…as members jostle for key posts                                                                  

by Bruce Zvandasara

Dissentions within the MDC Alliance continue to rage on as MDC senior members jostle for key positions ahead of the 2019 elective congress.

MDC National Chairperson, Thabitha Khumalo and Organising Secretary, Amos Chibaya have been doing the dirty work for their leader, Nelson Chamisa in a bid to consolidate the latter’s power ahead of the congress. Chamisa does not want to be contested at the congress.

Factions have risen within the opposition political party with the other supporting the Secretary General Douglas Mwonzora for the top job whilst the other wants to give Chamisa another chance.

Inside sources confided in the Harare Post that Khumalo dispatched a letter on Saturday to all Provincial Chairs advising them of the directive that the integration and gap filling exercise that was done between 5-7 October 2018 has been nullified.

The letter was copied to Chamisa and the party’s National Standing Committee.

In the letter, Khumalo advised of the meeting which was held at the Party Headquarters in Harare on 2 October 2018 which immediately put on hold the gap filling exercise until finalisation of the Strategic Integration framework document which will guide the conduct of the integration exercise.

In view of the directive, Khumalo nullified the exercise which was spearheaded by MDC Vice President, Professor Welshman Ncube in Bulawayo.

It is said that Prof Ncube was mandated with the task to oversee and spearhead the exercise in Bulawayo. The exercise saw the incorporation and secondment of seven members from the MDC-N and PDP Biti faction to fill in the 14 vacancies in the MDC Bulawayo Provincial Executive Council (PEC).

The nullification was widely seen as a scheme by Khumalo to counter Prof Ncube and MDC Bulawayo Provincial chairperson, Gift Banda who are allegedly planning to staff the Bulawayo PEC with their allies ahead of the elective congress.