The Insider

Education Minister David Coltart together with the United Nations Children’s Fund and other Western donors launched an Education Trust Fund in September 2009 to bring books to primary schools around the country.

(60 VIEWS)

President Robert Mugabe has been at the helm of the country since February 1980. During the first decade he was revered and honoured as one of Africa’s foremost leaders. His star started fading during the second decade. In the third decade he became one of the most hated leaders in the world, sometimes only second to Saddam Hussein. But he has survived it all and is into his fourth decade as leader. Our initial search showed that there are 756 cables on him. Here are the first 251.

(36 VIEWS)

The bishops trying to broker talks between the Movement for Democratic Change and the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front were excited that leaders of the two-parties had met at vice-President Simon Muzenda’s funeral.

(69 VIEWS)

The three bishops from Manicaland who were trying to broker talks between the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front and the Movement for Democratic Change were upbeat after meeting ZANU-PF chairman John Nkomo who was also minister of Special Affairs.

(79 VIEWS)

Zimbabwe’s teachers, who had been on strike for much of 2008, ignored a call by their two unions, the Zimbabwe Teachers Association and the Progressive Teachers Union, to go on strike after the government hiked their salaries from allowances of US$100 a month to UD$150 a month.

(60 VIEWS)

The Zimbabwe Secondary Schools Examination Council released national Ordinary Level exam results on 5 June – four months late but most of the results had either been recorded as missing or were wildly inconsistent with school-predicted results for students.

(138 VIEWS)

United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Joseph Sullivan failed to pin down Special Affairs Minister John Nkomo who was also the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front chairman on the progress or way forward on the inter-party talks with the Movement for Democratic Change.

(74 VIEWS)

Minister of Special Affairs John Nkomo told a visiting United States official that the government had decided to let village headmen distribute food because they knew their communities better than non-governmental organisations.

(55 VIEWS)

No one seemed to know the number of teachers in Zimbabwe when the inclusive government was formed three years ago, and this could still be the situation today as the government insists there are 75 000 ghost workers.

(893 VIEWS)

The Southern African Development Community promised to seek US$2 billion for Zimbabwe’s recovery barely a month after the swearing in of the inclusive government.

(131 VIEWS)