MDC-T rebuts false media reports

via MDC-T rebuts false media reports. 5 November 2014 by Obert Gutu

The MDC-T has dismissed as false claims made in articles on Newsday and Newzimbabwe.com this week claiming that the constitutional amendments adopted by the MDC-T over the weekend have centralised power in the person of party president, Morgan Tsvangirai.

A statement from information secretary Obert Gutu says:

“Firstly there was no wholesale constitutional amendment of the constitution, let alone amendment which that ignored the principle of separation of powers, whatever the Newsday journalist meant by this.

The relevant principle that was actually followed was that of giving the authority that goes with the responsibility placed on the President of the party to the incumbent, thus correcting the anomaly in the old constitution which held the President responsible for matters that he had no power over.

The Newsday analyst correctly reflected that congress was a time to reflect and restrategise on party policies for the next five years, and this is exactly what the MDC did if you judge it by the resolutions that were made.

The resolutions, guided by sub-committees of the national council which researched these issues came up with change required in the party to be enable it to deliver the mandate given to it by the people.

Tsvangirai, or any president that the MDC would elect in future, should have the responsibility for decisions that have previously been left in offices where officers could act counter to the will of the President, yet the President would be held responsible for those decisions.

Being the custodian of the party name and simply removes the anomaly that anybody could leave the party and claim, as has been done before, that his is the new MDC, and that the party assets now belong to him or them.

The President’s custodianship of the assets obviously applies for as long as he remains President of the party, otherwise your analyst is really underestimating the capability of all the legal minds that populate our standing committee, and national executive committee and even our branches and districts.

It simply means that as the chief officer of the party he would have legal custody in order to be enable him to discharge any responsibility related to the assets, obviously with advice from the secretary general who currently is also a legal eagle.

As President of the party he travels and meets very influential people, as chief custodian of the party he would be able to transact any business that is required, and as chief fundraiser of the party he would also be able to take advantage of those opportunities without being encumbered by another office.

Our detractors also seem to find something wrong with the supervision powers of the President. Everyone should know that the buck stops with the President, so all in the leadership should report to the president and he should have disciplinary powers so that everyone knows that they can be suspended or otherwise disciplined in a process that obviously includes the National Council.

Congress also resolved to set up an Arbiter General’s office that cascades to all levels to speedily deal with the key issues of discipline in the party, cognisant of the fact that people are disciplined not for their views but for their constitutional conduct.

For the MDC to say we are in power, it is the President first and foremost whom we need to be elected into the national President’s office, so the recommendation of the National Council that the secretary for elections be in the standing committee and appointed by the President was simply to ensure that it is someone whom the President has full confidence in.

The same applies to the issue of deputies of officers of congress, except the vice president and the vice chairperson, no longer being elected but being appointed by the President from a pool of national executive members. This simply ensures that any party considerations about that role, e.g. competence and qualification, are taken into account, to ensure that certain competencies are in the office, which tends to be lost in an election.

That national standing committee members should work under the supervision and the authority of the President is simple logic which enable the President to, at any given time ask how far each officer is with relevant work. The President must at all times have the heartbeat of the party.

Our Congress further democratised the party by giving external assemblies in the UK, South Africa and United States of America provincial status which mean they can deliberate on party policy, recruit members and put people forward for national leadership just like any other party provinces.

Biti says MDC Renewal Team had been vindicated; we don’t know in which respect he has been vindicated because his was not an issue of trying to bring about democracy in the party, but more about how he and his clique could take over the leadership of the party without going to congress.

We can understand how they are hurting, having failed to achieve their objective and now finding that they do not have the support of the people who were following them for the donor monies that that they diverted from the MDC.

Talking against the person of Morgan Tsvangirai or against the MDC will not bring that support back. Tendai has the temerity to now say Tsvangirai had all the powers that have now been explicitly stated in the constitution, yet it was because of his obfuscating that the sub-committee on constitutional change felt it necessary for these powers to be spelt out.

Calling Tsvangirai names will not improve the Renewal’s fortunes as a political party. We are waiting and we have even offered to assist them to develop into a party, so that we might have a stronger opposition. But in the meantime they must give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

We are now giving notice that we are moving against those individuals who have stolen from the MDC, claiming to be the MDC. Their MPs must now give up their seats and they must give up all the properties they took which belong to the MDC.” – Obert Chaurura Gutu

MDC Information and Publicity Secretary

obertgutu@gmail.com