Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) Beware of David Coltart

Beware of David Coltart
15/01/2013 00:00:00
by Mai Jukwa

AN EFFECTIVE analysis of the recent back and forth between Givemore Makoni and David Coltart is one that views facts in consideration of wider realities. This examination of wider realities is particularly helpful because it helps the observer to pick out and dismiss specious arguments.

A specious argument is one that has a ring of truth to it but is actually false. Skilled deceivers often make use of this technique. One relies on seemingly plausible foundations to justify a dishonest point.

An example would be a man who has found himself a mistress. The moment his wife fails in even the most minor of issues, he will blow it out of all proportion and speedily demand a divorce. On paper, his complaints may seem legitimate but a closer examination will prove him dishonest.
David Coltart is one such man. A few questions will make my point.

Who benefits if England plays cricket in Zimbabwe? Is it not the vendor who sells burgers and ice-cream? Is it not the nine-year-old who wants to watch his favourite star from SuperSport?

Again I ask, who benefits when an international team comes to this country? Is it not ordinary Zimbabweans who simply want to enjoy their weekend watching a loved sport?

David Coltart led a delegation that advised England not fulfil its World Cup fixture in Zimbabwe. Whose interests was Coltart serving? Was he serving the interests of Zimbabweans who earn a living selling various wares during cricket games? Was he serving the interests of Zimbabweans who wanted to watch the game in their own country? Who sent him to do what he did?

Today, Coltart speaks of the national interest. I speak of viewing matters with the wider reality in consideration. Examine the man’s record.

Let’s consider the recent directives by Coltart which demand that selectors be persons with international experience; specifically, they should have represented Zimbabweans at an international level.

I need not remind Coltart that he is not the minister of Cricket. He is responsible for sports overall. Would the good minister please educate us as to which other sports he has mandated this regime. If his concern is national interest, why is he not similarly exercised about football? I called them the wider reality.

I spoke of football. What about athletics? Tennis is another sport we play, as is rugby. We have different sports in our country. Why did Coltart not introduce universal reforms in all sports in the national interest? What is it about cricket that motivated him to intervene in such an extraordinary way?

He has not volunteered an explanation as to why cricket is such an exception? This is not because he is a man of few words but rather because he knows any explanation would ring desperately hollow.

Coltart knows full well that his reforms narrow the list of eligible selectors in favour of his white friends. Even if they are not his friends, the fact still remains that his reforms will result in very few eligible black selectors. This is exactly how Coltart wants it.

All Zimbabweans want our national teams to succeed but we also want those teams to be national. They cannot be Rhodie clubs.

The suggestion that one can only be an effective selector if they have played at an international level is idiotic. Some of the best football coaches have never kicked the ball themselves. Some of the best political strategists have never run for public office.

Coltart’s argument is nearly as foolish as a university demanding that would-be business professors be individuals who have in the past run a multi-million dollar enterprise. It is absurd. Coltart knows this but he is doing it because he has already hoodwinked his foolish black colleagues by use of a specious argument.

Coltart esteems himself a lover of democratic virtues and human rights. We are routinely subjected to his howls of disapproval on this matter and the other. Let Zimbabweans be warned, he is a fake.

If he is not an imposter, may he please produce a single essay, article or even a mere High School composition that he wrote in objection to white minority rule. He cannot do so because he is a fake humanitarian, a racist wolf dressed in the unassuming apparel of a lamb.

Amai Jukwa is a loving mother of three. She respects Robert Mugabe, is amused by Tsvangirai and feels sorry for Mutambara

Labels: CRICKET, DAVID COLTART, GIVEMORE MAKONI, MAI JUKWA, RACISM

posted by MrK @ 5:45 PM