MDC, MDC Renewal Team sign up to unity

via MDC, MDC Renewal Team sign up to unity 27 November 2014 by Nelson Sibanda

The MDC led by Welshman Ncube and the MDC Renewal Team yesterday signed a re-unification agreement in Harare, at a ceremony witnessed by some 5,000 supporters from around the country.

Seventeen African diplomats, representatives of the Australian Embassy, France, Sweden, Norway, India, USA and the UK as well as 31 civil society organisations graced the occasion.

According to the signed agreement, the re-unified party would rediscover its 1999 founding principles and values, reconnect with civil society and have the muscle to dislodge Zanu (PF) from power at the 2018 elections.

Speaking at the occasion, Sekai Holland, interim president The Renewal Team said: “The grassroots should be in-cooperated into the project to get enough numbers to beat any rival at the next harmonised elections.”

Holland preached national healing and improvement of the welfare of vendors, gold panners, people with disabilities and the generality of Zimbabweans.

She called on all democrats to join the party and encouraged multi-party democracy.

Tendai Biti, secretary general The Renewal Team said, the agreement would set the tone for new ways of doing politics through tolerance and servant leadership.

Biti said the party would be about serving the people not self interests.

“Today marks the re-finding of our earlier values lost during the course of the struggle for democracy.

“When we formed MDC in 1999 we thought the transition would be immediate, unfortunately, it turned out to be long and winding, resulting in some of us losing our founding principles midstream,” Biti said, noting that when the transition is delayed the movement decays.

The decay that set in MDC, Biti said, centred party power on individuals at the expense of the people.

He said when Welshman Ncube and others rebelled in 2005, those who remained behind blamed Ncube for the split, not realising that they would see light and follow suit.

“The problem we made as MDC was entrusting too much faith in Morgan Tsvangirai, unaware that the struggle was about the people not individuals,” said Biti.

Biti bemoaned the collapsed February 20, 2008 unity talks between MDC-T and MDC which resulted in the split vote that handed Mugabe victory.

The former GNU finance minister said Zimbabwe politics will never be the same following the unity with MDC.

Biti revealed that they were engaged in unity talks with Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Dawn/Kusile party and ZAPU but had problems with Tsvangirai who valued violence.

Welshman Ncube, MDC leader said: “Today we are recommitting to our earlier values that revolved on the narrative about the people, basic needs and welfare of the worker among others.

“We must find strength in our diversity, democracy, equality and Pan Africanism.”

Ncube said he was excited with the re-unification, as true MDC people stood for enduring ideals which would not be shaken off.

MDC had an agenda for change hinged on a people driven constitution, since, according to Ncube, there cannot be democracy in the absence of a good constitution and democratic political parties.

Ncube blamed the splits in MDC to some cadres who forgot the aims of the struggle and ended up admiring and emulating Mugabe’s dictatorship.

The re-united MDC would be headed by Holland and Ncube as co-presidents.

It will hold its congress in August 2015 on a date to be decided.