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(TALKZIMBABWE) Tsvangirai fires top aide as divisions rock the MDC-T

Tsvangirai fires top aide as divisions rock the MDC-T
By: Our reporter
Posted: Friday, July 2, 2010 12:00 am

PRIME MINISTER Morgan Tsvangirai has fired his chief aide barely a week after firing two ministers and reshuffling his side of the Cabinet in a move viewed as inspired by factional fights within the embattled former opposition party.

MDC-T chief of staff Mr Chris Mbanga has been fired while party director-general Mr Toendepi Shonhe faces the chop. The firing of Mr Mbanga was masked by the PM's office as a resignation.

Mr Mbanga was PMTsvangirai’s chief election agent in the March 2008 harmonised polls — in which the PM failed to win a 50 plus one percent majority to form government.

Party sources said Mr Abisha Nyanguwo, a staffer in the Prime Minister’s Office, would replace Mr Mbanga.

Mr Nyanguwo was formerly deputy chief of staff.

Mr Mbanga tried to downplay the chop by dismissing that his position was political, but that he was a party worker. He, however, failed to distinguish the two.

He told The Herald newspaper: "I am not a politician but a party worker. I have a contract that I signed with my employer and I cannot discuss the nature of my contract in the media.

"My employer is the only person who should speak about my contract. When I came to the MDC, we didn’t announce it to the world.

"The contract that I have is between myself and my employer and it cannot be discussed in the media and I hope you will appreciate that you need to respect that."

Mr Mbanga’s responsibilities as chief of staff covered general employee welfare and facilitating logistical arrangements.

The PM, who critics say is getting increasingly paranoid as his mandatory two terms party leader come to an end at the next congress, is reported to be planning to fire party director-general Mr Toendepi Shonhe.

Mr Shonhe and Mr Mbanga are accused of undermining Mr Tsvangirai.

"Mr Mbanga and Mr Shonhe occupy powerful administrative duties. Shonhe is like the chief executive officer of the party while Mbanga wields a lot of influence among workers by virtue of his post.

"There was a feeling that their closeness to (a named senior official) whom they report to might not augur well as the party approaches its congress next year," said an insider.

Another source added: "The two are part of our secretariat. That alone is dangerous because everyone there is under suspicion of trying to oust Mr Tsvangirai at the congress.

"Mr Tsvangirai’s two terms as party president will be up at the next congress and the secretariat is accused of refusing to be flexible so that the (party) constitution can be amended to allow an extension of the incumbency."

Labels: CHRIS MBANGA, MDC, MDC FACTIONS, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI

posted by MrK @ 5:38 PM