying start at home, as they got the two early goals they needed to squeeze themselves firmly back into the picture.

Millions of Zimbabwean football fans packed the sports clubs and bars around the country, with many watching the live television broadcast of the match from the comfort of their homes, and central Harare looked distinctly deserted as the game drew closer.

But all hopes that the Warriors would hold on to their advantage evaporated inside the first 10 minutes and, from there on, it was an uphill task and Gumbo came short where Sunday Chidzambwa and Charles Mhlauri had succeeded in taking the national team to the Nations Cup finals.

On a day when the rains that pounded the capital, about an hour before kick-off, should have cheered the spirits of the nation, there were tears at the end of the contest in Luanda as reality dawned that the Warriors had fluffed arguably their best chance to return to the Nations Cup finals.

In an interview, Minister Coltart laid the blame on ZIFA: “We will not get to the full potential until we clean up our football. We are still suffering from corruption and the rot,” said Minister Coltart. “Even players like (Knowledge) Musona have not had his full heart on the Warriors in the past weeks. I am very disappointed by the result but am encouraged by the aggregate of 3-3.”

Tsholotsho North legislator and Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo said football lacked national mobilisation and motivational support from the parent Ministry and other stakeholders. He said Zimbabwe had failed to do what it was suppose to have done when it qualified to the finals in 2004 and 2006. Prof. Moyo said the country had good players, coaches, supporters, corporate world and enthusiastic media.

“It is that mobilisation and motivation that created a formidable belief that ‘Yes we can do it’. The problem lies in our failure to repeat what we did in 2004 and 2006. In fact the thrust must not have been how to qualify but how to win the Cup,” said Prof Moyo.

“We acted as if we have never qualified before. We are not learning from our success. We are not implementing the things we did in 2004 and 2006. There has been not even a single jingle to motivate players, coaches, corporate sector and the enthusiastic media.”
Prof Moyo blasted Zifa for christening fundraising committee as Mzansi 90 instead of using an indigenous term that would invoke the country’s ancestral spirits.

“The Ministry of Education should have provided the leadership, but when it failed someone must have taken over the responsibility when the Minister is sleep working on duty and do the job,” he said. “We must brand ourselves indigenously; by calling the Committee Mzansi 90 we were invoking other people’s spirits as if we did not have ours.”

Prof Moyo said it was equally ridiculous for the national team to continue relying heavily on one sponsor, Mbada Diamonds instead of securing others to complement the existing one.

Information Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa said there was need for a radical transformation of government approach to football in terms of policy and budgetary allocation.

“We have neglected a lot of advantages and opportunities to the detriment of the national pride and patriotic duty,” he said.
“There has to be an active role from the government from a policy and budgetary point of view to redeem and reclaim our national glory which has been near but very far,” he said.

Soccer fan Johannes Chikambure said coach Rahman Gumbo should resign. Gilmore Goredema, a Warriors’ fan who was among those who travelled to Angola to support the team, captured the disappointment with a Facebook post that painted a graphic picture of shattered hearts. “The travelling supporters here are in tears, same as those back home,” he wrote on his Facebook wall. “Are we cursed or what? Or it’s a case of bad players and coaches complemented by bad administrators? “Back to square one, poor Warriors!”

As usually is the case when the national team loses, it triggered a frenzy of post-mortems on the social media sites last night with many of the fans sharply criticising Gumbo, especially for his decision to leave out midfielder Ovidy Karuru, the star of the failed campaign for the 2012 Nations Cup finals. Others felt Gumbo had always struggled to perform, when the odds are against him, and questioned how a coach, who was deemed not good enough for FC Platinum, could still be trusted to take the team to the Nations Cup finals.

Certainly not a favourite with the majority of the team’s fans and media critics, Gumbo appeared to have charmed the nation when he plotted that impressive 3-1 win over Angola at Rufaro but, given the way the Warriors struggled in the second half, others chose to be cautious before celebrating a ticket to South Africa.

There were fears that the curse which saw him fail to defend a 3-0 first leg lead, while coaching Highlanders in the Champions League in 2000, to lose by the same scoreline against Sable de Batie of Cameroon in 2000 and then be eliminated on penalty shootout, would strike again in Luanda.

For some of his critics, that monumental Bosso collapse at the turn of the millennium justified their concerns that the Warriors would struggle to defend their lead in Luanda.

Gumbo is in his second spell with the Warriors after his previous stint ended following a home 0-3 loss against Nigeria eight years ago and, in two away Nations Cup matches with the senior national team since his comeback, they lost both games.
In three away matches, including the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Mozambique in Maputo, the Warriors drew one and lost two.

The Warriors’ next assignment will come in March next year when they travel to Cairo for a date against Egypt, who already lead them by five points after two group games, in a 2014 World Cup date.

The Herald

Staff Reporter

15 October 2012

GOVERNMENT has paid US$1,1 million examination fees for Ordinary and Advanced level candidates under the Basic Education Assistance Module and urged schools not to bar any pupils with outstanding fees and/or levies from writing exams.

‘O’ and ‘A’ Level examinations are scheduled to begin on the 26th of this month. The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council had threatened to bar  16 000 BEAM-supported pupils from writing exams beginning this month over Government delays in paying fees.

Labour and Social Services executive assistant director Mrs Fortunate Zengenene said the recent payment had enabled an additional 4 000  pupils to be registered for this year’s exams.

Mrs Zengenene said Government paid US$1 185 243 for the pupils. Of the money, US$1 141 144 covers fees for O-level candidates while US$44 099 goes towards exam fees for A-level. “This means about 4 000 pupils supported by BEAM can still be registered for the examinations. For 2012, Government allocated US$16 million to BEAM for secondary schools with US$1,5 million set aside for examination fees,” she said.

Zimsec recently called on eligible candidates ready for the exams and approved by their respective headmasters to approach BEAM for registration by today. Candidates will be assisted in up to six subjects of their own choice, including one practical. The initial deadline for the registration was May 18 and many disadvantaged pupils failed to register.Registration fees for O-level examinations are pegged at US$11 per subject while A-level candidates pay US$22.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said no pupil should be barred from writing public examinations for failing to pay tuition fees and levies.He said schools should instead withhold results of defaulting pupils. “Everyone has a right to education and according to Government policy, everyone should write and if they fail to pay, then results can be withheld. Parents and guardians should immediately notify education directors if they encounter such scenarios during examination time,” he said.

Nehanda Radio

15 October 2012

Zimbabwe’s painful 2-0 defeat to Angola in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) second leg qualifier has ignited a varied reaction across the board. Here is a sampling of what both prominent and ordinary people think.

Mehluli Khumalo: “I have a strong feeling these Warriors results are fixed. Somehow i could guess something fishy would deny us the success. How does it happen that we concede two goals in 7 minutes and somebody somehow makes sure we do not witness the early minutes of the action. Sounds like the Cape Verde story! Somebody please return this cash that you were paid or we may as well forget about national soccer in Zimbabwe.”

Zanu PF MP Jonathan Moyo: “The Ministry of Education should have provided the leadership, but when it failed someone must have taken over the responsibility when the Minister is sleep working on duty and do the job. We must brand ourselves indigenously; by calling the Committee Mzansi 90 we were invoking other people’s sprits as if we did not have ours.”

Discent Collins Bajila: “The assertion by ZANU PF`s Jonathan Moyo, that the Warrior`s loss to Angola is a result of Minister David Coltart`s sleep on duty is an intolerable attempt on the blame game. Even children know that Coltart is one of the hardest working Ministers in Zimbabwe.

Senator David Coltart: “I suppose I should be thankful that at least Jonathan Moyo concedes that I am sleep WORKING not walking on the job! I certainly am not going to lose any sleep over Jonathan Moyo’s allegation that I am sleep WORKING on the job! Zanu PF political opportunism at its best or worst, depending on your perspective!”

Senator David Coltart: “Now we need to analyse the Asiagate report out this week and continue the process of cleaning up and de-politicising Zimbabwe football.”

Mbonisi Mabhena: “Can someone advise Cuthbert Dube (Zifa Chief) to stop using his money and think football. Take the current u20 team give Peter (Ndlovu) the reigns and make them fulfil the world cup qualifiers. Forget about the results and make them play all the u23 fixtures and organise friendlies.”

Zanu PF MP Jonathan Moyo: “It is that mobilisation and motivation that created a formidable belief that ‘Yes we can do it’. The problem lies in our failure to repeat what we did in 2004 and 2006. Infact the thrust must not have been how to qualify but how to win the Cup.”

Senator David Coltart: “We will not get to the full potential until we clean up our football. We are still suffering from corruption and the rot. Even players like (Knowledge) Musona have not had his full heart on the Warriors in the past weeks. I am very disappointed by the result but am encouraged by the aggregate of 3-3.”

Zanu PF MP Jonathan Moyo: “We acted as if we have never qualified before. We are not learning from our success. We are not implementing the things we did in 2004 and 2006. There has been not even a single jingle to motivate players, coaches, corporate sector and the enthusiastic media.”

ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa: “We have neglected a lot of advantages and opportunities to the detriment of the national pride and patriotic duty. There has to be an active role from the government from a policy and budgetary point of view to redeem and reclaim our national glory which has been near but very far.”

Ezra ‘Tshisa’ Sibanda: “As l said before, the circus surrounding the trip was a disaster. For the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) to agree to fly 197 people crammed together with players in a plane chattered by Mbada Diamonds was suicidal.

“Accompanying 30 players, 8 coaching staff was 32 people from Mbada Diamonds the sponsors, 14 journalists, 12 traditional dancers, 20 Mzansi 2012 committee members, 16 representatives of premiership clubs, a number of nominated supporters, Zifa officials to make a total of 197 passengers.

“It’s unheard of, unprofessional and dangerous to mix football players and so many fans packed together in whatever mode of transport especially travelling a day before a game of this magnitude. The players and coaching staff were never given space to bond and build team spirit as a group because there was so much human baggage around them.”

The Chronicle

14 October 2012

GOVERNMENT has paid $1,1 million examination fees for Ordinary and Advanced level candidates under the Basic Education Assistance Module and also urged schools not to bar any pupil from writing examinations because they have not paid tuition fees and levies.

Zimbabwe School Examinations Council had threatened to bar 16 000 Beam supported pupils from writing examinations beginning this month over Government delays in paying fees.

Labour and Social Services executive assistant director Mrs Fortunate Zengenene said the recent payment had enabled an additional 4 000 pupils to be registered for this year’s examinations.

Mrs Zenegenene said Government paid $1 185 243 for the pupils.

The money, $1 141 144 covers fees for O’ level candidates while $44 099 goes towards examination fees for A level.

“This means about 4 000 pupils supported by Beam can still be registered for the examinations.

“For 2012, Government allocated $16 million to BEAM for secondary schools with $1,5 million set aside for examination fees,” she said.

Zimsec recently called on eligible candidates ready for the examinations and approved by their respective headmasters to approach Beam for the registration process by today. Candidates will be assisted in up to 6 subjects of their own choice including one practical.

The initial deadline for the registration was 18 May and many disadvantaged pupils failed to register for the examinations.

Registration fees for Olevel examinations are pegged at $11 per subject while Alevel candidates pay $22.

Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said no pupil should be barred from writing public examinations for failing to pay tuition fees and levies.

He said schools should instead withhold results of defaulting pupils.

“Everyone has a right to education and according to Government policy is everyone should write and if they fail to pay then results can be withheld.

“Parents and guardians should immediately notify education directors if they encounter such scenarios during examination time,” he said.