In an extraordinary outburst on Twitter, Charamba claimed that South Africa was deluded in supposing that it has the capacity to deal with the challenges facing the SADC region. He said:
South Africa is no donor State in SADC. If anything, its long apartheid legacy makes its post-1994 subregional role quite problematic for the rest of SADC States who know the continued dominance of Afrikaner capital in SADC does not benefit the ANC or blacks in Soweto or Khayelitsha. That is the sordid truth.
South Africa cannot intervene militarily in any SADC country. That lesson was driven home during the Mandela days when it sought to do so in Lesotho. Since that disastrous escapade, South African diplomacy has been tempered and restrained to function within SADC structures, as should be!
Just what is the logic and implication of Zimbabweans of insufficient history and national consciousness asking for South African intervention in Zimbabwe The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) said it is consulting parents through the School Development Association/ Committees to get their views on the Government’s plans to reopen schools for examination classes this month.
The Government announced on Tuesday that Cambridge examination classes will commence on 14 September while ZIMSEC examination classes will resume on 28 September, with exams starting on 1 December.
In a statement, ARTUZ said the decision by the Government was inconsiderate amid the coronavirus crisis.
outside SADC structures?
Charamba said only Zimbabwe has the capacity to play a stabilising role in SADC and accused South Africa of being used by Western powers against Zimbabwe.
ARTUZ also said it will be conducting an online poll for teachers to ascertain their preparedness to report for duty this month. The statement read:
The government’s position to open schools on the 14th of September for Cambridge examination classes and 28th of September for Zimsec classes before teachers grievances are fully addressed is inconsiderate.
As Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ we are engaging stakeholders such as parents through the School Development Association/ Committees to give us their view on this inconsiderate decision taken by the government.
We are also engaging the health sector at provincial and district levels to assess the state and preparedness of hospitals in case of the outburst of COVID-19 in schools.The recommendations by the health sector will determine whether we can encourage our members to report for work.
Basically, the safety of learners and teachers from COVID-19 must be fully guaranteed in schools. The government must first test all learners and teachers, provide PPEs, fumigate all learning facilities that were used as quarantine centres.
The cost of living is beyond the reach of every teacher. All basic needs are priced in USD at a time when teachers are remunerated in useless RTGS$.
To get a detailed view of nearly every teacher concerning the preparedness to report for work, we are running an online poll. An evaluation report on the recommendations will determine our next step.
