Farai Dziva|The MDC Alliance has described Education Minister Cain Mathema’s attempt to use bully-boy tactics to silence teachers as unfortunate and redundant.
See full statement below :
02 OCTOBER 2020
MDC ALLIANCE NAMIBIA DISTRICT IS IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE THREATENED POVERTY-STRICKEN AND INCAPACITATED TEACHERS IN ZIMBABWE.
Mdc Alliance Namibia is heart-broken by the indifferent and cynical approach from the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, instead of addressing the plight of learners and teachers, he threatened the innocent teachers who sympthathised with the clueless Zanupf regime for a long time now.
Mr Cain Mathema has threatened to fire incapacitated and replace them with 10 000 unemployed teachers without making effort to upgrade the pathetic lives of our teachers who are struggling to pay fees for their own children. We challenge teachers to remain resolute in confronting the insensitive government that subscribes to repression.
The incapacitation action commenced on a high note and has since escalated to extreme levels since the 28th of September when teachers picked up their national consciousness and resolved to unite against Zanupf stomach politicians.
As Mdc Alliance Namibia, we salute teachers’ unions in Zimbabwe for Unity and Solidarity in fighting suicidal policies in the education sector. It has been difficult for unions to share from the same plate of opinion but on the 22nd of September key stakeholders converged, cross-pollinated revolutionary dreams and aspirations before they pronounced a resolute statement about the poverty-stricken teachers and the trajectory to be embraced by the politically inept government in order to put our education system on a sounder footing.
Moreso, we are quite exhilarated as social democrats to witness more than 100 000 grieved teachers committing and dedicating themselves to the struggle for their liberation from Zanupf’s incompetent governance in the eduction sector.
Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union (Artuz) President Obert Masaraure said “teachers should be paid a living wage and we still demand 520US$ per month.
We will continue on this path until the value of our salaries is restored but on the World Teachers’ Day( 05 October 2020), we are going to radicalise our struggle. We are going to take to the streets”. We pray that our teachers soldier on in unity against Zanupf induced poverty through stinking corruption and daylight looting of state resources.
Moreover, besides incapacitation, our teachers and learners are also vulnerable to the Covid-19 infections. The Progressive Teachers’Union also said about 95% of its members failed to report for duty.
He further exposed that the 600 million dollars availed by the government for Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) procurement has not been received by the schools. The majority of headmasters have truthfully reported that they do not have a single mask let alone thermometers, he further echoed.
This is a clear reflection of Zanupf’s dismal failure to secure sound and quality education to our dear children. It’s really unfortunate that the children of these fat cows in Zanupf school abroad where education is a priority.
The fees that have been drastically increased from $25 000 to $60 000 are beyond the reach of our maltreated teachers who are now grabbing a paltry of $2 600 after funeral deductions of over $1000 every month. It is imperative that teachers vividly speak their poverty and misery manifesting in their undoubted incapacitation.
As Mdc Alliance Namibia, we demand that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Education engages Teachers’ Unions once again because we have reached the zenith , we can’t afford to give a cold soldier to the need to engage with the view to finding durable solutions. Teachers must continue to organise , mobilise ,recruit and activate for a broader, effective Incapacitation Action to enhance their emancipation from Zanupf misrule.
Furthermore, we appeal to all conscious citizenry in Zimbabwe and in the diaspora, churches , parliamentarians, school children and social democrats around the globe to offer support to our suffering teachers and learners. The future of our children is in their education.
Teachers must embrace dangerous freedom against peaceful slavery by desisting from the clock in-sit-in / walk out style because it is very detrimental and a very serious offence. Unions expect teachers to demonstrate their incapacitation by staying at their homes so that it will be easy to defend their members basing on the inability of the member to report for duty.
Regardless of Cain Mathema’s empty threats to our diligent and patriotic teachers , defiant teachers continue to gang up against the corrupt and authoritarian regime demanding a living wage to replace meagre unsalted peanuts insufficient to feed the families.
Teachers must resist to be intimidated , following threats that those incapacitated shall be replaced in the identical way the nurses were illegally fired sometime. We still urge the government to engage teachers so that nomalcy can be restored in our schools.
It is compulsory for various teachers organisations to avoid the traditional loophole of selling out the teachers’ struggle for 3 pieces of silver. United we win , divided we lose and the oppressor will satirise us gnashing our teeth in poverty.
In a nutshell, Mdc Alliance Namibia is cognisant of the real source of this pronounced decomposition of the education sector which is the political bankruptcy in Zanupf government. The President’s deliberate silence on the critical matter is quite horrible. We call the government to fulfill their mandate to provide basic education to our innocent and expecting children.
Mdc Alliance Namibia
Rundu Branch Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya
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