(TALKZIMBABWE) Zvayi may receive benefits from UB

Zvayi may receive benefits from UB
Ralph Mutema
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:33:00 +0000
Zvayi may receive benefits from UB

JOUNALIST Caesar Zvayi could receive termination benefits from University of Botswana which had employed him as a lecturer before he was deported from that country two weeks ago.

Zvayi was deported after an order was issued and signed by Botswana’s President Ian Seretse Khama characterizing him as a prohibited immigrant in terms of Section 7 (f) of the Immigration Act which states that “any person who, in consequence of information received from any source deemed by the president to be reliable, is declared by the president to be an undesirable inhabitant of or visitor to Botswana.”

The Botswana Sunday Standard newspaper reported that Zvayi, who joined UB on June 12, handed over “some items belonging to the university” prior to his deportation, but UB was yet to make an assessment of what needed to be handed over to Zvayi as the deportation order caught the two parties unprepared.

Zvayi and UB did not have sufficient time to complete all the formalities.

The Sunday Standard quotes a UB official saying: “As is the standard procedure, we are carrying an assessment of things that could have been handed over to him when he was here at UB and to ascertain, together with him and relevant departments and sections, if everything is in hand and pick it up from there.”

The official, Samuel Moribame, who is the UB’s director of public affairs continued: “As you know the circumstances of his departure might have made it difficult for him to hand over everything he got from UB at once. If that is the case, this is a matter that we can easily sort out together with him in due course.”

Anti-Zanu PF activists who wrote directly to President Khama asking him to deport Zvayi when news broke that he had been employed by UB.

Zimbabwe’s students’ union body spokesman, Blessing Vavi wrote a letter to President Khama asking him to use a presidential decree to fire Zvayi from the State University and immediately deport him.

Zvayi resigned from the Herald in June to take up a lecturer post at the University of Botswana in Gaborone, where he taught ‘Writing for Print and News’ and ‘Writing and Reporting” at the University’s Faculty of Communications and Media.

Zvayi’s deportation sparked a lot of debate in Zimbabwe. Speaking to the press a week after his deportation, Zvayi said he did not get any explanations from the authorities in Botswana and accused them of acting “UnAfrican”. He said he was “literally kidnapped” and deported.

The Permanent Secretary for Information and Publicity and Presidential spokesperson George Charamba attacked the government of Botswana and Zimbabwe Union of Journalists over the deportation. Charamba said the deportation of Zvayi was illegal and uncalled for adding that Caesar would get his job back at The Herald.

“I am surprised that Matthew Takaona and his so called ZUJ are deafening quiet about this issue. He has worked for Zimpapers and has worked directly with Caesar so why is he quiet? Why is he not making noise about the deportation of his former workmate?” he said.

Former information minister, Jonathan Moyo warned Botswana that the move to deport Zvayi could cause untold damage to relations between the two countries.

Moyo was reported by New Zimbabwe as saying: “When a country has more goats than people, it suffers a serious leadership deficiency as is happening in Botswana where a primitive and intolerant military junta is masquerading as a democracy.”

Moyo added that the deportation was unlawful and was “done simply to please George Bush’s criminal administration that put Zvayi on its illegal sanctions list against Zimbabwe.”

“The Botswana government apparently has a ‘monkey-see, monkey-do’ approach, I suppose because what Uncle Sam does Uncle Tom follows. In the end, Botswana will pay a heavy regional price for its shocking treachery including its xenophobic treatment of Zimbabweans in general,” continued Moyo.