By BRIGHTON MURONZEREYI
The United Kingdom, through its Department for International Development (DFID),has provided US$1 million to the Zimbabwe education
sector to mitigate the impact of Covid -19 on the sector.
In a statement, the British embassy said the contribution is anacknowledgment that education is n critical for the stabilisation and recovery of the country.
“We have been happy to fund over US$ 1million to provide catch-up materials such as reading and numeracy cards and teachers and school
heads guides and these are now in primary and secondary schools across the country.
“The UK is the main bilateral donor for education in Zimbabwe. We know that pupils in Zimbabwe and across the world lost months of valuable
learning time because of lockdowns necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic and experts warn that those losses can lead to long-term disadvantages for children, and the economies and countries they are growing up in, if they are not given extra support to catch up.
“We’re really glad that an extra 1 500 solar radios for pupils to listen to catch-up lessons will be launched in the next few weeks.
“The UK is delighted to be part of this valuable work to make sure the next generation in Zimbabwe gets the best chance to succeed despite the setbacks of the pandemic,” reads part of the statement.
This comes as Harare is making a fresh bid to revive the country’s efforts to mend its frosty relationship with the United Kingdom (UK).
Recently President Emmerson Mnangagwa dispatched Foreign Affairs minister Frederick Shava and his Finance counterpart Mthuli Ncube to London to meet key role players there.
The deputy minister of Foreign Affairs minister, David Musabayana, confirmed to the Daily News then, that Shava and Ncube were in Britain
as part of Zimbabwe’s re-engagement drive.
“Basically, they are in the UK to meet some potential investors and to deal with ordinary bilateral engagements with the Government of the UK.
“This is in line with the president’s call to push economic diplomacy on the front burner. So, they are there largely for … economic
diplomacy.
“We may not agree with the UK government on ideological and political issues, but when it comes to economic matters we must always find a way to agree.
“That is why the two are there as a special delegation to engage the authorities there,” Musabayana told the Daily News then.
“There is a lot of co-operation that is already happening now between Zimbabwe and the UK … and that is why it is important to reinforce
that engagement,” he added.
Authorities have repeatedly clashed with Britain and the USA over claims that the two countries are working with some hostile civil society groups and the opposition to topple Mnangagwa and his government from power.
Meanwhile, and despite its seemingly love-hate relationship with Harare, London has not completely abandoned its dialogue with
Zimbabwe.
Last year, the British government reiterated that it was ready to improve its relations with Mnangagwa’s administration as long as the
political and economic reforms that he promised upon his ascendancy to power were fulfilled. – Daily News