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MDCs claim harassment by former ruling party

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Politics

BULAWAYO — The Welshman Ncube-led MDC has claimed it has been forced to
conduct door-to-door campaigns in Umguza, Matabeleland North as opposed to
rallies to protect villagers from harassment by Zanu PF if they attend.

NQOBANI NDLOVU

This comes after the MDCs raised fears over a resurgence of terror in the
constituency alleging that Zanu PF supporters were now intimidating
villagers for supporting the MDC.

Discent Bajila, the MDC National Youth Secretary-General, told The Standard
that the party had resorted to door-to-door campaigns to protect villagers
from the former ruling party.

“Door-to-doors are the actual party-building work. We are not holding any
public meetings or rallies in Umguza because that area is violence-prone
where MDC supporters now face harassment and intimidation,” said Bajila.
“Holding public meetings exposes our supporters to violence and
intimidation. Even in the past, Umguza has always been one constituency
where our supporters are not safe [during the period] towards elections.”

Last month William Sibanda, an MDC-T youth assembly member in Nyamandlovu
was arrested by State security agents and sent to Lupane for refusing to
attend a Zanu PF rally in the area.

A fortnight ago, Sibusisiwe Dube, MDC-T women’s chairperson in Umguza was
also threatened with abduction and possible death for her association with
the party.

Mines minister Obert Mpofu, who is also the Zanu PF legislator for Umguza,
has dismissed as false, claims of intimidation by MDCs’ supporters.

He said the MDCs were “faking harassment stories” against him because they
knew he had already “won” the parliamentary seat.

Elections are set for this year after the referendum which has been
scheduled for March 16.


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Civil society under threat from Zanu PF

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Politics

RIGHTS groups have accused Zanu PF of embarking on a crusade to destabilise
civil society organisations that it perceives to be critical of its
operations ahead of general elections slated for later this year.

BY CAIPHAS CHIMHETE

They said the current onslaught on Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) by
the police was designed to criminalise their operations so that they lose
credibility in the eyes of the public and the international community ahead
of the polls.

The rights groups said police were implementing a Zanu PF resolution agreed
upon at the party’s national congress in Gweru in December last year, where
they resolved to shut down organisations that it felt were “diverting” from
their mandate.

“Instructs the party to ensure that government enforces the de-registration
of errant NGOs deviating from their mandate,” resolved Zanu PF, which has
always viewed civil society as an extension of its political rival, the
MDC-T.

And true to their resolution, there has been an upsurge of harassment and
arrests of human rights defenders since the beginning of this year.

The police recently raided offices of the National Association of
Non-governmental Organisation (Nango), an umbrella body of NGOs as well as
those of Zimrights, which defends ordinary people’s rights.
Zimrights director Okay Machisa is on bail on allegations of tampering with
the voters’ roll.

The police have also raided offices of the Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) and
seized cellphones, business cards and other electronic data gadgets.

Other organisations that have been subjected to harassment include the
Centre for Community Development in Zimbabwe (CCDZ) and National Youth
Development Trust (NYDT).

Members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) were last week beaten up by police
in Harare and Bulawayo as they conducted their traditional Valentine’s Day
protests.

As a result of the onslaught, the operating space for civil society
organisations has significantly shrunk. This is particularly so in rural
areas where police, district administrators and governors have joined forces
to deny them the chance to carry out their duties.

“It is difficult to convene civic education meetings as programme officers
are told to seek clearance from police, district administrators and the
governor’s office,” said CCDZ in a statement.

Governors are demanding that organisations produce Memoranda of
Understanding (MOU) and all the material to be issued out at meetings.

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) director Mcdonald Lewanika said the
harassment was an attempt by police to stop civil society from scrutinising
electoral machinations by Zanu PF, a party accused of rigging previous
polls.

“It’s an attempt to criminalise their activities and tarnish their images
ahead of elections,” said Lewanika. “The police are just actioning on a
resolution by Zanu PF at its December congress where they agreed to close
NGOs.”

The harassment flies in the face of President Robert Mugabe, who for the
past few months seemed converted, preaching the message of peace and
political tolerance.

The United States has also condemned the harassment.

Its Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Bruce Wharton said since November last year, the
police had been harassing rights groups through arbitrary detentions,
politically-motivated searches and arrests on spurious charges against
individuals.

He said some of those targeted were operating within the law.
The harassment of rights defenders has not escaped the eyes of the political
elite.

Cabinet recently tasked co-minister of Home Affairs, Theresa Makone, to
investigate cases of harassment of civil society.

Analysts said violence against human rights must be nipped in the bud
because it would spread to other sectors as election dates draw near.

“After destabilising civil society, they will go after members of political
parties,” said Lewanika. “So, political parties should not be comfortable
because they are in a coalition. Very soon, they will also be under siege as
is the norm before any major election.”


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Education rot: Sweeping changes vital

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Local

THE poor results registered at Ordinary level in 2012 are a wakeup call for
the government to introduce sweeping changes to the country’s education
system, experts have said.

BY PATRICE MAKOVA

The Zimsec November O’level results released recently showed that the pass
rate had dropped from 19,5 to 18,4 %.

Out of the 172 698 who sat for the examinations, only 31 767 candidates
attained passes in five subjects or more.

Experts in education said although education was considered the most
important thing a parent could bequeath to a child, if last year’s results
were anything to go by, that may as well remain just a dream from most
parents.

Educationist, Francis Mashayamombe said although schools had been performing
dismally for a few years now, the trend was intolerable.
“The poor results reflect the sickness in the education sector,” he said.
“This is a serious indictment of us as a nation.”

Mashayamombe said the government should set up a commission of inquiry to
investigate the real problems affecting the education sector.

“There is need for facts and not speculation,” he said.
“We need to put our heads together to get to the bottom of the problem. This
can only be done through a commission of inquiry which can come up with a
body of evidence for use by policy makers.”

The university lecturer said such a commission should come up with a clear
report whose results are published and implemented.

He said it was unfortunate that most recommendations made by the 1999
Nziramasanga Commission on Education were not implemented.
“Our problem as a nation is inertia and unwillingness to implement things,”
said Mashayamombe.

Among many other things, the Nziramasanga Commission recommended a nine-year
compulsory basic education (junior school) cycle for all pupils in order to
cultivate the habits, attitudes, interests, skills and entrepreneurial
opportunities which would prepare them to be good citizens.

It also recommended an outcome-based curriculum which is broad-based in
terms of subject offerings and which focuses on learning areas, employment-
related skills and other essential skills to be developed across the
curriculum.

Another educationist and University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Oswell Hapanyengwi
said schools must be equipped with the necessary resources required such as
textbooks and qualified teachers.

“The use of untrained teachers is disastrous because they do not know the
methodology, psychology and sociology of teaching,” he said. “They teach
without knowing the impact on the learners.”

Hapanyengwi also said the government had allowed a number of “backdoor”
schools to mushroom, thereby lowering the education standards.

He said it was unfortunate that some schools were now being established
simply to make money.

“Such schools do not care about the results as they are up to make money.
They need to be constantly monitored to ensure that there are manned by
qualified teachers and operate in a conducive environment,” said
Hapanyengwi.

He said staff also needed to be motivated in terms of conditions of service.
Hapanyengwi said there was a need for government to introduce incentives for
teachers in rural areas in order to attract qualified staff.

“There is a need to attract the right personnel and not just people who end
up teaching because there are no other jobs available,” said the
educationist.

Another University of Zimbabwe lecturer, Professor Freddy Zindi said the
exodus of teachers to mostly neighbouring countries had taken a toll on the
education sector.

In 2008 some 20 000 teachers left their positions, leading to the greatest
brain-drain the sector had ever experienced.

He said while the issue of incentivising staff needed to be encouraged,
there was also a need for the government to ensure that the teachers do what
they are paid for.

Zindi said the government should establish an office of “Standards in
Education”, where the Ministry of Education would specifically appoint
school inspectors similar to those in the past.

“These school inspectors would make surprise visits to schools and look at
ensuring that standards are maintained,” he said.


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Knives out for Masunda

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Local

KNIVES are out for Harare Mayor, Muchadeyi Masunda with residents saying his
administration was the worst since the country’s independence.

BY OUR STAFF

Masunda has in recent weeks been in the eye of a storm of bad publicity, as
angry residents denounced the way his council was running the affairs of the
city.

Noel Nyamanhindi, a Harare resident, said he was disgusted that the local
authority had begun serving summons on residents yet it was failing to
provide basic services.

“This council has started serving summons to people to pay arrears for
non-existent services,” he said. “Where I stay in Warren Park, they are
demanding that we pay for water, yet we go for weeks without water.”

Nyamanhindi said when the council did provide running water, it was usually
dirty and unfit for drinking.

A shop assistant, Vast Bundo described the present council as a failure,
saying they should not be given another chance.
“There is no water, roads are littered with potholes and there is no street
lighting, they have failed and do not deserve another chance,” she said.
Bundo said when Masunda took office, she hoped the situation would improve
but things had gone from bad to worse.

“The council says we owe them rates, this is because at first we used to pay
but we stopped when we realised that nothing was changing, so we started
directing our monies to more pressing issues,” she said.

Clement Musungo, a taxi driver was seething with anger.

He said the local authority was more interested in collecting rates than
providing services.

He said a number of projects had stalled, like the construction of kombi
ranks on the outskirts of the central business district, yet the City of
Harare continued to collect rates.

“The roads are in a poor state, but instead of the council putting their
energies there, they prefer to hire more people to clamp kombis and taxis,”
Musungo said.

Most people interviewed said the Elias Mudzuri administration had been
better than the current one, which allowed potholes to flourish, and
unmarked trenches, some as deep as graves, to remain in the middle of the
roads.

“He [Masunda] should go, even the councillors must go, all of them must be
fired,” Shepherd Musokota said angrily. “Potholes are everywhere, garbage is
uncollected and there are sewer bursts all over the place.”

He said Masunda should not complain about unpaid rates, as these were often
too high and out of the reach of most residents.

Fulton Doma, another resident concurred, saying Harare was increasingly
being reduced to a rural village.

“I stay in Mbare and the situation there is terrible,” he said. “The roads
are impassable and that has damaged our cars. I cannot describe those as
potholes, because some of them are as deep as graves and the councillors are
not doing anything.”

Last week The Standard revealed how some Mbare residents had resorted to
relieving themselves in buckets, as they had gone for weeks without water,
rendering their communal toilets unusable.
Precious Kadzaranyamba also said the mayor and his council should not be
given another mandate after the elections.

“He must go,” she said. “As it is, I can hardly drink tap water and they
expect me to pay rates.”

The common themes were that the council had failed in providing clean water,
waste collection, repairing roads and providing street lighting.

The local authority, on its side, claims it is finding it difficult to carry
out its mandate, as it is owed close to US$300 million by residents.

This then creates a vicious cycle, where residents say they will not pay
rates, as they are not being provided a service. Yet the council says it
cannot provide the service as it does not have the money as residents are
not paying bills.


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Traffic police continue to demand bribes

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Local

POLICE officers manning roadblocks have devised new tactics of getting
bribes from omnibus operators amid increasing efforts to curb corruption in
the force.

BY JENNIFER DUBE

Commuter omnibus drivers and conductors who spoke to The Standard in Harare
last week said money to pay police officers as bribes was now being
collected each morning by a person they trust among themselves before
handing it over to the officers.

The person writes the vehicle’s registration number against the amount and
the police officers would not stop a paid-up vehicle for that entire day.

Delivery of the money is usually not done at the roadblock.

“Those you find with a [Mercedes] Benz at roadblocks, like the one that
parks opposite the National Sports Stadium, have someone who collects US$5
from each crew every morning before 7am and records vehicle number plates,”
said one driver who plies the City-Warren Park route. “This is done so that
passengers think the police are no longer corrupt when they do not stop us.”

The kombi drivers also said shortage of parking space in the city centre was
being manipulated by officers to solicit for bribes.

“In the past, we used to park haphazardly at the ranks but the city council
instructed us to line our vehicles along the pavements,” a conductor at the
City-Mt Pleasant rank said. “We are all afraid of being the last in the
sequence because when police arrive, the vehicle at the end is targeted and
the crew accused of dangerous parking.”

They said the officers demanded at least US$10 for dangerous parking.
Those who fail to pay the bribe are threatened with being taken to city
council offices where the fine is US$130.

“We pay US$100 four times a year to operate in these ranks, but the city
council is taking too long to identify ranks with adequate parking space,”
another driver said.

The crews, however, said they were not in support of council’s proposal to
establish ranks outside the central business district saying that would
cause unnecessary inconvenience to their clients.

On Thursday, The Standard team witnessed one kombi crew being taken to task
for dangerous parking, after two police officers pounced on the last vehicle
which was parked in a queue at the City-Mt Pleasant rank along Kwame Nkrumah
Avenue.

Public transporters said they were frustrated by the behaviour of police
officers, which they said did not seem to change even when they have all the
documentation required.

“In the past, they asked for licences, road permits, re-test papers, tax
certificates and most operators have done their best to ensure they have
these,” a conductor said. “They outlawed touting and we complied but they
continue bothering us.

“A few days ago, two officers deflated tyres from my vehicle after I refused
to bribe them when they accused me of ‘silent touting’ when they found a
board showing my route displayed on the vehicle.”


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Muchinguri against imposition of candidates

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Politics

MUTARE — The Zanu PF women’s’ league boss, Oppah Muchinguri has blasted the
party’s leadership for side-lining women who wish to contest against the
so-called bigwigs in the party’s forthcoming primary elections.

By Clayton Masekesa

Addressing a provincial women’s’ league meeting at Mutare Polytechnic last
week, Muchinguri said Zanu PF lost the previous elections in 2008 because
women with potential to win elections were sidelined.

“We are saying this year there will be no sacred cows and Zanu PF will lose
again if they impose candidates and sideline women,” said Muchinguri. “The
last time they protected the so-called bigwigs and imposed them on the
people. The people spoke and voted against us with the so-called bigwigs
losing to the opposition.”

She said the former liberation war party was trounced by MDC-T in the past
elections because most of Zanu PF candidates had been imposed.

In 2008, Zanu PF leader President Robert Mugabe was defeated by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai but not with enough votes to claim the top post,
leading to a run-off that the MDC-T leader boycotted citing political
violence.

However, in the middle of the meeting, Muchinguri ejected journalists from
Manica Post, New Ziana and The Patriot.

A source said Muchinguri was infuriated by articles that supported the
ouster of Mike Madiro the suspended Zanu PF chairman and the other four
accused persons.

She is alleged to be leading a faction that is sympathising with Madiro.


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Toilet fee riles passport seekers at RG’s Office

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Community News

MEMBERS of the public seeking to acquire official documents at the Registrar
General’s Offices at Makombe Building in Harare are being forced to pay five
rand a day to use toilets.

BY JENNIFER DUBE

This has resulted in some people, who believe the fee is unjustified,
relieving themselves behind trees especially early in the morning.

“This is a public place which every Zimbabwean may be compelled to come to
at one time, so why are they charging for the use of the toilets as if our
being here was by choice,” Ronica Ngundu said.

“Five rand is a lot of money. These people are running a booming toilet
business.”

On payment of the five rand, one is given a receipt they can use throughout
the day.

Many people have complained that they spend a lot of time moving from one
office to another without getting what they want.

On average, the Registrar General’s Office serves 1 000 people per day
seeking passports, identity cards and birth certificates.

An estimated US$500 is raised every day, assuming that all the people who
visit the office pay. Vendors who operate just outside the offices also use
the same toilets.

Many people complained that those who failed to get what they wanted in one
day have had to buy a new ticket every day they visit the offices, yet they
may not be responsible for the delay in the processing of their papers.

Those who accompany children and the elderly were the hardest hit as they
were required to buy multiple tickets since they are not interchangeable.

“Toilets at all places offering a public service should be available for
free. Some of us arrived here at 3:30am and have not emptied our bowels
since because the gate was closed,” said Ronald Mabusa. “Now it has been
opened and I am being made to pay. This is unfair.”

A man who was ticketing people at the toilets’ entrance last week said the
money was used to buy cleaning materials but the putrid smell emanating from
the toilets did not bear witness to his claims.

Some members of the public also said the toilets were not as clean as they
expected a pay-toilet to be.

Registrar General Tobaiwa Mudede could not be reached for comment but his
deputy, Ben Mpala quipped: “Have you ever been here and found no toilets?”
before requesting that questions be faxed to him.


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Zim’s lobola charges stir controversy

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Community News

LYN* was very happy when her boyfriend of five years finally proposed
marriage to her.

BY JENNIFER DUBE

But the 26-year-old Harare girl was however heartbroken when her aunt told
her that “the fathers” expected groceries worth US$1 500 for the first
meeting with the in-laws.

Her boyfriend was also expected to pay about US$9 000 for various charges
and eight cows as lobola.

Three of the cows were expected before their wedding in August.

“I do not know where they think we will get all that money from,” Lyn said.
“Not that I think I am not worth that much, but we do not have that money,
our salaries are nowhere near US$1 000 when combined.”

Their relationship is on the verge of collapse because the boyfriend cannot
afford to raise the required amount.

Lyn’s case is representative of many young couples who fall prey to “greedy”
relatives that demand a lot of money as lobola.

Several people who spoke to Standardcommunity last week expressed mixed
views on the issue of lobola charges.

Television personality Rebecca Chisamba, popularly known as Mai Chisamba,
believes that the current lobola charges were unjustified.

“The charges are taboo,” she said. “People are no longer following culture.
They have commercialised the practice and unfortunately, this is blocking
our children from getting married.”

Mai Chisamba said parents should remember that the “boys” who were marrying
their daughters did not have money.

“Many people think that marrying off a child presents them with a chance to
cover everything they failed to do, that is why our children end up bringing
us sugar daddies,” she said. “We need to understand that it is about
building a relationship between the two families, full stop.”

Bulawayo East MP, Tabitha Khumalo said, like all other cultural things, it
was difficult to define what should be accepted as justifiable lobola.
“Cultural things are problematic,” Khumalo said. “All stakeholders need to
come together and define what lobola is; whether it is a money-spinning
venture, and if it is, properly look at its repercussions on the woman in
her matrimonial home.”

In Kenya, she said, some people were campaigning for the abolishment of the
practice. Their argument is that lobola created domestic violence whereby
men turned women into assets because they “paid” for them.

However, history and cultural experts felt there was nothing sinister about
what people were charging as lobola.

They said getting married had always been expensive.

“Years ago, people charged a hand hoe, which was a prized object at the time
as it enabled them to cultivate more land than everyone else who cultivated
with other objects,” said renowned historian Phathisa Nyathi. “The hand hoe
was to be abandoned with the invention of the ox-drawn plough which became
preferred as it was more valuable and gave more convenience.”

Nyathi said the invention of the tractor brought the price of the plough
down, meaning people could still charge a tractor if they wanted.

He said things like mobile phones and laptops could soon be part of the
payment package as lobola is about things society values at that moment. “It
[lobola] is not fixed, It changes with time and embraces new things which
society values. It only becomes a problem if we retrogress, for example
moving from cows to chickens,” Nyati said.

Principal director in the Education ministry, Paul Damasane, said lobola was
based on establishing relations and the sharing of wealth between the two
families.

“Whether it is expensive or cheap is neither here nor there,” Damasane said.
“In Ndebele culture for example, there are sayings which make it clear that
the son-in-law should always support his in-laws and this remains the case
even if he pays all the lobola he was charged.”

He said women should be valued because of the sacrifices and risks
associated with child-bearing.
*Not real name*


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Elections and implications of possible outcomes

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in News, Opinion

A cursory look at intransigence on the part of Zanu PF, concerning the
glaring abuse of state institutions, can be considered as one playing in
favour of that party. But it definitely leads to unintended consequences
which, unfortunately, will affect ordinary Zimbabweans, yet being a
God-given gratuity for the opposition parties. If the status quo remains,
the outcome of the forthcoming elections will produce one of the following
three scenarios:
First, in the unlikely, but possible event the MDC-T, or any other party
triumphs against all abuse of state institutions by Zanu PF and wins
resoundingly, Zimbabwe would have been thrown into another
corruption-riddled dictatorship. The popularity of the winning party will,
at that time, leave no opposition to check its behaviour. Zanu PF would have
gone to the dogs, making it embarrassing to be associated with it, but its
current unacceptable behaviour will then be transferred to the new rulers.
This is a bad omen not only for Zanu PF, but for the nation.

BY ANDREW MASUKU

Second, in another unlikely but possible outcome, that the results may
produce another hung election outcome, the international community will look
at that outcome with hindsight of the previous violent elections. This may
lead to another Global Political Agreement (GPA), still not good, but
possibly worst condition in Zanu PF, considering its waning leader and
factionalism within its ranks and that the sanctions may remain intact. The
opposition will continue to gain popularity while Zanu PF would begin to
lose out, even from its Eastern allies, as Zimbabwe would slide into a more
serious economic crisis. This will not only be a misfortune for Zanu PF, it
will also be another bad omen for the nation.

Certainly, this country does not need another GPA leading to another
Government of National Unity, if any progress can be anticipated.

Third, another unlikely but possible scenario is that Zanu PF may win
resoundingly. But with the stated glaring abuses of state institutions,
there will indeed be very few countries that would recognise that outcome.
The opposition may have fared badly in their campaigns, but because of the
abuse of state institutions, they have a ready excuse that can easily be
accepted by the international community, as it resonates well with the
previous election outcomes. The outcome would be regarded as dubious and
another farce which the whole of Sadc has declared not to tolerate any more.

Technically, Zanu PF would have won, but in reality it would have lost
resoundingly, as it would have thrown itself to a worse crisis than what
happened in 2008, without any hope of ever being redeemed. Certainly,
another bad omen for Zanu PF and the nation, but it will strengthen the
cause of opposition.

There is only one option, which carries real hope for Zanu PF, and it
happens to be the hope for the nation. This is to do with ensuring that
state institutions are transformed, and the elections are declared free and
fair. If Zanu PF wins in those circumstances, it would have been redeemed
and that would be a good outcome for the nation as well. The opposition will
have to go back where it came from.

On the other hand, if Zanu PF loses, that would also be good for it, as it
would then use the next five years to rebuild the revolutionary party, with
a hope of re-bouncing in the next elections. That would then be a good
outcome for the nation as well, but certainly not a good omen for the other
parties which would then have a formidable political giant being rebranded
to take up its rightful position in government.


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Referendum: Just a fulfilment of GPA

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Opinion

There appears to be no fierce contest in the referendum set for March 16 as
compared to the one held in February 2000 since all political parties in the
Government of National Unity have decided to champion a Yes vote. As such,
the process is likely to be a mere fulfilment of democratic processes before
Zimbabwe goes for a harmonised election earmarked for this year again.

Report by Gumisai Nyoni

The wonderful thing to come out of democracy is that the majority will
always triumph while its wickedness is that even rational and progressive
contributions might be sidelined because of their minority appeal. This
truth will affect groups and movements that are campaigning for a No vote.
The scenario in Zimbabwe today mirrors the outcome of the Lancaster House
Conference, in which the Ian Smith regime and the liberation war movements
had to negotiate to reach a settlement, paving way for the 1980 elections.

The MDC formations and Zanu PF reached a compromise maybe because they all
discovered a way to protect their interests, not necessarily meaning they
are representing the will of the majority. And there are high chances that
the new constitution, resulting from this compromise, will again be amended,
if not more than 19 times like the current one, in the event that a single
political party sweeps to the helm of leadership, to suit its peculiar
demands other than those of the GNU.

Worsening the situation is the lack of interest by ordinary people with
little intellect to grasp the draft constitution. It is the opinion leaders
in their communities who will influence how the masses will vote. This will
automatically lead to voting trends whereby people align themselves to what
their political representatives want. They rarely vote for what they know,
but what they would have been told to believe as right.

A No vote is just a pipedream, rendering the referendum a platform through
which political parties can shut out civic groups expressing dissenting
sentiments.

As opposed to the 2000 referendum in which voting trends were largely
determined by economic decline resulting from the dishing out of money to
the war veterans and the involvement of Zimbabwe in the DRC war, the
euphoria associated the MDC formation and the disgruntlement of the workers
who were hard hit by effects of the Economic Structural Adjustment
Programme, voters are now eager to retain the current status quo marked by
economic revival — a situation that ensued after dollarisation in 2009.

It appears the greatest monsters Zimbabweans are battling include escalating
unemployment and the ravaging poverty, giving less attention to irrational
political squabbling.

The nation has endured a lot of suffered to an extent that the majority have
lost real interest in participating in issues that do not yield immediate
benefits.

It has even become less fashionable among many people to attend rallies and
party gatherings, a development that is likely to manifest itself in voter
apathy during the coming referendum.

The greatest disadvantage to be recognised in the future is that governance
flaws of the GNU will be entrenched, while politicians will continue to
thrive on the docility of the general public to railroad their political
ambitions in the name of democracy.

It leaves a lot of unanswered questions as to why Zanu PF suddenly changed
like a chameleon to fully support the Copac’s draft constitution when they
had upped their tempo to denounce it a few months ago. Something behind the
scenes must have transpired to convince the hardliners in the party to
welcome the draft which they used to describe as anti-people, devoid and
detached from people’s views.

On the other hand, the MDC factions must have mastered the art of trickery
or being tricked to an extent that they can now safely wine and dine with
Zanu PF without a hustle.

The real battle lies not in March, whose peace and transparency will
probably replicate the harmonised polls of 2008. The only difference being
that the peaceful outcome will be a product of unison than tension among
political parties. It will be marked by low tempo and stage-managed
celebrations, since no serious objections are likely to prevail.

Only elections will define the fate the nation has been waiting for after a
decade of tussling. The March’s political game is nothing more than a
necessary development to suffice democratic demands. The real battle lies
ahead. The public must however, exercise their democratic right and choose
that which drives Zimbabwe out of the socio-political and economic trenches.


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Schools turned into factories of failure

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

February 17, 2013 in Editorial, Opinion

Once upon a time, Zimbabweans believed education was a sure-fire ticket out
of poverty; no more. Perhaps old-school parents still do, but their children
don’t! Until the belief in the redeeming effect of a good education is
re-established in the minds of the children, our schools will continue to be
nothing but “factories of failure”, a phrase coined by David L Kirp,
professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

BY NEVANJI MADANHIRE

Our schools are only up and about because parents still believe that,
perhaps if their children passed they would be lifted out of the sorry state
they find themselves in. Parents continue to invest all they have in their
children’s education while the children’s thinking has radically shifted.
The children look around themselves and see poverty all over, even among the
educated. They spend days on end with their poverty-stricken teachers, most
of whom have higher education qualifications but continue to wallow in
penury. To make things worse, the teachers extort money from the children’s
poor parents in the guise that they would give the children “extra lessons”,
further reinforcing their poverty in the children’s minds. So, the most
educated people in their communities hardly inspire them.

In most regions of the country, the people who have made it in life have no
formal education to talk about. In some regions the people with the dazzling
lifestyles are those who have skipped the borders to work in South Africa.
This used to be common in Matabelelend provinces but has become prevalent in
Masvingo as well. Only those families with children working in South Africa
seem to be doing well. It doesn’t matter what kind of work they are doing
down there but the fact that they send back money and groceries means they
have made it in life.

Around the country lots of children have absconded school and joined bands
of alluvial gold panners rampaging across the landscape in search of the
precious metal. The rewards seem to be good because when they invade the
villages they have lots of money to spend, they are flamboyant and vigorous
in spirit. It doesn’t matter what they have to do to extract the gold; many
boys are attracted to the freedom of their spirit and the interesting
stories they have to tell. Gold panners — makorokoza — have become a
separate breed altogether prepared to do anything to survive including
murder and robbery.

The situation is the same in the cities and other urban settlements; the
guys with the pizazz didn’t go far in school but drive the latest and
fastest cars and take all the girls. They flaunt their flamboyance for all
to see and the highly impressionable youths want to imitate them and know
that education has nothing to do with it. The girls too have realised that
the “big guys” are not after their education but after their looks; the way
out of poverty is to have superstar looks. For evidence of this just look at
how our girls are prepared to die to participate in beauty pageants in which
they are sexually abused and exploited. For them, all this is par for the
course as long as it takes them closer to the gleam. A few years later after
they have been ravished by the predatory sharks, they are thrown onto the
streets because their youthful beauty is gone.

The education revolution which saw Zimbabwe at some stage achieving a 98%
literacy rate is now hurtling in reverse gear taking the country back to the
illiteracy of the colonial era where education was only for the few who
could make it into mission schools and the few government schools. But the
government schools were used for selection and placement admitting only
those whom they deemed fit to enter the colonial civil service. Those who
made it into government schools were mainly children of trusted civil
servants such as policemen, soldiers and teachers. This selection has taken
a new guise in the form of private schools which can only be accessed by
children whose parents fit a certain class.

The root cause of the collapse of our education system is the bad politics
that saw the collapse of the country’s formal economy which resulted in what
we can describe as the “de-civilisation” of the populace. People could only
survive in a parallel economy, through a parallel civilisation run and
perpetuated by the rogues. Institutions became unimportant; in their place
came selfishness and corruption. This resulted in the destruction of the
“instructional core” in our education system.

Harvard education professor Richard Elmore defines the instructional core as
comprising “the skills of the teacher, the engagement of the students and
the rigour of the curriculum”.

Zimbabwe lost 30 000 teachers during the political and economic crisis;
these were highly trained and experienced personnel. They took their skills
with them, which are now difficult to replace. The skills are being put to
good use in other countries in the region and abroad. Our best brains are
teaching Mathematics and Science in better run countries while the few
highly skilled ones who remained are not enough to go round and have been
reduced to abject poverty and humiliation through slave wages. Teacher
training no longer attracts the best brains but is now the refuge of the
mediocre who failed to further their education or failed to enter other more
attractive sectors.

The college lecturers themselves are not much better because they are not
continually exposed to the ever-changing teaching trends and have still not
entered the information age which has come courtesy of the internet.
Teaching methods are antiquated; children are taught mainly through rote
rather than discovery, reducing them to test-takers instead of thinkers.
Teachers use past exam papers as the major tool of instruction. When
teachers claim they are giving children extra lessons, they are merely
cramming information down their throats, which does nothing to improve
thinking abilities.

When children are constantly taught to memorise and regurgitate information
they lose interest in learning; they are not engaged and see education as
torture.
Many parents have blamed the failure rate on the emergence of social media.
They accuse their children of spending too much time on the internet and
claim this is detrimental to their education. Of course this is absolute
nonsense. Instead, schools should see how this incredible source of
information and ideas can be used in schools to improve methods of
instruction. If our children are spending most of their time on the
internet, then education must go to the internet, instead of remaining stuck
on the blackboard. This calls for the overhaul of the whole process of
education.


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