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(HERALD - ARCHIVES) MDC-T whites demand 8 cabinet posts

MDC-T whites demand 8 cabinet posts
By Political & Features Editor

FRANTIC efforts by Mr Morgan Tsvangirai to put a lid on a mutiny orchestrated by MDC-T secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti are fast coming undone with the party’s Rhodesian element now demanding eight Cabinet posts to be reserved for whites in any Government.

The opposition leader earlier this week summoned his executive to South Africa for a crisis meeting after Sadc refused to hold another summit to entertain Mr Tsvangirai’s demands.

However, The Herald is reliably informed that the crisis meeting quickly became preoccupied with the divisions in the party on whether or not to join the inclusive Government with the President Mugabe’s ruling Zanu-PF and Professor Arthur Mutambara’s MDC.

This was after Mr Tsvangirai was advised by his close aides that the Rhodesian group led by Roy Bennett, Eddie Cross and Iain Kay were demanding that whites be guaranteed control of all ministries related to security, mining and natural resources, and agriculture and lands.

The three have formerly been seen as Tsvangirai confidantes.

Reliable sources have said Mr Biti was recently guaranteed the support of the Rhodesian coterie of hawks in his plot to get a more prominent role than his vice president Ms Thokozani Khupe in the inclusive Government if he, in turn, delivered the desired ministries for their control.

An official in MDC-T’s international relations department yesterday confirmed that the Bennett group had made it clear to Mr Biti and his other backers that they wanted eight posts reserved for whites.

Yesterday, MDC-T spokesperson Mr Nelson Chamisa tried to downplay the divisions racking the opposition apart, claiming they were more united than the ruling Zanu-PF.

However, sources said: "The latest development in the saga is that Bennett and his friends have made it clear that they want eight seats reserved. They are interested in lands, agriculture, mining, the security briefs and anything else that in any way involves natural resources.

"Initially, it seemed they just wanted to control lands and mines. Then they said they wanted agriculture itself, then control of the security ministries and now even anything that handles natural resources.

"Biti’s co-conspirators indicated that they could not make any such promises, moreso in light of the fact that under the allocation of seats MDC-T does not have all the ministries they want.

"It was pointed out to them that their job is to find a way of getting the concerned ministries out of the hands of the other parties and hand them over to white control. All they want is control of resources.

"It seems these guys think that this is 1980 when the Lancaster settlement reserved 20 seats for them in Parliament and Biti could have a serious problem on his hands now. He wants the support of this clique because they are quite influential through their resources and their networks.

"But it is inconceivable that anyone else in the party will agree with a directive such as this. As far as I know, Tsvangirai has been appraised of this and the executive discussed the divisions in their South Africa meeting."

In July last year, Bennett was quoted by South Africa’s Mining Weekly promising to cancel all mining contracts signed under a Zanu-PF Government and give the deals to friendly companies once MDC-T came to power.

He said MDC-T would identify companies that had co-operated with the Government and deal with them accordingly.

Bennett indicated that he had already started communicating with foreign companies to chart a way forward.

He said MDC-T would not hesitate to take on big foreign companies "sustaining the Zanu-PF Government".

"These companies have shareholders, and the shareholders would be made aware of the aiding and abetting," he said.

He added that MDC-T would quickly ensure the mining sector was delivered to multinationals — many of which are European and American-owned.

During Wednesday’s meeting with Mr Tsvangirai, Mr Biti denied he was involved in any plot to either unseat Mr Tsvangirai or sideline Ms Khupe.

It is understood that Mr Biti has been actively lobbying senior party members behind the scenes so that he can overtake Ms Khupe and assume the post of Deputy Prime Minister in the inclusive Government.

He is further believed to have resolved that should that fail, he will try and convince the rest of the executive that it would be unconstitutional for Mr Tsvangirai to be party leader beyond February this year.

MDC-T is supposed to hold a congress every five years at which time a new leadership is elected. The party leader is only allowed to assume two consecutive five-year terms. Mr Tsvangirai has led the party from its formation in 1999 and this is his tenth year at the helm.

Mr Tsvangirai’s supporters in the party have said a new leadership will only be elected in 2011 because the last congress was held two years late (in 2006).

They have also said booting Mr Tsvangirai out will result in a power tug-of-war because he would be Prime Minister in the inclusive Government while someone else would be party leader.

Mr Biti has reportedly turned this argument on its head, saying a tug-of-war can be avoided if Mr Tsvangirai is booted out of both the party leadership and the inclusive Government arrangement.

Labels: EDDIE CROSS, IAIN KAYE, MDC, RHODESIANS, ROY BENNETT, TENDAI BITI

posted by MrK @ 10:26 PM