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Sparks fly as MDC UK executive deposed
By
Staff Reporter
(CLICK
HERE to listen to Lovemore Moyo and Ephraim
Tapa, courtesy of AfroSoundfm.com)
THE deposed opposition
MDC UK executive has vowed to defy the party’s national chairman,
Lovemore Moyo, who dissolved the structure over the weekend citing ceaseless
in-fighting.
Moyo is the national chairman of the MDC faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Moyo was accused of “nepotism” and abuse of the MDC constitution by Ephraim Tapa, the chairman of the deposed executive.
Tapa blasted: “We are talking here of a chairman who came to save the political lives of his acquaintances. We are not accepting that and the manner in which it was done was unconstitutional.
“This whole thing was a cooked up thing and that is why the membership of the MDC in the UK is saying ‘No’.”
Tapa claimed a revolt was imminent among the MDC membership in the UK, even suggesting that some were calling for the formation of a new party.
But Moyo, in an interview with AfrosoundsFM’s Zimbabwe Today programme, said he had the constitutional authority to make the changes.
He said: “I didn’t just come to dissolve the UK structure. I met the youth executive first to find out their views and also their concerns. I also met the women’s executive and also they expressed their concerns, and also had their own point of view about problems here in the UK. I then met what I would say are the owners of the party, that is the branches themselves, where again I engaged them in a consultative meeting.
“At the end of the day, together with the branches, we chatted the way forward. It was never a Lovemore Moyo decision, but it was a decision that came from the contributions and concerns made by the branches themselves.
“Out of the 42 branches that we have here in the UK, 37 debated on the issue whether to dissolve the executive or to reform the executive and out of the 37 who deliberated, 33 favoured dissolution citing their reasons and only four favoured a reformation, that’s where we rehabilitate them.
“So it was a clear indication that the former executive had lost the mandate and trust of the membership here, I never came here with a specific mind because this is my first encounter with this structure. I don’t have a friend; I don’t have anyone whom I know. For anyone to say I came to dissolve is not true. I came to understand their problems and to give them solutions.”
But a furious Tapa told the same programme that Moyo had been invited to the UK by five former members of his executive who quit two weeks ago, led by Matthew Nyashanu, the organising secretary.
In damaging claims, Tapa said after the dissolution of the UK executive, Moyo had been seen in a pub in the company of Nyashanu “congratulating each other”.
Tapa said: “Up to now a lot of us don’t understand what has happened. We are at a loss really, but I am aware that two weeks ago, five members of the executive broke away and formed what they called a new province of MDC UK.
“I called for a council (sic) which was attended by over 45 branches and they endorsed my leadership and the executive unanimously. They also voted to fill in the gaps that were left by the departed.
“When those people who left discovered that their positions were going to be filled up, they then hastily arranged for the chairman to come over and dissolve the executive, that’s the only explanation I can give.”
While Moyo said the UK MDC had 42 branches, Tapa insisted they were 55, adding that most were not represented as members were involved in a demonstration at the Zimbabwe embassy in London.
Moyo, also the MP for Matobo, said the MDC leadership in Zimbabwe had “grown tired” of constant factional fights in the UK executive.
He said: “We are faced with a dictatorship back home and we can’t afford to waste time and have a scenario where people spend 90 percent of their time harassing and insulting each other on the internet. We are not going to accept that.
“It is unfortunate if people see these positions as a way of uplifting themselves individually, to us these are challenges and also when you are a position holder we expect you to do the will of the majority and implement the party programme.
“I am saying if you have a difference with your national leadership and if you are a disciplined cadre and you have a respect of the leadership, obviously there are channels to express your dissatisfaction, but certainly media is not the appropriate channel to attack your leadership.
“To me, it’s serious indiscipline, and there is no MDC cadre who can attack and insult the leadership in public. Once you do so, to me you are Zanu PF, you are part of the dictatorship we are fighting.”
Moyo said John Nyamande would lead a coordinating committee for the next six months “until the dust settles”.
“I hope that
at that time, we will be ready for an extra-ordinary congress here in
the UK and people again would be able to choose their leadership. Those
who have been asked to step down are also free to campaign as long as
they remain behaved and adhere to the constitution of the party.”
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