The Standard

By Albert Marufu

23 September 2012

SOUTH Africa’s supreme sports controlling body, Sports and Recreation South Africa (SRSA), have been invited to present a paper on how to lure sponsorship into sport at the football indaba to be held in Harare on Wednesday.

The indaba, where Asiagate and financing local football are expected to top the agenda, was called by Education, Sport, Arts and Culture minister David Coltart.

Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) director-general, Charles Nhemachena said they had invited SRSA, which is their equivalent, to share ideas on how Zimbabwe could lure the corporate world to pour money into sport.

Though talent is abundant in Zimbabwe, the country is in dire need of sponsors,  which is exactly the opposite of what is happening down south where corporates fall over each other to support sport.

“Sport is big business in South Africa with the corporate world playing a huge role. That is the reason we have invited our counterparts, SRSA to share with us on how they do it that side. SRSA will present a paper on the incentives they offer the corporate world and I am sure that will help us in a big way,” he said.

Though sponsors are coming into Zimbabwean sport, with companies such as Mbada Diamonds, Marange Resources, Delta, and other financial institutions chipping in, the rate has been slow.

Only last month, the national Under 20 soccer team failed to fulfill a national assignment owing to lack of resources, while Team Zimbabwe performed dismally at the London 2012 games largely because of poor preparations.

However, it is the Asiagate that is likely to top the indaba’s agenda with the final report expected to be released.

The report was due last month, but the Justice Ahmed Ebrahim-led independent committee doing the investigations decided they had to interview an extra eight witnesses before judgement could be handed down.

The report is expected to clear or impose bans on some of the players and officials fingered in the scandal.

Players who will have been cleared might feature in Zimbabwe’s penultimate 2013 Afcon qualifier against Angola, which is on next month.

The Sunday News

22 September 2012

AS the nation prepares for the completion of the constitution-making process and the subsequent holding of the general elections, the electorate is now faced with a bitter task at hand; that of electing representatives who will lead them and represent them in parliament and in councils.

This will be the time when people sit back and reflect on whether their current legislators did anything for them over the past four years.

However, over this period the media has unfortunately been awash with reports of corruption among these representatives, this bringing to the spotlight the issue of the calibre of legislators political parties fielded during the election. the main question being do we need these Members of Parliament at all? Do they add any value to the nation and the people they represent?

Some legislators, who overnight had been turned from being mere political activists to full-scale decision-makers, took this as an opportunity to make money and and engage in personal enrichment rather than serve the people.

Those who used to rely on bicycles as their only mode of transport were suddenly seen driving all sorts of top-of-the-range vehicles, while others who did not have any accommodation moved to elite suburbs.

Councillors were not to be left out in the wave of self-enrichment as they took the opportunity to illegally acquire residential, industrial and commercial stands.

One of the parties in the inclusive Government, the MDC-T, recently gave in to corruption allegations and called for the immediate arrest of their own councillors who engaged in corrupt activities.

On the other hand when some of the legislators from Bulawayo were promoted to become Cabinet ministers the feeling was this would certainly bring some form of development to the region, however, this has disappointingly not been the case.

Currently the city is facing a water crisis that has seen households go for at least 72 hours per week without water, ironically the Minister of Water Resources, Management and Development, Mr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, is a Member of Parliament for Njube-Lobengula constituency.

To add insult to injury Minister Nkomo has been at the forefront of calls upon residents to use water from the heavily contaminated Khami Dam, a suggestion that has been dismissed as ludicrous by residents.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, is also from the city but honestly have we benefited from this. yes Senator Coltart found an education sector that was in the doldrums but right now there has been some confusion on the issue of teacher incentives and sending students away for unpaid fees.

Again the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Professor Welshman Ncube, hails from the region while he has been vocal over the deindustrialisation affecting the city, the Distressed Industries and Marginalised Areas Fund has been a mere pie in the sky.

Many today have questioned on the actual need of these MPs, furthermore a lot of noise was made when there were a few ministers hailing from the region but have there been any tangible results, can we look back over these past four years and say there has been notable change.

Does the nation really have use for these legislators or they are just mere burdens who want to pamper themselves with more cars, houses and other luxuries.

Many have called for the amendment of the Electoral Act as the current law has been blamed for the alleged corruption levels, lack of basic leadership skills and knowledge of the job at hand.

As we prepare for yet another election, there will be a fresh wave of campaigns from people interested in becoming councillors, Members of the House of Assembly or Senators.

Some parties promised what they termed “real change” but four years on has there been any change at all?

Over these past four years some legislators have been accused of literally disappearing right after being thrust to their respective positions. Others have been accused of focusing on personal enrichment rather than serving their respective constituencies.

Just a few months ago accusations were being thrown around over the manner in which these legislators used their Constituency Development Fund (CDF), this saw government ordering an investigation on all members of the house of assembly to bring to rest allegations that the CDF was grossly abused and had not been used for its intended purpose.

Some of the legislators were arrested on allegations of squandering and misappropiating the fund.

As if this was not enough these legislators were once again the centre of controversy when they demanded new cars from government despite their continuous insistence that the government was broke and their failure to offer civil servants a salary increment citing the unavailability of funds.

With all this considered maybe the major question on everyone’s mouth is does the nation really need these legislators or we can just do away we them and the nation will perform far much better?

Do we really need leaders who will come today campaigning to be voted for and then disappear only to reappear when they want to be voted for again?

Sunday News last week managed to visit various constituencies in the Hwange area and no one was satisfied with the conduct of the MPs there, some even claimed not to know their representatives as they were hardly in the area.

“Right now the area is faced with a severe drought, you would expect that our MP would be here more often to assist those with an urgent need for food aid but honestly we hardly know him, some of us last saw him when he was campaigning for our votes and ever since he has just disappeared into thin air.

“It is so pathetic because we are the very people who voted for them but right now they can’t even stop for us on the road. nothing has changed since 2008, we still have no roads, water and right now we have this severe hunger,’’ said one villager who identified herself as Mrs Loveness Nyoni.

Political analyst and lecturer at the National University of Science and Technology, Dr Lawton Hikwa, said it was unfortunate that the issue of missing Members of Parliament had become a common trend in the country — more of an unwritten culture that had to be done away with.

He said there was a tendency among legislators to focus on self-enrichment and forget what was basically expected of them.

“The electorate should know that they have the right to demand that these legislators report back to them on a more regular basis. we should do away with this unfortunate trend of missing legislators because it is not good for our politics, we need these people to be accountable.

“On the other hand the legislators themselves must be more sincere in their roles. yes we know that they are very much entitled to such benefits as cars but they must be careful because they can’t just give themselves perks when the country’s fiscus doesn’t support this,’’ said Dr Hikwa.

He said in the coming elections the electorate must pay more scrutiny on the representatives they elect as these have a major bearing on their livelihoods for the coming five years.

“Right now we know that the nation is particularly concerned with the economy therefore we need people who will give us a positive blueprint on what they will do for our economy. corruption should not be condoned at all and these people should realise that when they are elected to those offices they are there simply as representatives of the people,’’ said Dr Hikwa.

The Sunday News

22 September 2012

THE paradox of our time is that while our education sector is faced with a myriad of grave challenges, we spend more time on dead debates.

For instance, instead of engaging in constructive debate on how we can improve high school education in the country, “respectable’’ government ministers and some traditional  leaders would rather stir a hornet’s nest by supporting the distribution of condoms and  contraceptives in schools. Schoolchildren require reading, teaching aids, books, computers and qualified teachers not condoms and contraceptives.

Just yesterday, we woke up to the news that Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera expressed support for the distribution of contraceptives in schools, saying this would curb cases of illegal abortions in the country. Whose child does the minister want to give condoms instead of books?

Let us practise what we preach. We preach abstinence and moral uprightness and not this condom business in schools. The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare and  that of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, the National Aids Council, the church should be teaching students the dangers of premarital sex and the benefits of abstaining from premarital sex.

Condoms do not promote abstinence. This is a fact.

Does abortion pose a threat bigger than that of social decadence?

Here are a few facts based on research in America where this dead debate was born.

The distribution of condoms in schools is wrong because:

– it encourages an earlier onset of sexual activity

– it is a potential offence to religious people/groups

– it is wrong for taxpayers to be forced to financially support a programme they consider morally objectionable

– it makes sexual activity in general become the norm

-  it increases peer pressure to engage in sexual behaviour

n of the relative ineffectiveness of condoms, especially when used improperly, as is commonly done by those inexperienced, or young.

Zimbabwe is a free country. People who support the distribution of condoms to schoolchildren should distribute them in their homes and leave our children alone.

The Ministers of Health and his education counterpart, Senator David Coltart, should be debating on why they are only a few schools doing well in science education and provide test tubes instead of condoms.

Biology lessons should be left to theory in the science laboratory and not enhanced through the distribution of condoms. This also raises other pertinent questions which beg for answers from those who support the distribution of condoms to children. Exactly where will these condoms be used and how? Are we going to ask manufacturers to  come up with a small version of  condoms for these kids? Leaders need to be more serious than this.

Will Government allow children in mixed schools to cohabit? Will devious children in day schools abusing storerooms and bushes be afforded accommodation just for sex?

Will children caught in the act be expelled? Surely, we cannot give them condoms with one hand and punish them with the other.

Why are we obsessed with dead debates?

Let’s talk about nutrition in schools, books and quality of education.

Let’s teach our children the same principles and values we were taught by those who came before us. No sex before marriage, PERIOD!

Dr Madzorera was a high school student once and he made it without the availability of condoms.

He must not fix what is not broken. We have said this before and we repeat it now, that those  children who will not listen to  advice from their parents to  abstain from illicit sex are food for the maggots. This is simple and straightforward. We cannot pay fees for students to go to school to engage in sex.

Speech given on the occasion of the showing of the production ‘Song of the Carnivores’, City Hall, Bulawayo

By David Coltart

21 September 2012

Allow me to first of all express my gratitude in being invited to be the guest of honour at this occasion of the showcase of the production of the Song of the Carnivore. It gives me great joy and pleasure to be in the City of Kings, my home city, and indeed in my own constituency, Khumalo.

Bulawayo is a city endowed with vast artistic talent that needs to be publicized and nurtured. The City of Bulawayo has a rich cultural mosaic and is renowned for its humility and humbleness. I have seen the arts sector in Bulawayo evolve over the years and I must say that the future indeed looks bright.

The Intwasa Arts Festival is the biggest festival in South Western Zimbabwe and thus plays a central role in the development of the arts in general. Young artists who want to attain international stardom should use Intwasa to expose their talent.  It is in this regard that I wish to commend the efforts of our co-operating partners, particularly the British Council, who have over the years invested thousands of dollars towards the arts sector in Zimbabwe. I say to British Council and other like minded institutions, please keep up the good work that you are doing, your benevolence is noted and appreciated.

I note that this year’s edition of the Intwasa festival has expanded its scope to as many arts genres as possible. This is indeed commendable as it enables more and more artists to participate and equally attract the much needed audience base that is critical for the sustainability of any artistic endeavour.

Similarly, the participation of many schools in this year’s festival is also commendable as the arts are a popular information dissemination strategy. The arts are popular among students as they are somewhat informal, entertaining and mind engaging.

The Song of the Carnivore project is an example of how important education is to the environment and future protection of our natural resources. Being able to work with children in a structured school environment has led to an appreciation of the need to conserve the various elements of the environment so as not to interrupt the ecosystem. The environment is the most important source of our livelihoods. As individuals we have an obligation to the environment, our failure to exploit nature in a sustainable manner will constrict the human race to demise.

Zimbabwe’s environment is under serious threat. Much of our wildlife has been poached out in the last 12 years. Our rhino population is under serious threat. Trees are being cut down at an unprecedented rate. Our hardwood forests are under threat because of corruption and unchecked logging. Bush fires rage countrywide. Gold panners are destroying our river systems. If we do not influence this coming generation to protect the environment, our beautiful Zimbabwe will be destroyed and transformed into a desert.

The quest for environmentalism in Zimbabwe gained prominence in the early 1990s and it is exciting that this theme is now appearing in the domain of the arts. This is indeed a breath of fresh air.

I am informed that the Song of the Carnivore project has seen over 80 schools in the Bulawayo Province participate since the beginning of the project. Arts genres covered under the project include music, art and poetry. Over 70 of the schools participated in a lecture series programme where field experts were brought to Bulawayo to share their knowledge and experience about wildlife.

The Song of the Carnivore project is an example of how cross-sector collaboration can be successful in using resources effectively, and working to educate not just school children, but their teachers and their parents.

I also wish to take this opportunity to commend the hard work of all the teachers who have helped the children during the tenure of this project. Dedicated teachers are vital to education, without them it does not matter how much resources we avail to schools, it is the quality of learning that matters at the end of the day. I wish to profoundly thank all teachers involved in this project for their hard work and encourage them to keep advancing the ideals of the project.

As we all celebrate the triumph of the Song of the Carnivore Project, let us all spare a thought for those children who are not able to go to school for one reason or the other and are thus missing out on the subject of conservation and many other benefits of formal education. Let us all put our heads together and ensure that those children who are not part of mainstream society also benefit from our various arts programmes. It is then and only then, that I will be able to say that as authorities in education and the arts we have done our job.

Allow me ladies and gentlemen to conclude by once again thanking all the stakeholders involved in this project, particularly the British Council, Alliance Francais and Zoological Society of London as well other sponsors and partners for supporting this initiative.

I thank you!

The Chronicle

20 September 2012

MDC president Professor Welshman Ncube has accused the MDC-T of being a violent and corrupt party.

He ruled out prospects of the two parties collaborating in the forthcoming harmonised elections.
Prof Ncube said this in an interview on British Broadcasting Corporation HardTalk programme on Tuesday.

The MDC leader said they differed with the other MDC faction on policy issues and accused it of perpetrating violence, the same allegation he made against Zanu-PF.

“(I have) absolutely nothing against the person of Morgan Tsvangirai. Our differences are about our political behaviours and the things we do as politicians. I keep underlining, it is on record that our colleagues in the MDC-T often practise violence; it is on record that Morgan Tsvangirai himself has reversed collectively made decisions and it is also on record that the local government structures that they control have acted as corruptly if not more corruptly than the Zanu-PF ones. Those are the things which divide us,” he said.

The MDC split in 2005 after Mr Tsvangirai overruled his national executive decision to participate in Senate elections following the re-introduction of the Upper House of Parliament.

The split was, however, a tip of the deeply entrenched differences between Mr Tsvangirai and some of his lieutenants that include Prof Ncube.

Following the split Ambassador Trudy Stevenson, then Harare North legislator and some officials aligned to Prof Ncube’s MDC, were assaulted by youths belonging to the Tsvangirai-led faction near Mabvuku.

Mr David Coltart also said his decision to align with Prof Ncube was influenced by the violent nature of the Tsvangirai-led faction.

The MDC-T has also witnessed numerous cases of intra-party violence and its congress in Bulawayo last year was marred by clashes of rival factions belonging to Mr Tsvangirai and secretary general Tendai Biti.

MDC-T spokesperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora, however, denied Prof Ncube’s allegations.
“We have never begged Welshman Ncube and his party to work with us. We have said as MDC that we are willing to work with any democratic forces who share our beliefs and ideals. It is certainly up to a political party to decide to work with us or not.

“With regards to allegations of violence and corruption those are typical of his party to gain relevance by joining Zanu-PF to denigrate the MDC.

“We are the only party that has dealt decisively with corruption as evidenced by our bold decision to fire councillors accused of corruption,” Mr Mwonzora said.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said: “From what I read from the interview it confirms what we have been saying all along that the MDC is a violent and corrupt party.

“The corruption is demonstrated by what we are seeing in councils under their control. It is, however, unfortunate and misguided of him (Prof Ncube) to compare us with the MDC-T. We are a revolutionary party that brought independence through the liberation struggle and the only party fighting for the empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans”.

In the interview Prof Ncube also questioned the accolades bestowed on Mr Tsvangirai by various Western governments and organisations.

“Well, I’m a Zimbabwean, I live in Zimbabwe. I worked within the united MDC, I worked outside the united MDC and I can tell you the things on which we differ are fundamental. They go to the very heart of the struggle against Zanu-PF. I repeat, we don’t want to replace Zanu-PF in name and not also in terms of the things it does.

“All I can say is that those who might be somewhere in Australia, those who might be in Paris, in Washington are entitled to have their opinions about any of the leaders in Zimbabwe just as much as we are entitled as Zimbabweans to have our own opinions about ourselves and our leaders,” he said.

He said the performance of the inclusive Government had not been a total failure as seen by the improvements in the economy although he said a lot still needed to be done on the political front.

“Well, the inclusive government has not been a total failure, but it could have done better. In terms of political reforms clearly we have failed.

“We have not done the things that we should have done by now, we should have created the necessary conditions for free and fair elections, that has not happened. There are many parts of the GPA on media reforms, on provincial governors that we have not implemented,” he said.

“However, in terms of where Zimbabwe was in 2008 or beginning of 2009 in economic terms we have made a lot of progress. We have a country which was virtually on the verge of collapse if not completely collapsed, that economy we have managed to resuscitate it, it’s now working.

“Yes it could do better and yes people are still poor but you don’t have an economy which is basically on its knees anymore.

“It’s an economy which is on its way to recovery. Whether or not it recovers now depends on what happens at the next election,” he said.

 The Zimbabwean

By Edgar Gweshe

20 September 2012 

Daily News

By Austin Karonga, Sports Writer

19 September 2012

HARARE - Sports minister David Coltart expressed dismay at the “poor umpiring” by Englishman Richard Kettleborough, which led to the dismissal of Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor during the 82-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 opener on Tuesday.

So outraged was Coltart, a staunch cricket fan, that he implied Zimbabwe was treated unfairly because it was a small country.

Zimbabwe were generally poor in the field with dropped catches, mis-fields and extras being the order of the day.

All-rounder Malcolm Waller dropped two simple catches to sum up a woeful all-round performance by the African side.

Sri Lanka posted a healthy total of 182 runs for the loss of four wickets, having recovered from 82-3 inside 11.3 overs.

Zimbabwe’s batting started on a promising note until the sixth over when Ajantha Mendis removed two batsmen in successive deliveries.

Opener Vusi Sibanda was bowled on the third ball of the sixth over before Taylor was stumped next ball, but it was the skipper’s decision which attracted the ire of Coltart.

Taylor appeared marginally out of his crease when Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara removed the bails. Television replay showed that the batsman should have been given the benefit of doubt. However on referral, third umpire Richard Kettleborough gave Taylor out.

“Very poor third umpiring, how could Taylor be given out in the way he was, another case of small country being expendable,” Coltart tweeted.

Man-of-the-match Mendis claimed a career best 6-8.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher admitted his team needed desperately needed a quick turnaround after the opening defeat.

“Obviously, it’s our last chance to progress in the tournament and to do so we will have to put in a vastly improved performance than against Sri Lanka, which after all the hard work was a big disappointment,” said Butcher.

“We have to pick ourselves and be positive against what we know is a very good side. We need to put in a performance we can all be proud of.”

The Chronicle

By Leonard Ncube

19 September 2012

THE Government is working on making mandatory that all teachers should have passed Mathematics at Ordinary Level as it moves to improve the standard of education in the country.

However, there is still debate among stakeholders on whether to adopt the suggestion.
Mathematics has always been a requirement for one to enrol in primary school teacher training colleges.

In an interview yesterday, the Minister of   Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, David Coltart, said nothing concrete had been agreed on but his ministry has engaged stakeholders with a view to improve education standards in the country.

This comes in the wake of the economic challenges of the past decade, which saw the education sector losing thousands of qualified teachers.

There have been rumours making rounds that the Government had set benchmarks for all teachers to have Ordinary Level Mathematics by 2014 and those with degrees not related to teaching, but working as teachers have to attain a teaching course.

Minister Coltart could not be drawn into disclosing full details of the key issues being discussed on, but said the engagements were aimed at ensuring that teachers had the best attributes, possession of Mathematics being one of them, to improve education standards.

“I am not aware of any circular to that effect as yet. I will have to find out but what we are doing now is to try and maintain quality education standards among teachers. As the Government we are determined to maintain the education standards that made the country one of the best in the continent and we are currently having discussions with other stakeholders on how best we can improve the quality of education and what could be the pre-requisites,” said Minister Coltart.

He said the debate was on the “kind of teacher Zimbabwe wants” to improve the quality of education.

Minister Coltart said in the last 10 years Government relied on unqualified teachers who learnt through in-house training and there was a need to improve their quality.

“We are being pushed by what happened in the last 10 years where a lot of teachers left the field for greener pastures in the Diaspora or joined other professions. We had to rely on a huge number of unqualified teachers in our schools and now we have to relook into the matter and maintain education standards.

“Instead of building our teachers in colleges we ended up having in-service training of unqualified teachers and now we are trying to improve standards. We have not really come up with what should be the requirements for teachers because there is still debate on whether Mathematics should be a pre-requisite,” said Minister Coltart.

He said the discussions were involving the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, which is responsible for training of teachers.

The Herald 

By Petros Kausiyo, Deputy Sports Editor

18 September 2012

EDUCATION, Sport Arts and Culture Minister, David Coltart’s long cherished football stakeholders meeting has now been set for the capital on September 26, more than a year after he mooted the indaba aimed at finding lasting solutions to the perennial problems dogging the country’s biggest sport.

Coltart first revealed that he was keen on convening the indaba following his meeting with Fifa president Sepp Blatter in July last year when the world soccer governing body’s boss visited the country on a whirlwind tour. But, for one reason or another, the meeting kept being postponed while Zifa’s financial woes deepened with only a few corporate entities such as Mbada Diamonds and Marange Resources Limited being some of the cash-strapped association’s fair weather friends and often coming to their rescue.

The indaba has now been penciled in for Pandhari Lodge on September 26, raising a lot of hopes within the Zifa corridors that it could provide the opportunities for them to turn the corner and strike a better understanding with the State and the private sector. Coltart insisted that Zimbabwe had the potential to be a regular feature at the African Cup of Nations finals and wondered why the Warriors, with only two appearances, continue to struggle to qualify for the continental soccer showpiece: “I think we have underperformed given the talent that we have and we should not be battling to qualify for the African Cup of Nations or even the World Cup…we should also de-politicise football so that we leave people who are better placed to run the game and have the passion for it to run the sport,’’ Coltart said.

The Minister also acknowledged that government had let Zifa down by not availing adequate resources to cater for the national teams with the association having had to rely on the benevolence of their president Cuthbert Dube. Dube has, since assuming office in March 2010, been using personal financial resources from his private business entities to fund the soccer mother body, but by his own admission, the Harare business executive has often made it clear that such a scenario is untenable and warned that Zifa could collapse unless the government led the way in assisting them.

“The focus of the indaba is to look at financing football, seeing what we can do as a government and the private sector to ensure football is on a viable and sound footing,’’ Coltart said. Coltart has also constantly urged Zifa to wind up the long-dragging Asiagate match-fixing scam, which has taken much of the association’s attention and also left the Warriors with a thin squad after the suspension of more than 90 players who were fingered in the scandal. There have been indications, however, that the Independent Ethics committee tasked with finalising the Asiagate chapter has virtually completed its job, and could be handing in their report just days before the game’s stakeholders convene.

There is also growing concern that the committee led by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Ahmed Ebrahim has taken far too long to conclude its probe and should certainly wind up now amid indications that they have managed to interview virtually all the individuals they felt were key to their investigations. It is the contention of the football family that Ebrahim ought to make public his report before the Warriors head off to Luanda, Angola  for their final onslaught on a place at next year’s Nations Cup finals in South Africa.

The Warriors have a 3-1 advantage going into the final qualifier, second leg encounter in Luanda on the weekend of October 12-14. Zifa chief executive, Jonathan Mashingaidze, acknowledged yesterday that although they were still to receive Ebrahim’s report, the Asiagate matter was also likely to be among the topics that would come for discussion at the football indaba. Mashingaidze, however, remained confident that the indaba would help Zifa get an insight from the corporates on why they have been shunning the game and at the same time accord everyone who will attend a chance to appreciate the challenges that the association continue to face: “That indaba is supposed to be the watershed in terms of unlocking the value of football and it should give an insight on why some companies are shunning football.As Zifa, we are hoping that the meeting will help redefine the game’s synergies with all stakeholders. It is a platform for re-engagement and we are obviously expecting to update the stakeholders on Asiagate because it is a question that many have also been asking,’’ Mashingaidze said. It is against this background that Zifa will now head to the September 26 indaba with a degree of optimism that the resolutions that will come from the meeting will give a fresh impetus to local football.

SW Radio Africa (London)

By Alex Bell

17 September 2012

Zimbabwe’s education minister has decried his government’s decision to spend more of the national budget on defence than education, saying the country’s leaders need to change their priorities.

Minister David Coltart has previously raised concern that Zimbabwe’s defence budget is significantly higher than the money allocated for the education sector. He said this was one of the reasons why many schools have been unable to accommodate students returning for the third term.

Students from primary and secondary schools in Bulawayo were turned away last week over nonpayment of fees. Coltart told SW Radio Africa that, while he did not condone the situation, it was not surprising.

“The non salary expenditure that has been allocated to education is the second worst. This is the money we need to run and maintain schools. As of the mid year, we have only received 6% of our budget ($5 million) while defence has been allocated US$35 million,” Coltart said.

He added: “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.”

Higher Education Minister Stan Mudenge has also raised concern that only a small percentage of the money budgeted for his sector has been released so far this year. He said only US$1 million of the required US$42 million has been availed.

Coltart said that the priorities of government must change “We have to cut back on defence. We have to cut back on the size of government. We have to cut back on the travel and the lifestyles, the buying of Mercedes Benz cars for ministers. We have to change if we are to make education a priority,” Coltart said.