Indigenisation of private schools illegal: Coltart
This article was written by Our reporter on 5 July, at 03 : 10 AM Print
The Minister of Education has said that Zimbabwe’s bid to indigenise private schools is illegal.
A government notice issued last week by empowerment minister Saviour Kasukuwere gave foreign-owned banks and private schools a year to comply with a law requiring 51 percent shareholding by indigenous people.
But David Coltart said the directive was illegal.
The move has caused new fissures in the inclusive Government which was formed in 2008 by Zanu-PF, MDC-T and the MDC parties.
Zanu-PF says blacks should not only have political independence, but also economic independence – a move that should be supported by legislation.
“This action is unlawful, unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable,” Coltart said on his official Twitter account.
Coltart also told the Herald newspaper on Wednesday that Kasukuwere had previously assured him that private schools would not be targeted under the empowerment drive.
He said most private schools, formerly the preserve of whites but are now largely multi-racial, were owned by churches and trusts which also include black people on their management boards.
“The idea behind the Empowerment Act is to empower disadvantaged Zimbabweans and how can you enrich someone by giving him a non-profit making institution,” said Minister Coltart.
“Private schools are generally owned by churches or a trust and there is no shareholding to talk of.
“For Government to adopt such a policy would be nonsensical as the constitution gives individual groups a right to educate their children.”
The new regulations to take over private schools are contained in a notice published in the Government Gazzette last Friday.
The notice stated that schools with a net asset of $1 must have a 51 percent indigenous ownership.
Minister Coltart said he met Youth, Indeginisation and Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere last week who assured him that schools will be spared from the programme.
“Last year in August, the Minister (Kasukuwere) approached me with the proposals, but after lengthy discussions he made an undertaking that the schools would not be part of the programme,” he said.
“This has come to me as a surprise and since there is no such Cabinet policy, I hope most members of the Cabinet would not buy such an idea.”
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai also criticised the move saying Kasukuwere’s latest announcement does not reflect the cabinet’s position.
Kasukuwere, has already forced mining companies such as Rio Tinto and Impala Platinum , the world’s second-largest platinum miner, to turn over majority stakes in their local units to black Zimbabweans, as required under the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act passed by parliament in 2007
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Ruth Mutuki, 10 months ago
here we go again, the fissures in the inclusive Government. Why dont they just end this useless marriage? It’s serving noone’s purpose.
Muchi, 10 months ago
Kasukuwere is a fool who does not know anything about Trusts law in Zimbabwe. What prevails when indigenisation law and other pieces of legislation conflict? Tell them Coltart.
John Hundi, 10 months ago
Coltart may have his kids in private school that’s why he wants this to continue. There can be indigenisation in trusts, it’s not just about economic empowerment; but also indigenisation. Some schools still look colonial, not indigenised. There should be blacks on the Boards of those trusts. The law has to be sensitive to the politics; and law is guided by social policy as well.
Nyasha Muritwe, 10 months ago
The government could insist that each school have a public benefit, like they do here in the UK. The public benefit test could be carried out to ensure that these schools’ activities can pay back to the community. At the moment, there is no particular benefit that these schools have on Zimbabwean society and their history as segregationist does not bode well with the idea of independence. These schools probably make a lot of money in tax advantages as trusts and charities, so they are actually making loads of money. The boards could also be looked at to verify what Coltart says. It may all be good for him, in principle, to say they have black people, but how many and what are the current structures like?