Tshinga Dube accuses feuding Zanu-PF politicians

WAR Veterans minister Tshinga Dube has accused fueding Zanu-PF politicians of fuelling divisions among the country's liberation fighters.

Addressing villagers at Maizelands Secondary School in Bindura last week, Dube said he would need less than a week to unite war veterans once the ruling Zanu-PF party has put its house in order.

"I would need less than a week to unite war veterans. The party (Zanu-PF) is like all other parties in the country facing challenges associated with factionalism," Dube said.

"The former detainees and war collaborators are divided so the war veterans have not been left out. They are part of the society that is wrecked by divisions at every level."

The War Veterans minister was speaking at the handover ceremony of 10 computers to the school, that was established in 2000.

The computers were sourced by the provincial war veterans' leadership in Mashonaland Central, led by Sam Parirenyatwa.

Parirenyatwa, in his speech, said the former fighters, despite government literally withdrawing their benefits, went out of their way to make sure the children at the rural school have access to latest information through technology.

"As war veterans in the province we have seen it fit to contribute to the development of our children through improving access to computer technology in schools," Parirenyatwa said.

"It is now beyond debate that today's development in all aspects of life is underpinned by sound information communication technology policies."

He, however, decried the high unemployment rate in the country, arguing this flies in the face of Zimbabwe's world renowned literacy rates.

The war veterans' provincial leader also wadded into the storm around Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora's controversial new curriculum and government's science technology engineering and mathematics (STEM).

"While we are cognisant of the fact that government has a constitutional responsibility of policy formulation and implementation and applaud government for doing so, due care and respect should be afforded to all stakeholders to minimise resistance to envisaged policy changes," Parirenyatwa said.

"The introduction of the new curriculum has raised queries from different sectors of society, including those in the education industry itself. We believe that the ownership of any programme facilitates the implementation thereof."

He added, however, that "this should never take away the value that was going to accrue from these well-researched and well-articulated new policies".

Dube paid tribute to the former fighters in the province for going out of their way "even in trying times".

"It warmed my heart and would like to see such efforts being replicated elsewhere. I can assure you if politicians leave war veterans alone these people can do wonders," Dube said.

"In 1980, I was involved in the integration of the then warring armies and our fighters felt at home with each other until politicians started addressing them.

"That is when we had people like the late Enos Nkala coming in with inflammatory statements that undid everything we had done to unite the former liberation movements and the Rhodesian army."

The meeting was also attended by officials from the education sector who thanked the former fighters for their gesture.