The latest from Zimbabwe

Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), seated second from right in the photo below, was sworn-in yesterday by President Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe's Prime Minister following agreement reached in power-sharing talks mediated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and chaired by South African president Kgalema Motlanthe in South Africa recently.

Tsvangirai appointed Tendai Biti, seated on the right, as Finance Minister. Biti has been reported saying one of his immediate priorities will be to sack Zimbabwe Central Bank Governor, Gideon Gono who his party accuses of mismanaging the Zimbabwean economy.

Also in the photo are Mrs. Susan Tsvangirai, third from right, and on her right, Thokozani Khupe, MDC's Deputy president.

With these significant steps towards forming an inclusive government, the current power-sharing agreement appears to have gone a step further than previous agreements that have faltered. One hopes that a fresh page has been opened to enable Zimbabweans to concentrate on mending their divisions and working together to restore Zimbabwe's position as one of the leading members of the SADC community.

Related post:
http://madarakanyerere.blogspot.com/2009/03/mrs-susan-tsvangirai-has-died.html

Visitors to Butiama

For the past two years, students from Queens University in Kingston Canada have visited Butiama and Mugumu in Mara Region as part of their teacher's training practical assigments. They have taught at Machochwe Secondary School in Serengeti District and Butiama Secondary School.

Not only have they taught but they have also donated textbooks and teaching materials to the two schools. One of the groups also donated solar equipment to Machochwe, while another contributed cash towards construction of a classroom at Butiama.

The teachers in last year's group were passionate soccer players and played regularly with students and youth at Butiama. The group, in the photo above, from left to right, are: Kathleen Bolger, Vicki Bowman, Stacey Copeland, Jennifer Lytle, Jennifer Michel, Shannon Mullins, and Karen Versluys.

The next group will be visiting next month.