Zambian President Rupiah Banda said the world must not isolate Zimbabwe following the power sharing deal between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
"It is an obligation of every nation to support Zimbabwe rather than continue isolating it and making people suffer," Banda said during the official opening of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo. "Zimbabwe has found the ability to solve their own problems."
"I am glad that the political situation has been resolved amicably by all political players for the benefit not only of the Zimbabweans but the region as whole. Having experienced a decade of economic challenges. We as Africans have a duty to ensure that Africa develops and develops as a united front."
Tsvangirai, Mugabe, and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara, the leaders of Zimbabwe’s three main political parties, agreed to form a unity government under a power-sharing deal brokered last year by former South African President Thabo Mbeki on behalf of the regional Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister last February to open a new chapter of cooperation with Mugabe who remained President.
The power-sharing government has promised to revive the once brilliant economy and to restore basic services such as health and education.
But the success of the Harare administration hinges on its ability to raise financial support from rich Western countries that have however said they will not immediately help until they are convinced Mugabe is committed to genuinely share power with his former opposition foes.
Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti on Thursday said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was setting up a trust fund to coordinate donor funds to try rescuing the shaky unity government.
But Biti said the IMF projected that Zimbabwe would require more than US$40 billion to stabilise the country and restore it to mid 1990s level when the country was the second largest economy in southern Africa after South Africa – money no one including the Fund is prepared to give
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Zimbabwe teachers call off strike
Teachers in Zimbabwe have called off a strike despite their wage demands not being met, while the government has slashed school fees for the new term.
David Coltart said the government had no money to raise their salaries, but he had agreed to help teachers by giving their children free schooling.
Teachers' groups said they accepted the government was struggling for funds and needed time to raise revenue.
Teachers are paid $100 (£66) a month but unions wanted four times as much.
Mr Coltart has been in protracted talks with unions and foreign aid donors to make sure the schools reopened in time for the new term on Tuesday.
The Zimbabwean government has also met unions' demand for a huge cut in school fees - which most parents cannot afford - to get children back into the classroom.
Zimbabwe's state education system had virtually collapsed until the new power-sharing government agreed to pay teachers in foreign currency in February.
Mr Coltart said that although the new term would begin, the education system was a "shadow" of what it had been.
"The doors may open, there may be children in the classrooms and teachers teaching, but there are very few textbooks in the rural areas and many schools do not have roofs or doors or windows," he told the BBC.
Mr Coltart, a former opposition activist, said the state of the service was down to two decades of neglect by President Robert Mugabe's government.
'Responsible'
Raymond Majongwe, head of the Progressive Teachers' Union, said going back to work was the "responsible" thing to do, even though all their demands had not been met.
He told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "We have no reason to proceed with the strike action that will do nothing but confuse the situation that we are trying to ultimately address.
"As the government does not have the capacity to address the problems that it faces, so the donors need to chip in."
He said they were pleased Zimbabwe's government had agreed to cut school fees from between $50 (£33) and $150 (£100) a term to a maximum of $20 (£13) and that teachers' children would be exempt from fees.
Most Western donors, however, remain reluctant to restore aid to Zimbabwe while Mr Mugabe remains president.
Last week, African countries agreed to give Zimbabwe $400m-worth of credit.
Teachers and other public sector workers agreed to end industrial action in February after the government agreed to pay their salaries in foreign currency because of massive inflation.
Zimbabwe's economic collapse had left the country's currency virtually worthless - and many civil servants unable to afford even the bus fare to work.
The coalition government formed in February between President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, faces calls from eviscerated public services across the spectrum for more funding.
On Friday, Mr Tsvangirai told a Labour Day rally that the government was broke and could not afford to pay any more than the allowance of $100 a month.
He said this was also what Mr Mugabe was being paid.
David Coltart said the government had no money to raise their salaries, but he had agreed to help teachers by giving their children free schooling.
Teachers' groups said they accepted the government was struggling for funds and needed time to raise revenue.
Teachers are paid $100 (£66) a month but unions wanted four times as much.
Mr Coltart has been in protracted talks with unions and foreign aid donors to make sure the schools reopened in time for the new term on Tuesday.
The Zimbabwean government has also met unions' demand for a huge cut in school fees - which most parents cannot afford - to get children back into the classroom.
Zimbabwe's state education system had virtually collapsed until the new power-sharing government agreed to pay teachers in foreign currency in February.
Mr Coltart said that although the new term would begin, the education system was a "shadow" of what it had been.
"The doors may open, there may be children in the classrooms and teachers teaching, but there are very few textbooks in the rural areas and many schools do not have roofs or doors or windows," he told the BBC.
Mr Coltart, a former opposition activist, said the state of the service was down to two decades of neglect by President Robert Mugabe's government.
'Responsible'
Raymond Majongwe, head of the Progressive Teachers' Union, said going back to work was the "responsible" thing to do, even though all their demands had not been met.
He told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "We have no reason to proceed with the strike action that will do nothing but confuse the situation that we are trying to ultimately address.
"As the government does not have the capacity to address the problems that it faces, so the donors need to chip in."
He said they were pleased Zimbabwe's government had agreed to cut school fees from between $50 (£33) and $150 (£100) a term to a maximum of $20 (£13) and that teachers' children would be exempt from fees.
Most Western donors, however, remain reluctant to restore aid to Zimbabwe while Mr Mugabe remains president.
Last week, African countries agreed to give Zimbabwe $400m-worth of credit.
Teachers and other public sector workers agreed to end industrial action in February after the government agreed to pay their salaries in foreign currency because of massive inflation.
Zimbabwe's economic collapse had left the country's currency virtually worthless - and many civil servants unable to afford even the bus fare to work.
The coalition government formed in February between President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, faces calls from eviscerated public services across the spectrum for more funding.
On Friday, Mr Tsvangirai told a Labour Day rally that the government was broke and could not afford to pay any more than the allowance of $100 a month.
He said this was also what Mr Mugabe was being paid.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Mugabe fails to pay promised salaries to teachers
THE cash-strapped Zimbabwe government which approved a hefty salary hike for striking teachers two weeks ago failed to pay the new salaries as civil servants got their pay on Wednesday, union officials said.
President Robert Mugabe announced that he had authorised the massive pay out to teachers and other civil servants after teachers went on strike last month protesting against low salaries.
The president of the pro-government Zimbabwe Teachers Association, Tendai Chikowore, confirmed teachers who got paid Wednesday had not received the hefty salaries as promised by government.
Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the more militant Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) said teachers were shocked to discover that government had paid old salaries instead of the promised windfall.
Majongwe said: “After the announcement of a new salary structure by government, teachers were expecting a salary increment this payday. Teachers got paid today (Tuesday) and they are crying foul. They did not get the promised salaries.”
The PTUZ leader said after urgent consultations they had been told that the Public Service Commission (PSC) -- which employs all civil servants -- was making frantic efforts to make sure that the new salaries are paid before the end of the month.
Majongwe said: “I have phoned the commission and a senior official there has told us that the government did not have the money to pay the new salaries this Tuesday. The official said efforts are being made to pay the new salaries before end of month.”
The Zimbabwean government, visibly broke and struggling to turn back an unprecedented economic slide, had promised junior teachers a gross salary of $3.9 billion, and senior teachers were expecting to be paid $5 billion.
PSC chairman Mariyawanda Nzuwa admitted that the government could not pay the new salaries this week, attributing the problem to “administrative challenges”.
Nzuwa said: “We faced administrative challenges in the course of trying to effect the new salaries for our employees but it’s something we will be able to solve before the end of the month. Civil servants should not panic because we have already communicated this position to them.”
Government sources said President Mugabe, under pressure to pacify civil servants ahead of crucial elections on March 29, agreed to their demands for huge salary increases although his government does not have the money.
Mugabe has instructed central bank governor Gideon Gono to print trillions of dollars to finance the inflated salary bill for government workers, but the Reserve Bank’s printing presses are struggling to match up with the demand for banknotes.
Meanwhile Zimbabwean schools which have been designated as polling stations closed Wednesday to make way for elections. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission which has the task of running the forthcoming elections will rely heavily on school teachers as polling officers
Teachers to snub government pay offer
TEACHERS’ unions on Wednesday rejected a government proposal to pay civil servants US$100 this month and vowed to press on with crippling strikes which have left most of the country’s schools closed, and others operating with skeletal staff.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was cheered as he promised to pay the country’s 130,000 civil servants in foreign currency during his inauguration last week. It was not until Wednesday this week that details of the payment plan were fleshed out by Finance Minister Tendai Biti.
Biti said all government employees – including teachers, police officers and soldiers -- would receive US$100 a month tax-free, replacing their local currency salaries.
The offer was way below teachers’ demands to be paid US$2,300 per month which is at par with what a Canadian teacher earns, and four times what a Polish teacher is paid.
“We have asked for US$2,300 and we are getting US$100,” said Raymond Majongwe, who leads the Progressive Teachers’ Union. “It's ridiculous. We are still suffering. We will not go (back to work).”
Education Minister David Coltart has been holding talks with the teachers’ unions as aid agencies warn that the new government must move with haste to restore order in the education sector.
With many schools still closed, and last year’s examinations still unmarked, the unions are urging the government to consider revising the school calendar. That may mean restarting the first school term.
“There has not been any effective learning since January 27 when schools were supposed to be officially opened,” said Zimbabwe Teachers’ Association (ZIMTA) secretary general Richard Gundani. “We advised the minister that there was need to revise the school calendar.”
Minister announces fees structure for public schools
EDUCATION Minister David Coltart announced a new school fees structure for public schools on Thursday which will see poorer students pay less or nothing.
Pupils enrolled in primary schools in affluent suburbs will pay up to US$150 per term, with their counterparts in high density suburbs paying US$20. Rural schools will not charge fees, the minister announced.
Coltart said a means test was in place to help parants or guardians of vulnerable children and orphans who cannot pay the designated fees. School heads will determine if such children qualify for State support.
"No child who is the subject of such an application for State assistance is to be excluded from school whilst the application is being considered,” said Coltart, who is also the Senator for Khumalo.
Coltart said secondary schools in low density areas will be allowed to charge up to US$200 per term for Forms 1-4 enrolments, and US$280 for Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth enrolments. Their poorer counterparts in high density urban zones US$100 and US$180 respectively. Foreign students will pay US$600 in both instances.
Students in rural areas will pay US$50 for Forms 1 to 4 and US$80 for Advanced Level per term. Foreign students are to pay US$200.
Coltart said: “It should be stressed that these fees have been arrived at bearing in mind the current actual costs involved in purchasing teaching and learning materials.
"It is hoped that cost savings may be made in future which will then enable the government to consider reducing fees. Whilst the government is committed to providing affordable education for all our children, we have been left with no option at this juncture but to charge these fees to return our schools to basic viability.”
The government recently struck a deal with teachers to end a year-long job boycott after undertaking to pay their salaries in United States dollars -- a response to rampant inflation which is the highest in the world.
With most schools opening last week and this week, Coltart also announced examination fees from Grace 7 to A’ Level.
Primary school pupils in low-density areas will be required to pay US$15 for their Grade 7 examinations whereas those in high-density and rural areas will not pay.
Ordinary Level examinations will be US$15 per subject, fees for oral examinations will be US$10 per subject and fees for science and practical subjects will be US$10 per subject, Coltart said.
The minister said his statement did not cover fees charged by private schools, including trust and mission schools.
"I am aware of some concerns relating to non-government schools and these are in the process of being addressed,’’ he said.
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Monday, 26 January 2009
Millions of Zimbabwe children could be denied education
Millions of Zimbabwe children could be denied education: charity
Millions of Zimbabwean children could be denied their education when schools reopen Tuesday, as thousands of teachers may fail to return to work, British charity Save the Children has warned.
"Less than 10 years ago Zimbabwe had the best education system in sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly every child going to school. Now a majority of children are out of school and the system is in tatters," said Sarah Pounds, the charity's country director.
The start of Zimbabwe's new school year has been delayed by two weeks because last year's exams were not graded, after teachers demanded payment in foreign currency to mark them.
Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed under the weight of the world's highest inflation rate, last estimated at 231 million percent in July, but believed to be many multiples higher now.
This week, a teachers union vowed to remain on strike until President Robert Mugabe's government starts paying them in foreign currency, and urged parents not to pay their children's school fees.
In a statement released Monday on Zimbabwe's 4.5 million school-age pupils, Save the Children said school attendance had dropped to around 20 percent at the end of last year from 85 percent as late as 2007.
Some 30,000 teachers had already left the education system, with morale rock-bottom among a remaining 70,000, the charity said.
Interviews with 300 teachers, parents and pupils had named teacher pay, hunger and lack of stationery as the biggest problems.
Many teachers were forced to spend their days trying to find enough money to get by instead of going to school due to salaries that could only buy a few loaves of bread, the London-based charity said.
The country's food crisis also meant that thousands of children were forced to work, scavenge or beg instead of going to school, where a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 2,800 people was a risk due to bad sanitation.
"A generation is at risk of growing up without any education in Zimbabwe, and that will have catastrophic consequences for the country's recovery," said Pounds.
Teachers went on strike for the greater part of 2008 demanding to be paid salaries in line with the ever rising inflation.
Zimbabwe has not had a proper government since disputed elections last March, with cholera adding to the country's dependence on food aid that affects half the population.
Millions of Zimbabwean children could be denied their education when schools reopen Tuesday, as thousands of teachers may fail to return to work, British charity Save the Children has warned.
"Less than 10 years ago Zimbabwe had the best education system in sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly every child going to school. Now a majority of children are out of school and the system is in tatters," said Sarah Pounds, the charity's country director.
The start of Zimbabwe's new school year has been delayed by two weeks because last year's exams were not graded, after teachers demanded payment in foreign currency to mark them.
Zimbabwe's economy has collapsed under the weight of the world's highest inflation rate, last estimated at 231 million percent in July, but believed to be many multiples higher now.
This week, a teachers union vowed to remain on strike until President Robert Mugabe's government starts paying them in foreign currency, and urged parents not to pay their children's school fees.
In a statement released Monday on Zimbabwe's 4.5 million school-age pupils, Save the Children said school attendance had dropped to around 20 percent at the end of last year from 85 percent as late as 2007.
Some 30,000 teachers had already left the education system, with morale rock-bottom among a remaining 70,000, the charity said.
Interviews with 300 teachers, parents and pupils had named teacher pay, hunger and lack of stationery as the biggest problems.
Many teachers were forced to spend their days trying to find enough money to get by instead of going to school due to salaries that could only buy a few loaves of bread, the London-based charity said.
The country's food crisis also meant that thousands of children were forced to work, scavenge or beg instead of going to school, where a cholera epidemic that has killed nearly 2,800 people was a risk due to bad sanitation.
"A generation is at risk of growing up without any education in Zimbabwe, and that will have catastrophic consequences for the country's recovery," said Pounds.
Teachers went on strike for the greater part of 2008 demanding to be paid salaries in line with the ever rising inflation.
Zimbabwe has not had a proper government since disputed elections last March, with cholera adding to the country's dependence on food aid that affects half the population.
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