Ncube is not for turning

Ncube is not for turning

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By Staff Reporter

PROFESSOR Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) last night signaled a hardening of stance in opposition to Morgan Tsvangirai's attempts to force a boycott of senatorial elections next month.

Ncube, who has so far refused to state his position on the elections, said his duty was to defend the decision of the national council -- whether it coincided with his views or otherwise.

The MDC national council voted 33:31 in favour of participation, but Tsvangirai has rejected the results.

"The resolution of the national council will be obeyed and implemented by those provinces that have chosen to abide by the constitution of the party and there is no doubt they will do their best in their campaign," Ncube told SW Radio Africa's Violet Gonda on the Hot-Seat programme.

He spoke as Tsvangirai's spokesman, William Bango, said the MDC leader had "disowned" the 26 candidates who submitted their papers to the nomination court and were accepted.

South African President Thabo Mbeki last week tried to intervene in the dispute when he invited the MDC leaders for talks in South Africa.

Said Ncube: "Mbeki invited us simply to to say there seemed to be two sides to the MDC conflict, he wanted to hear one side then hear the other side. He offered to mediate....that was his interest. Mr Tsvangirai was also invited and regrettably, he didn't think it would serve any purpose."

It is widely accepted that two camps have emerged in the MDC, one aligned with Ncube (which supports participation in the senate) and another loyal to Tsvangirai which favours a boycott.

Correspondents in Harare say Tsvangirai's stance is unpopular with foreign diplomats, and the usually cheery British press has declared common front on the the former trade union leader.

The Daily Telegraph's former Harare correspondent, David Blair, wrote from South Africa: "This episode has betrayed all his failings. He decided that contesting the election would be pointless but lacks the personal authority or political skill to carry his colleagues. Critics say he emulated the worst aspects of Mugabe's regime by using violence."

Tsvangirai's camp has been accused of using violence against his opponents, and an unknown number of youths were arrested in the Midlands on Monday when they set upon some MDC candidates who were submitting their nomination papers.

The use of violence has invited a rare public rebuke from Tsvangirai's deputy, Gibson Sibanda.

The MDC national youth chairman and Tsvangirai loyalist, Nelson Chamisa, has gone on record to deny any hand in the violence. On Tuesday, he described himself as a "competent and committed apostle of non-violence."

Professor Ncube bemoaned the dearth of open debate in the MDC and the rise of fundamentalism which he said could cause some permanent damage to the party's unity if unchecked.

He insisted that he would not be bowing to Tsvangirai's position and appeared to suggest it was Tsvangirai who had to shift his position.

Said Ncube: "My responsibility and duty is to stand by and defend the resolution of the national council as secretary general of he MDC.

"I have no opinion on the matter, I will be guided by the national council. My opinion is wholly irrelevant, I have not articulated it in any fora, and I will not articulate it now or in future.

"I can tell you there were compelling arguments for non-participation and equally compelling arguments for participation and what the council had to do at the end of the day was to make a value judgment as to which tactfully and strategically would best serve the interests of the party.

"The question for participation and non-participation is one which reasonable people can legitimately disagree on and therefore, the attempt to absolutise on position as if it contains the whole truth is extremely problematic for some of us.

"If you occupy the position I occupy and you articulate an opinion and that opinion is at variance with the decision that we (national council) have made, you then have a problem. That is precisely why I have avoided articulating an opinion. My opinion is the opinion of the national council.

"I want the institutions and structures of the party to be respected. I would therefore defend the decisions which are made properly within those structures and institutions. People can attribute whatever opinion they want to attribute to me, but my position is to remain steadfast that my job is to defend the decision that is made (by the national council). Whether that decision coincided with my desire or not is wholly irrelevant, my position is to defend that position.

"The constitution of the MDC is supreme. The supreme authority, the entire authority of congress, is rested in the national council. Not one person can stand in contradiction to the national council. When people act in compliance with the national council, they are fully respecting the constitution of the party and indeed the very basic principle of the party which binds us and keeps us in the same organisation -- which is the principle of democratic collective decision making, and that is the foundation of the party.

"I hope between now and that time (elections), the MDC leadership will rethink seriously and reflect seriously on the things which bind us together as individuals in the same party and those are the founding values of the party. As long we can have a re-commitment to those values, then I have no doubt in my mind that we will find the solution to the problem that we face at the moment.

"The MDC has potential to resolve these problems and recover from the crisis provided we all remember the founding principles of the party, namely respect for the dignity of every individual, renunciation of all forms of violence as instruments of political organisation, recommitment to the MDC principle of democratic decision making and respecting those decisions. If we can rediscover our commitment and our belief in those values, our problems will disappear I believe."
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