20 pupils share one desk in Mat North: Coltart

EDUCATION Minister David Coltart has warned that students from Matabeleland North are being crowded out of university opportunities because of a breakdown in education infrastructure in the province. On average, 20 pupils share a single desk in the province, while 17 share a bench. Presenting shock statistics, Coltart said of the 175,000 pupils who sat O’ Level exams in the province last year, just 137 had sat Maths and Science exams – which dramatically lengthened the odds of pupils from the area making it to university. “These figures are unacceptable and they should be improved,” Coltart said, speaking at the commissioning of a new classroom block at Somgolo Primary School in Lupane which was financed by the Czech Republic. Matabeleland North, Coltart said, only had 26 A’ Level schools – far too few too absorb the O’ Level students. He added: “The level of poverty in this province is alarming. About 40 percent of children learn under trees because of a shortage of classrooms. “This region has been through difficult times over a protracted period of time and this had adversely affected infrastructure development.  “There is an urgent need to allocate more resources to the education sector which is the backbone of the economy. Countries with strong economies have a strong education system.” Not only were poorly-equipped schools unlikely to attract specialist teachers for Science and Maths, Coltart said, but they also produced a generation of drop-outs. The Matabeleland North deputy provincial education director Matthias Luphahla said the province was being exploited for timber by large companies who invested little in local communities. “Something should be done to improve the furniture shortage in order to create a friendly learning environment for our children,” he said. Meanwhile, the Transport and Infrastructure Development Ministry donated 76 benches, 38 desks and 10 chairs to Mbuhulu Primary School and a consignment of textbooks for major subjects to Dlamini High School in the same province. The ministry also pledged to repair the solar energy system at the two schools to provide power especially for computers that were donated by President Robert Mugabe

Its wrong to hail Bayethe to President Mugabe!

IT is an insult for our identity and culture to praise-sing Robert Mugabe through the Nguni Royal Highness of Bayethe, Prince Zwidekalanga Khumalo, a descendant of King Lobengula has warned.

Prince Khumalo lashed out at President Mugabe’s praise singers for abusing the Ndebele royal salute Bayethe in honour of the 88-year-old Zanu PF leader.
Addressing members of the Bulawayo civic society organisations on Tuesday, Khumalo said the royal salute was exclusively preserved for members of the Ndebele royal family.
“We have had people from our region here who have praised President Mugabe saluting him with Bayethe. That is a royal salute. This trivialises the royal institution,” he said.
“I am of a royal institution. My grandfather was the first born to King Lobengula.
“But we have a person who was elected in some election in 1980 being saluted with the royal salute. What we know is that Bayethe is a salute exclusively for royal families and royal families are royal because of heredity and not by appointment.
“It is therefore important for people to be culturally aware of the things that we do as praise poets,” he said.

South Africa-based local historian Sabelo Gatsheni Ndlovu corroborated Khumalo’s claims, adding it was wrong to salute Mugabe with the honour Bayethe since he was not a member of the royal family.
Ndlovu, a professor of history based at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, told NewsDay Bayethe was a Nguni royal salute exclusively for the royal family.
“Personally, I don’t feel it (royal salute) can just be used with anyone, particularly anyone who doesn’t fall under that category. Ndebele literature, particularly ethnic literature, makes it clear that you could not say Bayethe to one king when one was still alive,” he said.

But Bulawayo-based historian Pathisa Nyathi said the salutation was just a way of paying tribute to a societal leader and was not confined to the royal family. “You don’t craft these concepts in stone.
Bayethe was not about a specific individual, but about a post that you held in society,” said Nyathi.
“It was a salute by people to a person they held in awe. Therefore this person (modern leader) is a manifestation of a king as it were. The king was not just about flesh and blood, but the important leadership role they played in society. There are people who play that role today. The issue is royalty is no longer there. Do you then kill your language because of that. “If there are people that are believed to have done a lot for their followers, then you will always need the praises (poems) and the salute of Bayethe. What is important is what role the person is playing in society. It was because (King) Mzilikazi was doing something for the people that he was saluted that way. There are people today who are doing a lot for the people. The salute is about how they are viewed by their followers,” Nyathi said.

 Presidential spokesperson George Charamba could not be reached for comment. Newsday

Ladysmith Black Mambazo inspired Madiba

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

 (CNN) -- With their soulful voices and traditional Zulu dance moves, South African acappella singing sensation Ladysmith Black Mambazo have been blending vocal harmonies to take audiences on a musical journey for nearly half a century.

The legendary male choral group has sold millions of albums worldwide, collaborated with music icons such as Paul Simon and counts Nelson Mandela as one of their faithful fans -- the venerable Nobel Peace Prize winner has described the group as "South Africa's cultural ambassadors."
It's all a far cry from when young farmer-turned-factory worker Joseph Shabalala formed the band in 1964, hoping to use music as a vehicle to unite people in a country suffering from social divide and conflict.
"The music is for the people, we must take this music to the people," recalls Shabalala, one of the two remaining original members of the nine-piece group.
Already successful in their homeland, the band's international breakthrough came in 1986, when American singer and songwriter Paul Simon featured them on his album "Graceland." Simon also took them on tour with him and produced the band's "Shaka Zulu" album, which won the 1988 Grammy Award for best traditional folk album.
Since then, Ladysmith Black Mambazo have won two other Grammys and have received a total of 16 nominations.
But, apart from years of successful touring and international recognition, it is the relationship with Nelson Mandela that has come to play a big part in the band's career.
The group first met South Africa's first black president at his birthday party in 1990, not long after he was freed after spending 27 years in jail.
"We were on stage and we sang a song and he stood up and he danced with us and he shook our hands and he said keep up the good work... your music has been great inspiration for me," says Albert Mazibuko, one of the original members of the band. "After that he never wanted to do anything without Ladysmith Black Mambazo -- we have been with him all over the place."
In 1993, at Mandela's request, the group accompanied the future president to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, and one year later they sang again for him at his inauguration. In 2003, Mandela recruited them again as ambassadors for his HIV/Aids global awareness campaign, 46664, named after his prison number.
Like the anti-apartheid icon, the awardwinning ensemble carry a message of peace and hope in their music.
"Ladysmith Black Mambazo music is about inspiration," says Mazibuko. "We are encouraging people to not lose hope in anything. We try to give people the hope that there is a tomorrow, there is a better thing that is waiting for us in the future and that there is a solution for every problem in the world."
Shabalala named the group after his hometown, Ladysmith, a farming town in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains -- "black" refers to "oxen," the strongest of all farm animals, and "Mambazo" -- the Zulu word for "axe" -- refers to "chopping down" the local competition.
The roots of the group's music extend back some 100 hundred years, in the gold and diamond mines of South Africa when black workers would entertain themselves in labor camps by composing music and dances. But they had to dance softly "on tip toes" so they would not disturb the white guards.
Shabalala's vision was to keep this rich musical tradition -- known as "isicathamiya" -- alive by combining it with what he heard in churches. His brothers and cousins joined him and since then the acappella band has very much remained a family affair -- to this day, Ladysmith Black Mambazo's band is comprised of Shabalala's friends and family members, including his sons and cousins, with an age span ranging from septuagenarians to those in their 20s.
Their 2011 release, "Songs from a Zulu farm," has also received a Grammy nomination for best world music album -- the band say it is their most personal work to date, featuring traditional Zulu tunes that recreate the world they grew up in. See also: Africa's popstars
With Shabalala and Mazibuko being today the only two remaining original members of the group, the band's old guard is now passing down their message of hope and peace onto the younger generation.
"Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a family, in my group I have four sons, the next generation of Mambazo, they are our future," Shabalala recently announced at a concert while introducing his sons.
"My father is now passing this on to us, he wants us to carry on his music, he doesn't want to die with his music, he says this music is not for him, it is for the people," says Shabalala's son Thamsaqa, who is expected to replace his father as the group's leading singer of the group.
For him and many others, the legend started by his father, almost half a century ago, will remain resilient and timeless for generations.

Bantu Rovers to play in the US

For the first time in the football tournament’s 30-year history, a Zimbabwean team, Bantu Rovers, will participate in the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup in Texas, USA, which is set to take stage from April 1-8.

Bantu Rovers, who play in the Zifa Southern Region Division One League, will be sending their Under-19 developmental side to the competition after they were invited by the tournament organisers.

Tshintsha Guluva’s secretary- general Wilbert Sibanda yesterday said all was set for the 16-member team to travel to the US after being cleared by the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) and Zifa.

“Our Under-19 side has been invited to the prestigious Dallas Cup tournament in the United States of America. This will be a tremendous opportunity for our players to showcase their talent alongside some of the best players of their age in the world and underlines Bantu Rovers’ commitment to developing young players. We were cleared by Zifa yesterday (Monday) to travel for the competition and have also been sanctioned by the SRC in a letter dated March 2,” Sibanda said.
Sibanda said flights and accommodation for the travelling party had all been sorted out and former midfielder and Warriors player Johannes Ngodzo would take charge of the team travelling to the US.

The Dallas Cup has in the past attracted big teams like Barcelona, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Everton and Paris St Germain with some noted players who have graced the competition including Raul, David Beckham and Giovanni Dos Santos.

Manchester United will also feature in this year’s tournament.

Jomo Cosmos of South Africa are one of the African teams to have participated in the competition before.
“It is our desire to continue to forge relations with clubs inside and outside the country’s borders. We have been humbled by the co-operation of our colleagues in the soccer community here in Bulawayo and beyond. We will be taking several new signings with us to the tournament,” Sibanda said.

Bantu Rovers, owned by former Warriors midfielder and suspended Zifa board member Methembe Ndlovu, who was fingered in the Asiagate match-fixing scandal, bought Eastern Lions franchise in 2009 and were bundled out of the Premiership in 2010 after spending two seasons in top-flight football.

Ndlovu also champions the cause of development soccer as co-founder and head of Grassroot Soccer (Zimbabwe).

Sibanda yesterday said the club was not in a hurry to return to the Premier Soccer League as they were building a team that would be there to stay in the country’s elite football league in the event of a promotion. Some of the players that might be travelling to the US include twins Elvis and Kelvin Moyo, Benson Phiri, Nqobile Masuku, Dion Homela, Marvellous Nakamba, Mkhululi Ncube, Chrispen Ncube and goalkeeper Wallace Magalune.

Fortune Mbele

Mugabe Objects to Devolution of Power Push

 

 

 

 

 

The Movement for Democratic Change and some civic groups have come out in support of devolution saying the system will level development in all provinces, some of them long neglected by the current unitary state

Jonga Kandemiiri | Washington

 

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has waded into the long-running constitutional debate over devolution of power, voicing concern that the concept will divide the country if included in a new charter.
The country is also too small to be divided into pieces, Mr. Mugabe told state TV Sunday.
The Movement for Democratic Change and some civic groups have come out in support of devolution saying the system will level development in all provinces, some of them long neglected by the current unitary state.
But some in ZANU-PF oppose the idea fearing it will lead to federalism or cessation. Tsvangirai MDC co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora, of the panel leading the new constitution effort told VOA that all the provinces support devolution of power.
Mwonzora's ZANU-PF counterpart Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said his party worried the system would have undesirable ramifications. "Other people are now pushing for us to create parliaments in provinces... this will possibly lead to cessation."
Political analyst Farai Maguwu of the Centre for Research and Development in Mutare told VOA reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that the concept is commendable, adding it would lead to the development of all areas.
Elsewhere, South Africa’s foreign affairs minister appeared to dismiss Mr. Mugabe’s push for elections without political reforms saying Pretoria expects full implementation of the Global Political Agreement and a new constitution before any balloting.
Answering questions in Parliament on Monday, Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said President Jacob Zuma, facilitating the Harare crisis on behalf of the Southern African Development Community, did not expect “any deviation from the provisions of the GPA.”
Mugabe last week doubled-down on his call for new polls without a new charter, accusing the MDC of stalling the process. He has also ruled out other democratic reforms pushed including a change of security chiefs.
Spokesman Nhlanhla Dube of the MDC formation led by Welshman Ncube told VOA reporter Ntungamili Nkomo that Pretoria should push hard for Mr. Mugabe to embrace reforms before new elections

Prison only for the poor : Byo Judge

ONLY poor people are being sent to prison as the rich buy their freedom by bribing magistrates and prosecutors, a Bulawayo judge warns today.
Justice Martin Makonese says corruption is now out of hand in Zimbabwe's lower courts where remuneration for the judicial officers is poor.
“It would appear that some prosecutors, magistrates, clerks and other court officials are routinely accepting bribes to throw away cases," Makonese said while opening the Hwange Circuit Court.
"Some criminals even boast that you can never go to jail if you have money. What this means is that it is the poor who have no money who only end up doing jail time."
The Magistrates' Courts handle more than 85 percent of all criminal cases in Zimbabwe.
Justice Makonese said he was concerned that lawyers were acting as conduits for the corrupt payments.

He said: “I would like to call upon legal practitioners to shun being used by their clients as couriers of bribe money.

"Legal practitioners who act as agents for the clients in these corrupt activities are just as equally guilty as the criminals they act for.
"There should be zero tolerance on corruption and any officer of the law caught on the wrong side of the law must be punished heavily to send a correct message to like-minded persons.”
Magistrates and prosecutors have embarked on strikes over the last two years seeking improved pay. Unions say Zimbabwe’s law officers are the lowest paid in the region – which makes it difficult for most to turn down bribes from well-heeled criminals.
Dozens of prosecutors have been arrested over the last two years and charged with corruption over the questionable release of criminals.
In February, the Justice Ministry announced that 60 magistrates were being transferred around the country as a means of fighting corruption.
A Masvingo magistrate is under investigation after he sentenced a cattle rustler to a wholly-suspended sentence of five months even as he admitted stealing six cattle. Stock theft carries a mandatory penalty of nine years in jail.
A prosecutor at Chivhu Magistrates’ Court was recently arrested after taking a bribe from a farmer who has a pending court case.

Detectives dressed in overalls approached the prosecutor and pretended to be farm workers sent by the farmer to pay a bribe.

While magistrates are poorly paid, by contrast High Court and Supreme Court judges are relatively well-paid with other perks including vehicles, houses and police guards.

Tsholotsho diamonds could help community

The Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Dr Obert Mpofu has said the recent discovery of mineral deposits in Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North will benefit the area and the country as a whole.

Gold and diamonds were discovered in Dogwe.

Dr Mpofu said the Government was encouraged by the discovery of the precious minerals whose extraction can bring prosperity not only to the area but also to the whole of Zimbabwe.

"I am aware that there is a company called Canister Resources that has been operating in the area.

"They are looking for a number of minerals that include gold and diamonds. The initial finding has been gold.

"The company has confirmed that there are substantial amounts of gold in the area," he said.

Dr Mpofu said the company was not only prospecting for minerals in Tsholotsho alone but in Plumtree as well.

"The discovery of these minerals is set to create employment opportunities," he said.

Dr Mpofu said the expected setting up of a mine in the area would also empower locals.

Councillor for Tsholotsho South constituency's Ward 19 Alois Ndebele welcomed the discovery saying the development would be of benefit to the people of Tsholotsho.

He said the establishment of a mine in the area would create employment for locals as well as bring development to the area.

The discovery of minerals in Tsholotsho, particularly diamonds comes a few months after the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) approved Zimbabwe's diamonds exports, which could significantly improve the country's economic prospects this year and beyond.

However, the US, which currently holds the chair of the Kimberley Process, could sabotage the development because it was one of the countries, together with Canada and other allies that were against the certification claiming that Zimbabwe's diamonds were blood diamonds.

The KPCS is a process designed to certify the origin of rough diamonds from sources that are free of conflict. The process was established in 2003 to prevent diamond sales from financing rebellious movements. The certification scheme aims at preventing "blood diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market.

It was set up to assure consumers that by purchasing diamonds they were not financing war and human rights abuses.

Mthwakazi concerns are genuine

HARARE - The secessionist agenda by Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) should be taken serious because it is a reflection of the sentiments and frustrations of people in Matabeleland, analysts have said. MLF has been demanding secession from Zimbabwe, saying the Matabeleland and Midlands regions have been marginalised since 1893 when whites colonised the country. The group wants the separate country to be called Mthwakazi. This political inclination by the group has courted criticism and favour from different quarters, with some saying this is a regional agenda detrimental to national aspirations while others say it is a credible argument based on evidence on the ground. Effie Ncube, a political analyst based in Bulawayo said the MLF stance was a reflection of the frustrations of the Ndebele people as the Matabeleland region has been marginalised for too long. “The position of Paul Siwela (one of MLF leaders) is a reflection of the feeling of marginalisation that is distributed all over Matabeleland. “The government has not taken the matter seriously. It does not matter who advances the agenda but it is a sentiment that is shared by most Ndebele people,” Ncube told the Daily News on Sunday. Ncube added that the secession agenda should be openly discussed because thwarting the subject would not help the country move forward. “Whether or not the nation is split into two must be open for debate. In a free democracy ideas are discussed openly and solutions are found. “We have to begin interrogating why Siwela and others believe in the separation of the country. It doesn’t help to arrest them and ignore their agenda. The issue must be tackled head-on instead of being thrashed,” he said. Playwright and political commentator Cont Mhlanga said secession was not the best way forward because MLF was reacting to effects rather than causes. “I feel splitting of the nation is not the solution. The Mthwakazi guys are dealing with the effects rather than causes. People who go into government tend to fail to decentralise thinking, visions and missions and that is the reason why people are clamouring for the split,” Mhlanga said. He added: “However, Siwela and his fellows should be taken serious because why are they demanding the split 32 years after independence? Why did not they demand it immediately after independence? “The people have been patient, patient and patient hoping that their demands will be met. The government has been carelessly marginalising regions and this is a seed for a future civil war. This needs to be addressed because I believe in tackling causes rather than the effects.” Siwela said the Mthwakazi issue was a preserve of people of Midlands and Matabeleland. He said those outside the two provinces were foreigners who had no business dictating what needed to be done in Mthwakazi. “Zimbabweans are led by a dictator and they are coming to our state to dictate to us what needs to be done. In as far as we are concerned the Mthwakazi debate is confined to Matabeleland and Midlands. Any other outsider who comes with his/her own opinion is an outcast,” Siwela said

Reforms must come before polls

I HAVE no doubt the majority of Zimbabweans from across the political divide, including those in Zanu PF, quietly agree that general elections should only be held after substantial political reforms necessary for free and fair elections to avoid a repeat of the past electoral experiences.
Given the people’s horrendous experiences during previous election periods, it stands to reason that people would not want a repeat of the past. Elections in Zimbabwe are now synonymous with political instability and characterised by harassment, intimidation, violence and murder. This is what polls in this country since 1980 have been about. Brutality and killings underlay elections from 1980 up to 2008.

For that reason, if no other, people are always anxious about the coming on of elections. That is precisely why well-meaning and fair-minded Zimbabweans would tell you that they don’t want a repeat of 2008, or for those old enough; 1985 or 1990.

There is a clique straddling Zanu PF structures and state security institutions which is desperately working day and night to railroad the country into early elections without necessary conditions for free and fair polls.

Myths have now been created to justify this mad rush towards elections which cannot be different from the previous ones given that conditions have remained the same. The outcome would also inevitably be disputed and therefore the current political stalemate would remain. The situation could possibly get worse.

That is why all those with the national interest at heart and want to see this country progress are saying we need institutional and electoral reforms before elections. This is specifically the reason why after June 2008, Zanu PF and the two MDC formations entered into the Global Political Agreement (GPA). The agreement was designed to give the country a reprieve after the June 2008 bloodbath and create an environment for credible elections.

However, Zanu PF, which entered the GPA and signed it willingly, now wants to wriggle out of an agreement which saved this country from possible mayhem. They are using all sorts of pretexts to stampede the nation towards elections. To justify its position, Zanu PF, which actually ruined the country and reduced people to paupers, now claims without any sense of irony the inclusive government is dysfunctional a wholly self-serving assertion.

Myths are then created to support and sustain this travesty. The first one is that the unity government is completely paralysed and can no longer function. Thus they infer that if we have Zanu PF in power, alone after elections, things would be better.

The second one is that elections must be held quickly so that this paralysis can be resolved by President Robert Mugabe and his cronies. The other one is that Mugabe is not supposed to consult anyone before calling for elections.

Needless to say all these weird claims have no basis in reality. The inclusive government may have problems but its function as a transitional arrangement is mainly to create conditions for free and fair elections and it is capable of doing that if the GPA is implemented or if Zanu PF fulfills its side of the bargain.

The insinuation that Mugabe and Zanu PF would do better than the current coalition government is simply unfounded given the scope and scale of their failure before 2009. And of course, the contention that Mugabe can call for unilateral elections without pulling out of the GPA, which he said last week he does not intend to do, is baseless. If Zanu PF wants unilateral elections it must first withdraw from the GPA.

But the reasons why all this premeditated confusion and uncertainty are contrived are clear. The Zanu PF clique behind all this knows only too well that there is no way Mugabe and his party would win credible elections conducted in a peaceful environment. It is evidently clear the group calling for early polls without reforms is the same coterie which ran a bloody presidential election run-off in June 2008 and ultimately staged a smash-and-grab to put Mugabe back in power without a legitimate mandate.

This group is currently rehashing the same sinister plot to cause chaos and suffering to ensure Mugabe and Zanu PF avoid defeat in the next elections. During the March 2008 and the subsequent bloody presidential poll run-off, the majority of Zanu PF MPs had literally abandoned Mugabe (and he remains very bitter about that) after realising he had become a hard sell to the electorate.

Although the full story of what actually happened between March and June 2008 is yet to be fully told, it is fairly clear Mugabe was about to give up but was managed and psyched up to fight back by the securocrats that surround him. Most of these elements in the securocracy felt that if Mugabe were to throw in the towel, they would be left exposed and held to account for gross human rights abuses, including Gukurahundi, and looting state coffers. This group has accumulated wealth which it cannot legitimately account for and will fight to the bitter end, particularly now that there is the exclusive Marange diamonds feeding trough.

It is important to always remember some of the current state security service chiefs were directly involved in the Gukurahundi massacres, Murambatsvina and the 2008 killings, hence their determination to hang onto power at all costs.

The same clique calling for elections without reforms is the one that literally imposed Mugabe as the president in June 2008 to protect its own interests, while it regrouped and reorganised during the GPA intervening period.

However, Zanu PF has not yet fully recovered from the shock 2008 defeat and resultant paralysis. So in reality Mugabe and Zanu PF are not ready for elections. Apart from trying to scare away opponents, Mugabe’s body language and speeches show he is not ready for polls. He is only putting on a brave face to sustain the false claim that other parties are opposed to elections.

Realising that Mugabe is now old and frail, the group behind early elections is looking beyond him and hopes that if he wins, he would not finish his term and it would then replace him with a leader of its choice. It’s a succession issue. Indigenisation, like land reform, is the rallying call for this group.

From nowhere, this group has emerged from the woods armed with a scandalous argument that reforms must come or always come after elections, not the other way round. But this argument, even given an intellectual veneer, is unfounded and tenuous.

The GPA was created to introduce reforms, mainly electoral ones, so as to create an environment for credible elections. So all serious and well-meaning Zimbabweans, supported by Sadc and AU the guarantors of the GPA, must insist on reforms before elections.

Never again should the people of this nation, who have suffered all sorts of horrific abuses under Mugabe’s disastrous rule, allow evil to triumph over good.

Moyo is the National Organising Secretary of the MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube