Zimbabwe Independent
By MHARA HENRY
Wednesday, 29 April 2009

TEACHERS have this week demanded to be paid US$1 500 monthly and threatened not to return to work when schools open for the second term next Tuesday if government fails to meet their demand.
The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) and the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) this week said the minimum salary for a teacher should be US$1 500 monthly, down from the US$ 2 200 they demanded last year.

According to a declaration of Zimta’s 28th annual national conference held in Bulawayo at the weekend, the teachers resolved to embark on industrial action.

“Educators will not report for the opening of the second term as from May 2009 until there is a significant improvement on their remuneration in foreign currency,” reads the declaration.

Speaking at the same conference, Zimta president Tendai Chikowore said teachers have “been taken for a ride for too long” and would not report for work unless their demands are met.
Teachers, like other civil servants, are paid a US$100 allowance.

“We (teachers) have been taken for a ride for too long now and it’s time we should act,” Chikowore said. “The government failed dismally to honour its promise of giving us a substantial salary, now it’s our time to take action.”

She said it was “thoughtless” for teachers to return to work in February without tangible assurance from the government for better salaries.

“Now we are stuck with the US$100 monthly allowance and we are without pay,” Chikowore said. “We are incapacitated and the only exit plan we have is to down tools.”

Teachers were on strike for the better part of last year and only returned to class when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai promised them remuneration in foreign currency.

PTUZ secretary-general, Raymond Majongwe, said the organisation was “very disappointed” that the government failed to honour its promise of paying teachers in foreign currency.

Instead, he said, the government was “wasting” money in retreats and allocating ministers and MPs vehicles at the expense of the civil servants’ plight.

“We are dealing with a blithe (sic) government here that opted to go on a spending spree in the Victoria Falls, and then came back to us claiming that the country’s coffers are empty.

How are we going to believe them if they are acting in such a manner?” asked the militant Majongwe.
“As teachers we have taken a very bold stance not to report for duty until government gives us a reasonable salary.”

The Minister of Education, Sport, Art and Culture, David Coltart, told the Zimta conference that the country’s coffers were empty, hence it was not possible to hike teachers’ salaries.

Coltart said government had the intention to pay teachers a minimum of US$500 monthly.

AFP
28 April 2009

HARARE (AFP) — Zimbabwe’s teachers on Wednesday vowed to go on strike when the new school term begins next week after government reneged on a pledge to increase their salaries.

“There has not been any concrete response to address the issue of teachers salaries,” Tendai Chikowore, president of the Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association told AFP.

“We issued an ultimatum to the minister to say if the issues of remuneration of teachers are not addressed before schools open, teachers will not report for work.”

Teachers in state schools earn 100 US dollars a month, which they say is too little.

“We want a salary that will enable us to meet our basic needs and pay our own children’s fees. In the absence of that the government can at least waive school fees for children of teachers.”

Schoolteachers returned to work in February following the creation of a unity goverment, after striking since early last year to demand payment in foreign currency to cope with galloping inflation.

Education Minister David Coltart, who took office when the Movement for Democratic Change joined the government, had agreed to review their demands while seeking international aid.

The unity government is seeking 8.5 billion dollars over three years to revive the economy and restore public services, including schools and hospitals.

Major donors have been reluctant to give new aid until the government makes more tangible reforms to break from President Robert Mugabe’s past policies, which are blamed for wrecking the economy and trampling human rights.

The International Monetary Fund is set to discuss Zimbabwe next week, but Human Rights Watch on Wednesday urged donors not to give development aid until the government ends ongoing rights abuses.

New Zimbabwe.Com
28th April 2009

RAISED fees demanded by most public schools are illegal, Education Minister David Coltart said Tuesday as he prepared to fix new fees limits for the second term which opens on May 5.

Cabinet met on Tuesday to discuss proposals by the National Education Advisory Board on ways to improve Zimbabwe’s primary and secondary education, including fixing affordable fees and establishing a “means test” system for parents who cannot afford the fees.

In March, Coltart set out fees for the first term, with a ceiling of US$150 per term for primary schools and US$280 for secondary education.

But letters sent out by schools ahead of the second term have shown a dramatic rise in fees.
Bulawayo’s Founders High School pegged fees for the second term at US$500 including levies, while Mzingwane High School in Matabeleland South fixed fees at US$360.

Coltart said: “We are announcing new fees shortly and parents should wait for that announcement, and all public schools should be guided accordingly.”

Coltart has recently admitted that a majority of families in the country cannot afford the fees being charged. He recommended that schools should allow pupils to pay in instalments, and where the parents have no income, headmasters have been directed to carry out a “means test” to decide if qualifying students should get a free education.

The entire Zimbabwe civil service receives monthly allowances of US$100, and unions say the fees being charged by schools are way above their members’ earnings.

Coltart gave no indication if the new fees would be reduced, as he forecast in March, or an increase from the last term.

National Education Advisory Board secretary Trudy Stevenson said some schools were smuggling fees increases through levies which are not regulated by the government.

“There seems to be no control over levies, of course it is meant to be the parents that control levy and how it is spent, but many parents don’t exercise their right to have a say in the amount to be paid, and a solution is greater participation by parents to ensure their voices are heard,” she said.

Zimbabwe Times
27 April 2009
By Ray Matikinye

BULAWAYO – Minority parties in Matabeleland and the Arthur Mutambara-led faction of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) are agitating for devolution of political and administrative power to the provinces as the campaign for a new constitution gathers steam.

A new constitution, leading to the holding of fresh polls, is largely viewed as key to full emocratization of Zimbabwe’s often disputed electoral process and election outcomes.

The constitution is also seen as the solution to major obstacles that have haunted the formation of a coalition government under a Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed between the MDC parties and Zanu-PF last September.

Already, a 25-member select parliamentary committee comprising legislators from the three parties in the coalition government, has been named and initial targets set although the committee lacks funds to kick-start the constitution-making process.

But the proposed constitution-making process has raised the hackles of some civic organisations and minority parties who argue that it is not inclusive.

Federal Democratic Union (FDU) leader, Paul Siwela, says his party was founded on the principles of devolution of power underpinned by a radical demand for the creation of a state of Matabeleland based on the 1894 boundaries.

Siwela, whose party has contested national elections but has failed to gain a single seat, denies such a demand would stoke national disintegration into tribal fiefdoms.

“We have always opposed the current arrangement because we strongly feel that the Matabeleland region has been marginalized in terms of development due to concentration of power in central government,” Siwela says.

The FDU says, contrary to misconceptions, devolution of powers promotes national cohesion and overall national development by effectively dealing with issues at a local level, thus promoting community effort while conferring a sense of ownership of whatever assets are realized from such efforts.

“There is nothing tribal or divisive about demanding a separate state with its own administrative powers,” Siwela says. “It existed before full colonization, and history bears testimony to this.
“The competition to succeed between states will push them to work harder towards development unlike centralization which led to de-industrialization of Bulawayo during the early years of independence.”

FDU fears its views and input on the type of constitution that suits Zimbabwe most might not be considered for inclusion in the new constitution because, like all other small parties, it has no representation in Parliament.

“If we had proportional representation as an alternative to the first-past-the-post electoral system, smaller parties would have MPs in Parliament to articulate alternative views other than those held by the major political parties,” he says.

Over the first few years of independence during the 1980s, a calculated campaign to de-industrialize Bulawayo, an industrial power-house in pre-independent Zimbabwe, led to the relocation of large companies from the city to the capital Harare without regard to the economic comparative advantage it had.

Education, Sport and Culture Minister, David Coltart agreed that even smaller parties need to the heard regarding national development and progress through such provisions in the constitution.
Coltart, who is a Senator for the Mutambara-led MDC, says his party would fight for a constitution that provides for adequate decentralization that allows local authorities to have more say in their finances.

“We are fighting for proportional representation in the conduct of our elections,” says Coltart, a lawyer.
“We have realized that even smaller parties need to be heard and their views considered.”

Coltart represented the late Joshua Nkomo-led ZAPU during and after disturbances that rocked Matabeleland in the early 80’s says.

He attributes the economic slide and political upheavals that have dogged Zimbabwe to the demise of PF-ZAPU as a robust opposition party after it was eclipsed by Zanu-PF following the Unity Accord signed by the two parties in 1987.

“If we had adopted the proportional representation method, our party which got 8.6 percent of the total vote would have more than the ten seats it currently holds in Parliament and some of our candidates who polled more than 40 percent of the total votes in their constituencies would be legislators,” he says.

His party would want the new constitution to provide for dual citizenship to cater for Zimbabweans who have been forced by economic circumstances to go abroad in search of better opportunities, Coltart says.

It also wants the posts of provincial governors to be representative of the people’s wishes not appointed by government.

Independent MP for Tsholotsho, Jonathan Moyo who co-chaired the committee of a draft constitution rejected by the electorate in a referendum in February 2000 bemoans that although the people of Matabeleland have supported the ruling Zanu-PF in the hope that something would be done to develop the region, were now disappointed with centralized government.

Even after the Unity Accord since 1987, central government has paid lip service without addressing the concerns about skewed development, Moyo says citing the fact that Tsholotsho got the only high school it now has after 16 years of independence.

“The concern for devolution of powers to the provinces is real because, for a long time there have been limited higher education facilities in the region creating serious problems for poor peasants who have intelligent and capable children,” he says.

He says both Zanu-PF and the more popular MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai are scared of devolving power.

“They have similar views but that will not stop people from the region calling for it to be included in the new constitution,” says Moyo. “Now that the MDC (T) is in government, they share the same views of centralizing power.”

Zimbabwe Times
27 April 2009
By Ray Matikinye

BULAWAYO – Government is considering reducing the amount of school fees charged in primary schools as “hardly any parent can afford” those announced recently although the cutback will not be dramatic, Education, Sport and Culture minister, Senator David Coltart says.

Senator Coltart told parents and party supporters at a constituency meeting at Mahatshula Primary school in the city on Saturday that the level of fees announced in March was arrived at after consultation with experts who set the figures as the amounts needed to educate a child a term.

There has been growing outrage from parents who say they cannot afford the US$150 fee announced when most of the civil servants are paid a US$100 monthly allowance.

But Coltart said his ministry had put in place a new policy where parents would apply for relief through a Means Test Application (MTA).

The MTA requires parents who cannot afford the fees to apply at every school through the school head who, together with the parents committee, will assess the level of fees they can pay. MTA is unlike the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) which was administered in Harare but had discontinued giving assistance to pupils without means to pay fees due to lack of funds.

Under BEAM some schools that had applied for funds have not received what they had applied for, for the past three years before the program was discontinued.

“We know that people are suffering, businesses are closing and financial assistance from donors is not forthcoming as fast as we would have anticipated. Parents will have to play an active role in making sure the schools are kept open by contributing whatever they can afford,” Coltart said.

Zimbabwe’s education system is on a knife’s edge and risks disintegration unless government finds donors willing to bankroll salary demands by an estimated 80 000 teachers to persuade them to remain on their jobs up to a time when the country can start to generate foreign currency of its own through sustainable economic activities.

Since January teachers, who form the bulk of the civil service, have not received any salaries.
Instead, they have received monthly allowances that can hardly cater for their housing, transport and other basic needs such as school fees for their own children. Most of the schools are in a state of decline because government has not put enough money into the education sector.

Last year’s Grade Seven and “O” Level examination results have not been released because funds provided by donors, particularly UNICEF, have run out.

Coltart said most potential donors had no confidence in the Global Political Agreement which they say has not been implemented properly.

“We might get just enough funds to get the education system going. We are looking at incentives to keep teachers on the job and this alone required US$4, 5 million assuming we increase teachers’ allowances to US$150 a month,” Coltart said.

Teachers’ unions have threatened that their members will not report for work when schools open in May unless they are paid proper salaries, and not the allowances which they are receiving at the moment.

All public servants regardless of seniority or grade receive the same amount and this has riled professionals who feel the practice does not reward professionalism and academic qualification.

Sunday News
26 April 2009
By Robin Muchetu and Chipo Mudarikwa

THE Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA) has given the Government up to Thursday this week to come up with a proper salary structure — where the lowest paid educators will earn 15 000 rand per month or risk another devastating job action, it has been learnt.

This was disclosed by the president of the association, Mrs Tendai Chikowore, in an interview in Bulawayo on the sidelines of the association’s 28th annual national conference yesterday.
She said another meeting with Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Senator David Coltart, was scheduled for Thursday.

“We, as the backbone of the education system, need to be adequately paid so that we produce a quality product at the end of the day and we propose that we get a salary similar to what is being offered by other countries in the SADC region which is about 15 000 rand. That way we will be happy,’’ said Mrs Chikowore.

ZIMTA also called on the Government to allocate them a clothing allowance which would see them wearing uniforms like other civil servants such as nurses since their allowances were not sufficient to buy expensive clothes.

“Our code of conduct entails that we put on decent clothing like uniforms . . . nurses, policemen and other civil servants have them too. However, this has not been possible owing to the poor remuneration we receive,’’ said Mrs Chikowore.

The association also proposed that the Government should exempt teachers’ children from paying school fees as they could not afford to pay from the US$100 allowances they were getting.
It is virtually impossible for them to pay the proposed school fees, utility bills and other expenses with the paltry allowances, it said.

During the conference, which was hosted by Matabeleland South province, a number of concerns were raised by the delegates, chief among them being the poor remuneration from the Government.

ZIMTA lamented the fact that they had not had fruitful salary negotiations since September 2008 and were hoping that this time around they were going to win.

The Minister of Education Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator Coltart, said on Friday that Government was not collecting enough revenue to enable it to pay the salaries demanded by teachers and the donor community was reluctant to assist.

The secretary general of ZIMTA, Mr Richard Gundani was also optimistic on the incentives that would be sourced from the donor community although it was not certain when they would be made available.
He said that it was sad to note that the teachers’ children were not in school as their parents were not in a position to pay their fees, but the same teachers were expected to teach other people’s children.

“Donors should ensure that the books and desks they donate are being safe guarded and this is only possible if there are teachers and students to use and protect them. A lot of vandalism has occurred at some schools in Harare, some of the desks have been used to make coffins and this is not a positive move,” said Mr Gundani.

Mrs Chikowore said that there should be loan provisions for the teachers.

“A number of teachers want to advance themselves by going to universities and this is only possible if there are funds availed to them by the Government. There is need for decent and affordable housing for the teachers and again these funds should be made available by the Government,” he said.

Also present at the conference was the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) National Chaplain, Mrs Anastacia Kebaraee Agang, who said she was happy about the proceedings of the conference.
“The concerns raised are relevant and are workable if interested parties play an active role in the implementation of the proposed solutions.

“I am happy that the teachers raised their concerns in a calm manner, it is good that they complain. It is very normal for people to raise their complaints in a working environment. Their challenges are very big and they are not reacting violently,” she said.

The BTU also donated 50 000 pula to ZIMTA for sustenance.

The Government introduced a voucher system in February this year where civil servants would get groceries worth US$100, but with the advent of the inclusive Government Minister of Finance, Mr Tendai Biti said the vouchers would be redeemable for cash. This saw civil servants getting cash in place of vouchers.

Newsnet
25 April 2009

Zimbabweans have been urged to be patriotic and work together in order to resolve the current socio-economic problems facing the country.

This was said by the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart when addressing delegates at the ongoing 28th annual national conference of the Zimbabwe Teachers Association, ZIMTA, in Bulawayo.

Senator Coltart said the government fully understands the plight of teachers adding that it will be difficult to resolve the issue of salaries in the short term as money is not available in the government coffers.

He said the government is currently working on measures to tackle the grievances brought forward by the teaching fraternity.

The ZIMTA conference started on Thursday.

The Guardian
Friday, 24 April 2009

Jacob Zuma, whose African National Congress is on course to retain its parliamentary majority, has openly criticised Robert Mugabe’s autocratic rule

Jacob Zuma’s election victory in South Africa has been welcomed by ministers in Zimbabwe as intensifying pressure on president Robert Mugabe.

Zuma, whose African National Congress (ANC) looked on course last night to retain its two-thirds parliamentary majority, has been outspoken in his criticism of Mugabe’s autocratic rule.

He has since come out in support of the power-sharing agreement between Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Morgan Tsvangirai. Zuma has criticised his predecessor Thabo Mbeki’s approach of “quiet diplomacy” towards the crisis-torn neighbour.

Tendai Biti, finance minister in the unity government and secretary-general of the MDC, yesterday looked forward to a Zuma presidency. “I don’t think it will be quiet diplomacy,” he told the Guardian. “That was buried on 22 September 2008, the day Mbeki was removed. I expect a more forthright, honest and hands-on diplomacy.

“Jacob Zuma is not Thabo Mbeki and that means a lot. I know the man and meet him regularly and know the way he thinks.”

Unlike Britain and America, South Africa has thrown its weight behind the power-sharing agreement, despite concerns that Mugabe and his allies remain dominant. Biti added: “South Africa is leading the way in supporting us directly, including financial assistance. They recognise the problem requires international support. They’ve been calling for that consistently.”

Zuma, who has a track record on brokering peace deals in conflict areas, is thought to be keen to keep the ear of Mugabe. But he has family ties with the MDC: last year one of his daughters married the son of Welshman Ncube, a leading figure in the party.

David Coltart, Zimbabwe’s minister of education and an MDC Senator, said: “The key for us is that Jacob Zuma wins and assumes the presidency. Of the last three – Thabo Mbeki, Kgalema Motlanthe and Zuma – he has been the most outspoken. I think Robert Mugabe will be fairly nervous about his relationship with him.

“Zuma and Mugabe are very different characters. You would never see Mugabe singing a song in front of the faithful and dressed in casual attire.”

Coltart added: “There has been concern here that, because South Africans have been distracted, elements of Zanu-PF have been pushing the envelope. I think those who have been blatantly breaching the agreement will now have to watch themselves.”

South Africa has long been regarded as the democratic anchor of the continent. After the violent crackdown that followed last year’s disputed elections in Zimbabwe, Zuma said: “We cannot agree with Zanu-PF, we cannot agree with them on values. We fought for the right of people to vote. We fought for democracy.”

But the long-running bribery and corruption allegations against Zuma, dropped just before the election, left a nasty taste in the mouths of many, and there are concerns that he lacks credibility as a democratic flag-bearer.

Anxieties among Zuma’s critics grew yesterday as the ANC remained confident that it would narrowly retain its two-thirds parliamentary majority, giving it the power to change the constitution. With nearly 14.5 million votes counted, the ANC led with a 66.91% share.

The opposition Democratic Alliance claimed 15.62% while the Congress of the People (Cope), formed by a breakaway faction of the ANC last year, was trailing on 7.53%.

Sunday News
By Tendayi Madhomu
19 April 2009

THE Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) is broke after exhausting all the money extended to it by UNICEF — leaving it failing to process the results for public examinations written in 2008, Sunday News can reveal.

The Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Senator David Coltart, confirmed last week that he had since applied for more funding from the Government to finish the long-awaited exercise, but the funds were still to be availed.

“We have insufficient money to complete the processing of the results and I have since applied for further funding from the government and we have not yet received anything,’’ he said.

Senator Coltart said the funds donated by UNICEF had been exhausted before the examination council had completed the marking exercise.

He, however, said that the registration for the June and November examinations for this year would continue as scheduled.

“It is our hope that we can proceed with the June examinations, but we still need to finish up the processing of the 2008 examinations results. The bulk of the marking is finished and we still need to pay our markers,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, educationists have said that the country’s education system has virtually collapsed due to the economic challenges bedevilling the country.

An educationist stated that the decision taken by the ministry that students proceed to form one and A-level without results was unwise.

“This was just not useful considering that pupils were not taught well last year. The second term results were mere assumptions and most schools did not write mid-year examinations. In some cases, only paper One was written and students were mainly guessing for answers so that way their intelligence could not be judged,’’ she said.

Another educationist said examinations were meant to screen students and if they were not taken seriously, the working culture among students would disappear.

“Examinations keep students on their toes, they come with the qualitative aspect more than the mass education of people. They are meant to screen students,’’ he said.

He said the fact that ZJC examinations were scrapped and that the Grade Seven examinations were no longer being given importance had lowered the education standards in the country.

“When these examinations were still there and taken seriously, we would produce academically good students, our education system has become weak,’’ he said.

The expert, however, reiterated that the collapse of the education system had been hastened by the economic challenges being faced by the country.

“With improvements in remuneration of teachers, facilities and the availability of resources, the education system can definitely be revived,’’ he said.

He acknowledged the great strides made in the education sector since independence, adding that a lot of people had benefited. “ZIMSEC started well when it took over from Cambridge but has recently lost its way.”

The Herald
By Sydney Kawadza
18th April 2009

ZIMBABWEAN children should put more effort in their schoolwork to avoid wasting their parents’ resources and efforts in educating them, President Mugabe has said.

Speaking at the annual children’s party he traditionally co-hosts with the First Lady, Amai Grace Mugabe, on the eve of the country’s Independence anniversary, President Mugabe said parents worked hard in tough times to send their children to school.

He also paid tribute to teachers who have remained committed to their duties despite the challenges facing them over the years.

“We want to express our gratitude to parents for their understanding, for being prepared to send their children to school. We didn’t have to pass laws to force parents to send their children to school like other countries.

“The parents have had the compassion to send their children to school. It was otherwise the State that felt had been compelled to provide schools for the children.

“Practically every family wants to send their children to school even up to university level,” he said.

President Mugabe said children should remember that although the country had gone through tough economic times, parents continued to strive for a better education for them.

Some parents sold their livestock or did odd jobs to make sure that their children were educated.

“You must understand how hard your parents are working to get you to school. This is not the time for you to play truant, it’s not the time for children to waste their parents’ hard- earned cash by doing silly things at school,” he said.

The bad behaviour, President Mugabe said, included drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco and marijuana and engaging in immorality.

“You should grow up in the manner in which you are advised (because) if you miss the chance, you won’t get another,” he said.

Once bad behaviour is cultivated, he said, there is no way it can be changed when you grow up.

“Habits such as drinking (alcohol), taking ruinous drugs . . . refuse them, refuse the taste of beer, don’t even touch it and even a dog has refused such things.

“Zvino woswera uchiputa mbanje nerweseri, ukubhemi imbanje, hatshi, hatshi, hatshi!”

President Mugabe also shared with the children what he had learnt during his school days about the importance of good behaviour.

“I was taught during my school days, when I was about 14 years old, that once it (bad behaviour) is repeated it becomes a habit . . .

“He said ‘if you sow an act, you reap a habit, if you sow a habit, you reap a character and if you sow a character, it becomes your destiny’, that is what I was taught, so your character becomes your destiny,” he said.

President Mugabe said while the children celebrated their day, the Independence Day, they should not let their parents down.

“Zuva iri nderenyu vana vechidiki, nhasi namangwana, namangwana, namangwana. Independence ndeyenyu — ngatifarei takabatana, masijabule sibambene.

“Tinozvida kuti tose tifare (asi) haikona kutiregerera. Kana waenda kuchikoro wonzi wafoira, hazviite, hakuna vanhu vanozvarwa

neudofo.

“Tinoda kuti muve vana vanobudirira muzovawo vatungamiri vamangwana. Muzova maPresident nemaPrime Minister amangwana asi nyika haitongwe nemadofo.”

President Mugabe said although some teachers had been forced to leave their jobs because of the harsh economic times in the country, it was now time for them to come back.

“We are part of you, though some of us are retired, we are still teachers and we know what it means to impart knowledge to the children.

“We know we need to support you in your difficult times. You need to be well paid, to be well housed, to be well dressed and we admit Government has not been able to provide that and it means you have had to do with very little that has been provided,” he said.

Government, he said, recognised the sacrifices and professional commitment shown by teachers who remained in the country.

“We cannot blame those who failed to cope with the difficult circumstances and had to go to South Africa and other countries.

“However, there are some who absconded, who disappeared without giving notice, it was wrong. We condemn those who went without giving notice. Surely, you could have given notice,” he said.

President Mugabe, however, said Government would want the teachers and all professionals to come back and help rebuild the country.

“We want you to come back and man the schools. We need you now, the establishment of the inclusive Government means parties have agreed to look at our differences, sink these differences and uphold areas of agreement.

“We want to serve the country, to bring peace and stability. We want to infuse the spirit of confidence, a spirit of developing the country but we need to look at rising from the degeneration of the country.”

President Mugabe said Zimbabwe needs to stem the decline that has taken place for good.

“The recovery of the economy— after the launch of the Short-Term Emergency Recovery Programme — we need teachers, social services, clinics and hospitals and polytechnics and universities to function and our agricultural sector to yield and produce the crops we feed on and produce for export,” he said.

President Mugabe said Government would continue to work hard to improve the lives of Zimbabweans.

“We would continue to work for our children, for the future of the country and together we will overcome!”

The children’s party also drew leaders from the country’s main political parties including Education, Arts, Sport and Culture Minister David Coltart, his deputy Lazarus Dokora, Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu, Youth Affairs, Indigenisation and Employment Creation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and Deputy Minister Thamsanqa Mahlangu among other senior Government officials.