The Sunday News

4 August 2012

HOPES for yet another Olympic gold medal for Zimbabwe were shattered when Kirsty Coventry came sixth in the 200 metres backstroke finals at the London Olympics last Friday night.

Coventry, who had won the gold at the lat two Olympics, and had held the world record in the event was tipped off her title and record by 17-year-old American Missy Franklin who finished first in two minutes 04,06 seconds, three quarters of a second less than Coventry’s world record. Russian Anastasia Zueva won the silver medal and American Elizabeth Beisel the bronze.

Earlier on during the week, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart hailed Coventry for having done well despite the challenges that she had faced to reach the finals. Coltart was quoted in the media saying that “Coventry’s spirited performance, in the face of so many challenges, epitomised the grit and the determination of Zimbabwean sports competitors”.

The Sunday Times

4 August 2012

THERE is no grief like the grief that does not speak, said Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the most popular American poet in the 19th century.

Zimbabweans are crestfallen following the departure from the Olympic Games of their medal hopeful, swimmer Kirsty Coventry.

Coventry ended her stay at the Olympics after she came home 6th in the 200m backstroke final that saw American teenager Missy Franklin emerge tops.

Earlier, Kirsty was seventh in the 100m backstroke and sixth in 200m individual medley, efforts that ruled her out of contention for any medal.

Before her valedictory swim last Friday, Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart said, “She has not had a lot of financial support and has been very isolated and only raced two competitive races prior to the London Olympics. So, when you compare that build-up to all her competitors, you will see that what she has achieved is absolutely remarkable’’.

Disadvantaged yes, remarkable no!  Coventry’s “failure’’ is a serious indictment to Zimbabwe as a sporting nation. Her fall, coupled with other failures, epitomises the death of the jewel called “sport’’ in this country.

Minister Coltart, since time immemorial we have unleashed our athletes “like lambs led to the slaughter’’, to prestigious events, such as the Olympics, the world championships in athletics, world junior championships and numerous others on the continent, who have gone all the way to embarrass us as a nation while carrying our sacred national flag.

The long and short of it, Minister Coltart, is that we are tired of excuses after failing us. It’s  all good to  be sympathetic while in foreign lands but is this not what your ministry should have  done to facilitate Kirsty. Our performance at those prestigious events has at best been disappointing, but at worst embarrassing.

Visuals of Kirsty on satellite television showed gloom, while the body language of her rivals pointed to preparedness, enthusiasm and hope.

How can we expect athletes to raise our flag high when there is a want for morale, and before participation good training infrastructure coupled with handsome remuneration?

In soccer we have become accustomed to the fact that our team would be defeated. And then we may ask: what message are we communicating and what culture are we inculcating in our children?

Do we have to depend on the likes of Cuthbert Dube (Zifa president) for incentives to our football national teams yet the ministry of sport gets money from Treasury. As a nation we want to know where these financial resources are being use because we can’t depend on the benevolence of individual citizens. If the money is not enough it is the responsibility of the nation to raise it.

There are the traditional annual youth games that are supposed to provide seeds for our national teams, the seeds that are supposed to replace our aging athletes. Are the youth games serving that purpose? The answer is No because since the games’s inception everything has been forgotten immediately the games were over.

But instead we tend to look to towns and townships from the urban setup as the catchment area.

The advice is that Government should put money where its mouth is. But because it is not doing that we are now labelled perennial failures that are known only for such scandals as Asiagate.

It is our fervent hope that after our disastrous outing in London 2012, every effort will be made to fortify our sports development. Strategies, with a view to increasing the depth of our national team player base, and laying the foundation of an even stronger challenge at our next national assignments should be given priority.

Such a review should also examine possible means of enhancing our sports, locally, regionally and internationally.

Just like the National Athletics Associations of Zimbabwe president Joseph Mungwari rightly puts it elsewhere in the sports pages of this paper, let’s invest in building systems that will be effective in producing results for our country.

Asked about her future after the Friday debacle that left her in the cold, Coventry said: “I am going home after this to set up a foundation for sport and youth and I’m going to focus on life after sport.’’

Perhaps she has set the ball rolling for the relevant ministry and other stakeholders to follow suit.

Nehanda Radio

2 August 2012

Zimbabwe swimming sensation, Kirsty Coventry, qualified for the Women’s 200 metres Backstroke finals at the London Olympics after finishing second in Heat 2 of the semi-finals on Thursday in the evening.

Coventry, who finished in 2 minutes 08:32 seconds, however, qualified with the 6th best time. Having qualified for the semi-finals third in the morning heats, Coventry went slightly slower in the semi-finals with a controlled swim.

Coventry will fancy her chances in Friday night’s final in what is her only medal hope after failing to reach the 100m backstroke final on Sunday and coming sixth in the 200m individual medley final on Tuesday night.

Education, Sport and Culture Minister David Coltart this week said Coventry has done surprisingly well and overcame incredible odds including lack of financial support and injuries to reach the finals of the London Olympic Games.

“I don’t think Zimbabweans really appreciate the obstacles that Kirsty has had to overcome. We always assume that gold medals are easy to come by, but the fact is after the Beijing games she effectively retired and she didn’t swim for over a year,” Coltart said.

“And when she came back into the sport she didn’t have the environment of her old university and her old coach. She has not had a lot of financial support and has been very isolated and only raced two competitive races prior to the London Olympics. So, when you compare that build up to all her competitors you will see that what she has achieved is absolutely remarkable,” Coltart added.

Zimbabwe is also being represented in London by triathlete Chris Felgate, Rower Jamie Fraser McKenzie and the marathon trio of Cuthbert Nyasango, Wirimayi Zhuwao and Sharon Tawengwa, who are all still to compete.

The Financial Gazette

By Tabitha Mutenga

1 August 2012

Zimbabwe’s higher education is in shambles. The country’s education system has not been immune to the tense political situation and harsh socio-economic conditions that prevailed for over a decade. The once revered education system is now a shadow of its former self. Many schools and institutions of higher learning have not been operating at full capacity for years, depriving millions of students their right to quality education.

With nine state universities and already aiming for a university in every province, the country’s higher education sector is in a crisis as it aims for quantity and not quality of education. Having scored significant gains between 1980 and 2005, the sector is currently battling with a number of challenges which require urgent attention.

Zimbabwe’s higher education sector has been hard hit by the “brain drain” of the past decade. The exodus of highly skilled and experienced professionals left universities, colleges and schools facing severe shortages in manpower and resources.

Under-investment in the higher education has not only affected the quality of education but also the quality of graduates produced mainly because most schools and institutions of higher learning are without basic provisions, equipment and teaching and learning materials. Many teachers and lectures, most of them highly qualified and experienced, left the country due to low salaries and poor working conditions.

Recently, in an interview with The Financial Gazette, Education Sports and Culture Minister David Coltart lamented the loss of maths and science teachers to neighbouring countries affecting the quality of the country’s education sector.

“We lost 20 000 teachers in 2007/08 many of them were our best teachers, English, science and maths teachers and they have not come back into the service,” Coltart said.

According to a report by the country’s Parliamentary Committee on Education, universities countrywide are suffering a severe shortage of both academic and non-academic staff as a result of the brain drain — and science departments have been the most heavily hit. The report said that at the University of Zimbabwe the departments of animal science, community medicine, metallurgy and clinical pharmacology require 20, 18, 13 and 11 lecturers respectively – but had nobody in post.

“Computer science and veterinary sciences both require 13 lecturers but have only one each. Psychiatry, geo-informatics and mining engineering also have one lecturer each but require 16, 10 and eight respectively. The department of medicine has eight lectures but needs 26 while the anesthetic, statistics, anatomy and hematology departments each have two lecturers instead of 16, 11, 10 and eight respectively,” the report said.

Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) national spokes-person, Zechariah Mushawatu decried the deteriorating infrastructure and educational equipment found in most tertiary institutions, emphasising the need for a clear education policy that clearly defines problems facing the sector.

“As a result of underfunding of the education sector by government, the technological equipment used in many tertiary institutions is archaic, primordial and anachronistic. The computer/student ratio at many tertiary institutions is pathetic and internet usage in many colleges is characterised by information processing that goes on at a languorous pace.

“The infrastructure at many colleges is dilapidated. While many universities are better of than other institutions in terms of buildings, some colleges such as teacher’s colleges and training centres are marginalised. The buildings and road networks at such institutions as Magamba Training Centre in Mutare are not up to standard,” Mushawatu said.

The student activist called on government to increase the amount allocated to education to a minimum of 15 percent of the national budget to allow the revival of higher and tertiary education.

“As ZINASU, we demand that the government domesticate the United Nations declaration on socio economic rights which entails that 15 percent of the national budget should go towards education. Moreover, given that Zimbabwe has so many resources particularly minerals like diamonds and gold that are being exploited, we demand that proceeds also be channelled towards higher education,” ZINASU president, Pride Mkono added.

Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education has adopted the National Action Plan (NAP): Education for All-towards 2015, which incorporated Zimbabwe’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals for education. The NAP aims to increase enrolment and improve the quality of all levels of education.

Successful educational reform is a necessary step to creating the basis for sustained economic growth and requires the involvement of all stakeholders, ranging from families and civil society to national and local governments as well as the private sector.

Students and Youths Working on Reproductive Health Team director, Jimmy Wilford said the tertiary education sector was a threat to politicians and would remain underfunded.

“It’s important to note that tertiary education sector is a threat to the party where the Minister comes from. It is clear that students are amongst the majority of people who want a new government. It is politically prudent for ZANU-PF to ensure that there is no clear support within the tertiary institutions as such students will be a problem to their political lives,” Wilford said.

He added that there had been many expulsions taking place within the colleges: “A simple survey will show that all Ministers have their children in universities outside the country so they do not care about what is happening locally”.

“More than half of the current leadership within MDC formations are a product of student activism, even within the ranks of ZANU-PF there are student activists. If there is enough support within the tertiary institutions, it becomes a breeding ground for new leaders,” said Wilford

Besides the lack of lecturers, the Council for Assisting Refugee Academics and the International Organsiation for Migration and the Higher Education Initiative Report summarised the major issues affecting universities, pointing at the heightened fees for both tuition and accommodation, paid in United States dollars. Following the new fees and currency regime, the 2009 first school term and academic year saw huge dropouts and students being forced to defer their studies.

Gross underfunding of institutions by the government since the 1990s has severely affected the quality of education: there are insufficient funds to buy up-to date teaching and learning materials, equipment and resources, to update technology and curricula. Institutions were receiving funds from research, research partnerships with businesses, organisations and the donor community, but such support has dried up.

Also, the majority of infrastructure, facilities and equipment are dilapidated, and the limited resources have pushed any repairs or maintenance down on the priority list.

This is a tragedy, taking into account the undeniable fact that the country’s education system is the backbone of social and economic progress. Education provides opportunities for individuals to realise their full potential and to achieve their dreams. It is through education that people can fight the menacing talons of poverty.

Social commentator, Tawanda Zata, said the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education was saddled with a lot of issues which need urgent attention and, as an entry point, there is need for an all stakeholder conference on higher education in Zimbabwe coordinated by the ministry.

“This will serve as a platform that will discuss pertinent issues in the country. I believe the outcome of that conference will enlighten different stakeholders on the state of higher education in the country and key recommendations, resolutions and action points will come out.

“Secondly, there is need for the Ministry to adopt best practices on higher education. This can be achieved by aligning our education sector to best practices obtained at both regional and international levels so that the education sector could be restored to its former state,” Zata said.

Students grants introduced in 1957 had gone a long way in ensuring that higher education was extended to all the marginalised students in the country, unfortunately, the government-bankrolled cadetship programme has over the years lost its significance due to lack of funding.

The lack of funding has also resulted in students, especially female students, engaging in risky behaviour such as prostitution, resulting in many cases of unsafe abortions, while cases of HIV and Aids are on the increase in tertiary institutions.

Recommendations from Stu-dents and Youths Working on Reproductive Health to the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education include supporting curriculum-based programmes on gender, Sexual Reproductive Health and HIV and Aids in colleges. Colleges such as polytechnics are still lagging behind. Teacher colleges focus on HIV only, while universities do not have standard curricula covering the three components which are essential for student development.

“The Ministry should Influence the development and implementation of college based sexual harassment and HIV and Aids policies in the colleges. The ministry must also engage in research on the situation and challenges of students in the colleges in particular focusing on issues that affect student social development and ability to be active and productive members of the community,” Wilford said.

He also suggested improving the college budgetary systems, prioritising and meaningful allocation of financial resources to support sexual and reproductive health, sanitary wear and HIV.

“The ministry must support students and intensify the need for the re-introduction of the education grants to reduce underlying vulnerability factors such as transactional sex by students as they try to cushion accommodation, tuition and transport costs.”

According to ZINASU, students are being forced to live in repugnant, squalid and insalubrious conditions in high density suburbs such as Senga in Gweru and Rujeko in Masvingo.

“Students are being exploited by unscrupulous landlords who pile up as many as 10 students in one room. In such environments, sanitation is a problem, prompting worries of disease outbreaks related to lack of clean water,” Mushawetu said.

SW Radio Africa

By Tichaona Sibanda

1 August 2012

Kirsty Coventry finished a disappointing sixth in the final of the 200-metre individual medley at the London 2012 games on Tuesday night.

However, the country’ swimming superstar still has a chance to grab the elusive 8th Olympic medal when she takes part in her strongest race, the 200-metre backstroke. Heats for that race begin on Thursday.

Coventry, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist in the medley event, clocked a time of 2:11.13, finishing more than 2 seconds behind the sensational Chinese swimmer Shiwen Ye.

She still has time to redeem herself by trying to win a third straight Olympic gold in her favored 200m backstroke. Coventry is the two-time defending gold medalist and current world record-holder in the 200m backstroke with a time of 2.05.24.

Another Zimbabwean Olympian, James Fraser-Mackenzie, came third in the second semifinal of the men’s single sculls at Eton Dorney on Tuesday, putting him out of contention for a medal.

Apart from Coventry, Zimbabwe still have five athletes with a chance of winning a medal at the London Games. These are female rower Micheen Thornycroft, triathlete Chris Felgate and three marathon runners, Wirimayi Juwawo, Cuthbert Nyasango and Sharon Tavengwa.

New Zimbabwe

By Violet Gonda

1 August 2012

Sports Minister David Coltart says Kirsty Coventry has done surprisingly well and overcame incredible odds including lack of financial support and injuries to reach the finals of the London Olympic games.

This after Zimbabwe’s swimming sensation’s disappointing show Tuesday where she finished sixth in the final of the 200 meter individual medley – a few days after finishing seventh in the 100 meter backstroke.

Coventry won medals in both events in 2004 in Athens and Beijing’s 2008 games.

Coltart said Coventry’s spirited performance, in the face of so many challenges, epitomises the grit and determination of Zimbabwean sports competitors.

“I don’t think Zimbabweans really appreciate the obstacles that Kirsty has had to overcome. We always assume that gold medals are easy to come by, but the fact is after the Beijing games she effectively retired and she didn’t swim for over a year.

“And when she came back into the sport she didn’t have the environment of her old university and her old coach,” Coltart added.

The minister said at one point, the swimmer dislocated her knee and was infected with pneumonia.

Getting gold in the Olympics is one way of getting sponsors, but Coltart said this has not been the case for Coventry.

“She has not had a lot of financial support and has been very isolated and only raced two competitive races prior to the London Olympics. So, when you compare that build up to all her competitors you will see that what she has achieved is absolutely remarkable.”

Businessman Strive Masiyiwa and Bulawayo-born Princess Charlene of Monaco are said to be among a few people who have supported Coventry.

But the minister said the problem is not only about finance.

“It’s also the environment. In the run up to Beijing games, Kirsty came from a university environment where she had team mates. In the last few years she literally had to train on her own.”

Coventry, who won seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals in history, still carries Zimbabwe’s hopes when she takes part in her strongest event – the 200 meter backstroke Thursday.

Zimbabwe is also being represented in London by triathlete Chris Felgate, Rower Jamie Fraser McKenzie and the marathon trio of Cuthbert Nyasango, Wirimayi Zhuwao and Sharon Tawengwa, who are all still to compete.

Rower Micheene Thorncroft finished fourth in the quarter finals on Tuesday and did not qualify for the semi- finals.

Apart from the medals Coventry won in 2004 and 2008, Zimbabwe scooped gold in the Moscow games after its admission into international sport in 1980 following years in the wilderness due to smart sanctions imposed on the Ian Smith regime.

Coltart said government has to come up with a strategy to identify and nurture talent to lead the country’s athletes to greater heights, including making sport development a financial priority and integrating sports into the school curriculum.

NewsDay

1 August 2012

Female rower Micheen Thornycroft failed to advance to the semi-finals Group A/B of the women’s singles sculls yesterday after finishing fourth in the quarter-finals at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The 25-year-old Thornycroft finished in a time of 7:56.66 behind China’s 36 year old Xiuyun Zhang who finished first in a time of 7:39.58 with Julia Levina of Russia (39) coming second in 7:41 28.

Donata Vistartaite of Lithuania (23) finished third in a time of 7: 45.68.

Thornycroft was one of the youngest rowers competing for a semi-final place at the Games and although she performed well to qualify for the semi-finals group C/D she fell just short of making it to the semi-finals’ group A/B.

The Zimbabwean athlete had done well to finish third in heat two in a time of 7:47.10s on Saturday and there were hopes she would repeat the same feat by progressing to the semi-finals groupA/B. She now prepares to line up for the semi-finals group C/D set for tomorrow.

According to the competition format, events with 13–18 boats begin with heats, from which the best boats qualify directly for semi-finals A/B.

All other boats progress to the repechage round, which offers a second chance to qualify for the semi-finals.

The best three boats in semi-finals A/B qualify for final A, which determines places 1–6 (including the medals).

Unsuccessful boats from semi-finals A/B go forward to final B, which determines places 7–12.

Unsuccessful boats from the repechage go forward to final C, which determines places 13–18.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture David Coltart has saluted swimming icon Kirsty Coventry following her heroics at the Games where she qualified for the 200m individual medley event on Monday night.

The 28-year-old produced a fine performance which saw her reaching the final in a time of 2:10.51.

“Kirsty has had a changed coach, dislocated knee, pneumonia, only two competition races this year no large team around and still qualified,” posted Coltart on Twitter.

Coventry was scheduled to compete in the final last night.

Nehanda Radio

1 August 2012

Coventry lost a second opportunity for a medal at the London Olympics on Tuesday after finishing sixth in the women’s 200m individual medley final.

She must now regroup for her last event: Thursday’s 200m backstroke heats and semi-finals. She won gold in the event at the Beijing Olympics.

• Fernando Alonso and Ferrari win at Hockenheim in Germany. I have supported Ferrari all my life so am delighted. #
• Halftime at Barbourfields Highlands 1 Dynamos 1. Come on Bosso – make my weekend. #
• Great day for sport. Ernie Els wins British Open for Africa. Ferrari win in Germany. Bosso draw against Dynamos. Amla scores 300+ v England #
• Wonderful speech by Ernie Else – thanked Nelson Mandela for all he has done for SA. Such a nice touch; made me a proud southern African. #
• The Chinese consider the Chariots of Fire athlete and Christian Eric Liddlell as a national hero http://t.co/dJMhgRqL Inspiration for us all #
• I have received a request from #Zimbabwe #Rugby Union to restore the Police Grounds in Harare as the home for Zimbabwean rugby; great idea #
• Listening to #Amanpore on #CNN re US gun debate. This is not just about gun control but also about prevalence of violent video games & films #
• Congrats @CricketScotland for beating Bangladesh. Now it is high time you came to tour Zimbabwe, hopefully as soon as EU sanctions suspended #
• "We may have differences of political outlook but what matters is that we are all Zimbabweans" – Mugabe speaking re me at Tsholotsho on 13/7 #
• Gary Ballance #Zim cricketer scores 46 n/o off only 22 balls (strike rate of 230) for #Yorkshire in Friends Life t20 1/4 final. More talent! #
• Rooting for Micheen Thornycroft and Jamie Fraser-MacKenzie in the single sculls rowing heats at #London #Olympics today. Go #Zimbabwe #
• Well done to Jamie Fraser Mackenzie and Micheen Thornycroft for flying the flag so well in #Olympic rowing today. MT through to quarters. #
• Swim well @KirstyCoventry in the 100m Backstroke at 11pm Zim time. #Zimbabwe will be urging you on every stroke of the way. #
• Time on my last tweet was wrong – should have been 11am today, not pm, when @KirstyCoventry does the 100m Backstroke heat #

The Standard

By Nqaba Matshazi

29 July 2012

While teachers plotted a strike last week, their former colleague, Jonathan Mangwiro was blazing the trail in South Africa, where television channel, eTV has described him as a South African hero for his contribution to education in that country.

The popular station runs a mini documentary, where it chronicles the achievements of South Africans in essential services like health, education and security.

For the past few weeks, eTV has been featuring Mangwiro, who has been somewhat a shining light at Khanyolwethu School in the Western Cape, South Africa.

“I am the most popular foreigner in the community,” he said proudly. “I am above the moon, this is a breakthrough; it’s an achievement for me.”

Mangwiro, who left Zimbabwe in 2006, said he had been accepted by the community he lived in because of the quality of work he was doing and they were not worried that he was a foreigner.

The former Karoi High School teacher has since introduced a journalism project at the school, while he plans to source computers before year-end.

In the eTV documentary, the head teacher and parents praised the Zimbabwean teacher, for the sterling work he has done since he was recruited and for literally bringing the shine to a school whose name means “our light”.

But while Mangwiro saunters and dances on South African television, Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) executive director, Sifiso Ndlovu says teachers are being pushed out of the country, because their talent was not being recognised and rewarded adequately.

“It is unfortunate that our system is very wasteful, it does not realise such talent and reward it,” he said. “We should be creating a conducive environment for educators, but instead they are being pushed out.”

The Zimta boss said the government should find a way of getting teachers and other professionals back into the country, saying even if it was just to do workshops and share experiences.

Ndlovu felt that the government was contemptuous of teachers, as the legislators were spending resources on buying luxury items for themselves instead of prioritising the teachers’ welfare.

Education minister, David Coltart said the issue of teacher remuneration was one of his biggest frustrations and unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it.

“Teachers are leaving because they get at least double in South Africa what they get here and we cannot compete, the general working conditions are better there,” he said.

Coltart said while earnings were the principal motivator, some teachers, particularly rural ones, had been forced out because of political intimidation.

“If you realise, most rural teachers left around 2007 and that is when political intimidation and violence were on the rise in those areas,” the minister explained.

He said he understood teachers’ frustrations over the salaries, but his hands were also tied.

“Our problem is we have difficulty in keeping teachers on board, the budget is extremely tight and we cannot come up with incentives for teachers,” he explained.

The government, Coltart said, hoped to come up with extra incentives for rural teachers, as there had been a serious brain-drain in those areas.

He said in future another incentive for Maths, Science and English teachers was on the cards.

This bonus was first mooted in 2006 but was put on hold, as the country’s political and economic woes worsened.