via Khupe wades into leadership row | SW Radio Africa by Tichaona Sibanda on Monday, January 27, 2014
MDC-T Vice President Thokozani Khupe has come out strongly in support of embattled party leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who is facing an onslaught from close lieutenants to step down.
Khupe told SW Radio Africa on Monday that the party stands firmly united under the leadership of Tsvangirai as it embarks on both the internal and external process restructuring.
Things came to a head in the top leadership of the party when the standing committee met on Friday to discuss the state of the party.
However, much of that time was taken up deliberating a letter authored by deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, calling on Tsvangirai to consider his position as leader following the July 2013 devastating electoral loss at the hands of ZANU PF.
In a sign that Tsvangirai cannot be easily dislodged, Khupe castigated senior party members for taking the leadership debate to the media. As a way forward, Mangoma suggested that Tsvangirai could declare his intention to leave office forthwith while an interim leadership under Khupe takes over. Khupe however was having none of that.
‘While internal debate on leadership should be encouraged, it must be done within the internal party platforms. It is undesirable that these be discussed through the press.
‘The party leadership will not allow the enemies of the party to divide it by sowing seeds of discontent and distrust among the leaders of the party,’ said Khupe, in an apparent reference to last week’s events.
Following the standing committee meeting on Friday, Tsvangirai and his top team went to a Harare hotel for his state of the nation address. Of all the standing committee members who attended the meeting, Mangoma skipped the address, while those in his camp, allegedly pushing for Tsvangirai’s ouster, were booed as they walked into the function room.
In his address, Tsvangirai told party supporters and diplomats that the current social and economic crisis called upon the MDC to play an active role to find a solution to this difficult period in the country.
COMMENTS
Dump mdc nca zunde zanupf. Vote for me. Except I will boycot. I do not worship nikuv.
IN FUTURE, NO IMPOSITION OF CANDIDATES!
It is about survival. When the boss goes, many more will follow, so they would rather hang on for as long as they can. Tosangana ku ZUNDE!!!!
Mangoma raised the issue within the party structures by directing his concerns to Morgan Tsvangirai. He did not whisper about it behind anyone’s back.
The fact that the contents of Mangoma’s letter found their way into the public media should not be a big deal. These things happen all the time, just as we end up getting details of minutes of supposedly top secret Zanu p.f. politburo meetings.
The fact that Mangoma is being castigated for raising the pertinent issue of leadership renewal attests to the fact thatthe MDC is as undemocratic as Zanu p.f. and that’s the real pity. 15 years is a long time for a political party to be led by one man.
I suggest MDC changes leaders after Tsvangirai has won the elections once or after he dies. The reason being it will take a long time for people especially the rural population to familiarise with the new leader and the MDC will be like starting again.
It is easier to familiarise with new leadership than these guys who let us down due to their naive and unfounded complacency.
What do you expect to hear from a person like Ms Khupe? She knows once her boss goes she also goes thus losing all the financial benefits.These people have no plan B for their well beings except politics.You need professionals to lead a progressive political party,people who do it not for money only but because they want to help the povo in the streets.
This is the problem we are facing in our country,people who are semi-illiterate without skills find themselves in parliament representing professionals and skilled people.
The GNU failed because ruling party had well informed group of people than the opposition party which had majority in parliament,so they got cheated without noticing it.In fact they campaigned for them in many funny issues.Politics is about making sure that you do not get out witted by your opponent,if it does happen,the honourable thing to do is to resign to give others a chance.The numerous speeches they give show that their mindsets are still confused and outdated.They have joined the other failures like NCA.
JJ democracy dose not wait for a leader to die, Tsvangirai has won an election and still faield to Goven a country he has had many oppertunitys to lead the MDC strongly but has failed dismaly. The sad Fact is Zimbabweans do not know what true democracy is…
Careful you dont put him on too big a pedestal…
At present, MDC must start on cleaning up undesirable elements.Start vetting candidates for 2018,start closing on on loopholes.Demand an electoral voters roll now.Whoever will stand in the same electoral framework will lose.Instead of fighting, let us fight for electoral reforms and never go into elections with ghost voting stations.Every station must be under 24 hour surveillance cameras, monitoring a radius of 100metres.The leadership has to go to the people and ask whom they want.
If the other executivs do not want Tsvangirai, im afraid they will find themselves voted out.And I can see it coming.MDC is full of cadres who were brave from the start.
Tell me Mangoma and Biti, were you there when Tauya Coach Services run by the Christie Brothers in Waterfalls brought buses to the University of Zimbabwe in 1998 to rally UZ students to Mahusekwa for one of the first rallies?You were still on the sidelines, waiting and seeing.We know our true heroes and Gordon Christie, now living in Benoni South Africa is in our hall of fame.
His buses were all emboded with the chinja sign on their back and Boarder Gezi himself burned Tauya Coach Services number 24, in Muzarabani, Chidodo.We talk passionately about our founding fathers and will never ditch them for opportunists.Nelson Chamisa, very young in 1999, a student leader at Harare Poly, provided the energy by motivating the youths.He was fearless and energetic.We rally behind him.Job Sikhala, was brave but full of lies, hence his downfall.Jongwe was brave, but believed his intelligence outwitted everyone, a recipe for disaster in politics but we loved him.Tafadzwa Musekiwa was childish.Welshman had a personal hatred towards Morgan, he saw him as having no brain.
Cdes, all this is in our records.Those who think can hijck this peoples party im sorry.We know our heroes.Morgan had his wife killed and ZANU got an avenue into his life, but he never sold out.He was given a good house inexchange oflegitimising election results but he refused.What more do you want.We have travelled 14 hard painfull years together.We saw Ncube rebelling, Chaibva,Sikhala,Makwavarara and a whole lot of unheralded opportunists.But together we stand for the principles of total democracy brought by sacrifices of the people.We wish the souls of those murdered by ZANU PF a peaceful rest
@yoyo-money changes weak people, so be very careful.That time these guys had no families to look after.
Khuphe knows that she will never be president of the party, later on of the country all because of gukurahundi Shona tribalism. So, for selfish reasons she has to stick it out with Tsvangirayi so she at least remains, number two.
Its the usual RENT-A-NDEBELE Shona guukurahundi practice!!