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PTUZ’s
minimum expectations from government
Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe
August 25, 2013
http://www.thestandard.co.zw/2013/08/25/ptuzs-minimum-expectations-from-government/
Now that it
is cast in stone that Robert Mugabe is the President of the Republic
of Zimbabwe for another five years, the Progressive Teachers’
Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) as a principled and non-aligned teacher
union has the following as its minimum expectations from the next
government:
- An appointment
of a very lean cabinet as the checkered history of the inclusive
government has shown that a highly padded cabinet is a liability
to the nation;
- An appointment
of competent and corrupt-free ministers who will go beyond the
call of duty. Merit rather than patronage and clientelism need
to guide the president as he appoints his next cabinet.
- Removal
of ghost workers from the government pay-roll, so that resources
to reward genuine civil servants can be found.
- Channelling
of proceeds from the sale of our gems into treasury for the benefit
of everyone. This country cannot afford to be poor when it has
more than 40 different minerals.
- A paradigm
shift, so that we cease selling our minerals in their raw form,
but start thinking about value-addition and beneficiation so that
we maximise profit from our resources.
- An immediate
amendment of the Public Service Act and section 203 (4) of the
new Constitution,
which takes collective bargaining rights away from civil servants
and ensuring that there is a harmonisation of labour laws for
all workers in this country.
- An establishment
of a stand-alone sports ministry for the full development of sports
in the country, rather than combining it with the ministry of
Education.
- A full professionalisation
of the teaching fraternity through establishing a Teaching Service
Commission and a Teaching Profession Council for standards control,
self-regulation and discipline of members.
- That education
administrators are given proper training in both financial and
human resource management to minimise recurrence of misconduct
charges preferred on both teachers and school heads.
- That teachers
are given poverty datum line- linked salaries, and ensuring that
schools are turned into politics-free zones since well-paid teachers
in safe schools have proved to be a pre-condition for quality
public education.
- Ensuring
an adequate budgetary allocation to the education ministry in
line with the Dakar Declaration, which states that at least 22%
of the national budget be allocated to education.
- An immediate
amendment of section 200 (4) of the new Constitution which bans
civil servants from participating in politics, as no woman ever
went to a labour ward and declared that she was giving birth to
either a president, prime minister or member of parliament. It
is paranoid and downright illogical for a progressive government
to ban civil servants who want to find their destiny in politics,
as if being a politician is an ascribed status reminiscent of
the medieval nobility.
As PTUZ, we
will remain undiluted, unflinching and committed to standing for
the supremacy of the welfare of teachers by rejecting systems that
prioritise the defence of leadership interests at the expense of
the generality of teachers through lobbying and advocacy.
Visit the Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe fact
sheet
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