MDC-T factional feuding intensifies
Posted by By Our reporter at 5 July, at 18 : 19 PM
FACTIONAL feuding has reached alarming levels between Tendai Biti and Morgan Tsvangirai factions in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T).
The party is faced by another acute blow of split soon if sanity is not restored urgently by the vacillating leadership, poised on personal aggrandizement, and amassing individual wealth at the expense of the party.
This scenario was visibly evidenced at a Mashonaland East Provincial Executive Assembly held at Harvest House the party’s headquarters, in Harare recently. It was attended by thirty-five (35) members drawn from twelve (12) out of the nineteen (19) District Assemblies.
Piniel Denga, the Provincial Assembly Chairperson, presided over the meeting which discussed the intra-party violence that characterized the party’s national congress which was held in April 2011, in Bulawayo.
In his address, Denga lambasted Ian Kay, the former Mashonaland East Provincial treasurer, for the intra-party violence during the party’s national congress in Bulawayo.
He claimed that youths loyal to Kay triggered violence by assaulting Ethridge Kuziva, the Provincial Youth Assembly Chairperson.
Denga further accused Kay of being power hungry as evidenced by his reluctance to recognize the current Provincial Assembly. He is also accused of mobilizing party members in the province to pass a vote of no confidence against the Denga-led executive.
Owing to the recalcitrant Kay’s intolerance, the meeting resolved to write a forceful letter of complaint to the national executive over Kay’s devilish activities in the province.
Meanwhile, as a counter-measure, Ian Kay faction held a meeting at Number 19 Cherutombo Street, Dombotombo in Marondera owned by Chengetai Murova, the MDC-T Marondera District Assembly Chairperson Kay chaired the meeting which was attended by sixteen (16) people mainly former Provincial Executive members.
The meeting was in pursuit of the faction’s objective to form a parallel Provincial Executive to advance its cause.
Kay warned followers against leaking information to the Denga-led Provincial Assembly.
He urged them to attend the faction’s meeting at his residence in Harare on 29 June to discuss strategies to co-ordinate its agenda for the nineteen (19) party District Assemblies in the province.
The meeting also resolved to write a letter to Nelson Chamisa, the National Organising Secretary, disapproving the manner in which the 10 April 2011 Mashonaland East Provincial congress was held.
The meeting also heard that Obert Nhire, a Harare-based lawyer, had written a letter to Chamisa complaining over undue ill-treatment by Denga on 24 June 2011. This skirmish took place at a meeting which was held at Chigondo Business Centre in Wedza South Constituency.
Nhire was barred from declaring his candidature for the constituency on MDC-T party ticket for the forth-coming national polls.
The meeting later set up parallel provincial Coordination Team to co-ordinate the faction’s activities in the province. This is a clear-cut indicator for escalating factional hustles in the MDC-T between Tsvangirai, the President of the party and Secretary General Tendai Biti.
Denga is Tsvangirai’s loyalist while Kay belongs to the Biti camp.
MDC-T declared violence reached unprecedented levels as they are also involved in recent murders of police and army officers in Glen View and Chitungwiza respectively.
These officers faced their fate while in the line of their constitutional duties.
Labels: IAIN KAYE, MDC, MDC FACTIONS, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, POLITICAL VIOLENCE, TENDAI BITI
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Ian Kay replaces Bennett
Tuesday, 19 April 2011 22:10
By Farirai Machivenyika
MDC-T Marondera Central House of Assembly Member Mr Ian Kay is likely to be nominated by his party for the post of Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.
This follows the impending expulsion of Mr Roy Bennett from the Senate after he missed more than 21 sittings without official leave. The party is also expected to fill Mr Bennett's Senate seat with MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai's close ally Mr James Makore.
Sources within the party yesterday said Mr Kay was the leading candidate given his agriculture background.
He is a former commercial farmer in Marondera. He was also one of the farmers who strongly resisted Government's land reform programme.
"He (Mr Kay) seems to be the favoured nominee basically for his background in agriculture and the role he played in resisting the fast track land reform."
The source said Mr Kay was viewed as having the same militancy against land reforms as Mr Bennett.
Mr Makore, a member of Mr Tsvangirai's "kitchen cabinet", was chosen to replace former Zengeza legislator Tafadzwa Musekiwa.
He, however, lost the 2004 by-election to Zanu-PF's Cde Christopher Chigumba.
MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa yesterday said nothing has been agreed on.
"Nothing has been finalised yet and everything you are saying are just rumours," he said.
Prime Minister Tsvangirai's spokesperson Mr Luke Tamborinyoka said his boss had not made any appointments to the deputy ministerial post or the Senate seat.
"The (MDC-T) president has not made any nomination on that. He will do that after consulting his colleagues in the party and that is when an announcement would be made," he said.
Mr Bennett's expulsion is likely to be formalised when the Upper House resumes sitting in a fortnight. Clerk of Parliament Mr Austin Zvoma, who is said to be currently out of the country, could not be reached for comment.
However, according to Section 41 of the Constitution, if a member misses at least 21 sittings without leave, another member should give notice to move a motion that Parliament declares the seat vacant.
"The seat does not automatically become vacant, there has to be a resolution passed by Senate for it to become vacant. It (resolution) must be passed by more than 50 percent of the senators," University of Zimbabwe law lecturer Professor Lovemore Madhuku said yesterday.
Mr Bennett has been in self-imposed exile in South Africa after his acquittal on treason charges last year.
President Mugabe refused to swear him in as deputy agriculture minister saying he was not suitable for the role given his background in Ian Smith's racist Rhodesian regime.
Other names have been mentioned as his likely replacements in Senate. These include Mr Kay's wife, Kerry and the MDC-T founding youth secretary-general Bekithemba Mpofu.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, IAIN KAYE, MDC
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Another white farmer to replace Bennett in agriculture ministry
By: TH-TZG
Posted: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 7:15 am
MORGAN Tsvangirai's MDC-T party is to nominate another former white farmer for the post of Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development. Mr Ian Kay is likely to replace Mr Roy Bennett for the post.
Bennett will soon be expelled from the Senate after he missed more than 21 consecutive sittings without official leave. The party is also expected to fill Bennett's Senate seat with Tsvangirai's close ally Mr James Makore.
Mr Kay is a former commercial farmer in Marondera.
He was also one of the farmers who strongly resisted Government's land reform programme.
"He (Mr Kay) seems to be the favoured nominee basically for his background in agriculture and the role he played in resisting the fast track land reform."
The source said Mr Kay was viewed as having the same militancy against land reforms as Mr Bennett.
Mr Makore, a member of Mr Tsvangirai's "kitchen cabinet", was chosen to replace former Zengeza legislator Tafadzwa Musekiwa.
Bennett's expulsion is likely to be formalised when the Upper House resumes sitting in a fortnight.
However, according to Section 41 of the Constitution, if a member misses at least 21 sittings without leave, another member should give notice to move a motion that Parliament declares the seat vacant.
The seat does not automatically become vacant, there has to be a resolution passed by Senate for it to become vacant. It (resolution) must be passed by more than 50 percent of the senators.
Bennett is currently in the United Kingdom where is frantically trying to raise funds for the MDC-T after its funding dried up.
He is also leading an anti Zanu-PF and anti-elections campaign.
It is believed that the MDC-T party is broke and unable to mount a nationwide campaign as they did in 2008 with the help of funds from the west.
President Mugabe refused to swear in Bennett as deputy agriculture minister saying he was not suitable for the role given his background in Ian Smith's racist Rhodesian regime; and because he had many impending court cases.
Other names have been mentioned as his likely replacements in Senate. These include Mr Kay's wife, Kerry and the MDC-T founding youth secretary-general Bekithemba Mpofu.
Labels: AGRICULTURE, IAIN KAYE, MDC, RHODESIANS, ROY BENNETT
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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
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