News / Local
Welshman Ncube courts MDC-T rebels
18 Apr 2014 at 07:35hrs | Views
MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube has made strong overtures to join forces with the MDC-T renewal team whose members he said shared the same fundamental values with his party.
The group which is pushing for the ouster of the MDC-T party leader Morgan Tsvangirai is made up of the party's secretary general, Tendai Biti, fired deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, former youth assembly secretary general Promise Mkwananzi and Harare South losing candidate Jacob Mafume among others.
In his first public appearance on Wednesday since the humiliating defeat of his party in the 2013 elections that were won by Zanu-PF giving it more than two thirds majority in parliament, Professor Ncube said he shared the same fundamental values with members of the MDC-T renewal team.
Prof Ncube who was addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club said members of the MDC-T renewal team just like his party believed in collective leadership and non- violence in resolving disputes.
"It is unfortunate that it has taken these members nine years to draw the line," he said.
Professor Ncube said when the MDC-T split in 2005 over disagreements regarding the party's participation in the Senatorial elections, the same members agreed with him on the issue of collective decision- making and non violence but they could not make a decision on when to draw the line.
"A historical antidote which those of you who were not in MDC in 2005 might find amazing is that many associated with or who make up the MDC-T's renewal team, when battle lines were drawn in 2005 and we were asked where we stood, many of them in terms of ideas, in terms of conviction, in terms of moral persuasion were 100 percent with us," said Professor Ncube.
He said they only differed on whether or not it was the appropriate time to draw the line on Tsvangirai's transgression from the party's fundamental values.
Professor Ncube however said he had not joined hands with the team but said he was more than willing to meet the group.
He said the infighting within the MDC-T party was their own fight which his party would not want to join.
"We will not join in their fight because it has nothing to do with us," he said.
In 2005, Prof Ncube and other senior members that included the late Gibson Sibanda led a breakaway faction accusing Tsvangirai of among others dictatorship and fanning violence within the party, charges that have since come back again to haunt MDC-T.
Mangoma, Mkwananzi and Mafume were last week fired from the party after questioning Tsvangirai's leadership style.
Prof Ncube said when he parted with Tsvangirai back then members of the renewal team said they needed more time to try to work and make things right in the MDC-T.
"We differed back then on whether or not the time was up to draw the line. We, because of our conviction on collective decision-making and insistence on non-violence in resolving disputes decided to pull out," said Prof Ncube.
He said there was a need for true democrats to recapture the spirit of 1999 when the Movement for Democratic Change was formed, which is now missing.
"I believe we have a generational responsibility to recapture the philosophy, the spirit, the impetus, the energy of 1999, the working people's convention.
"I think we need a convention of all democrats wherever located whether free or unfree to re-look at what went wrong and re-establish a new agenda for change, a credible one, one which people believe in, one in which we sincerely believe in ," he said.
Prof Ncube said the problem with the opposition in the country was that they were always in a denial mood even when it was clear that Zanu-PF won the elections.
"We are in denial and as a result we cannot take responsibility for our failures as a people. No one wants to take responsibility for the outcome of 2013, we were 'nikuved', the election was stolen etc but real people went to vote, real people walk the streets of Bulawayo today, Harare proudly wearing Zanu-PF T-shirts and caps and I believe those people voted for Zanu PF, they might not have constituted the result, but they constitute numbers that voted," said Prof Ncube.
The group which is pushing for the ouster of the MDC-T party leader Morgan Tsvangirai is made up of the party's secretary general, Tendai Biti, fired deputy treasurer-general Elton Mangoma, former youth assembly secretary general Promise Mkwananzi and Harare South losing candidate Jacob Mafume among others.
In his first public appearance on Wednesday since the humiliating defeat of his party in the 2013 elections that were won by Zanu-PF giving it more than two thirds majority in parliament, Professor Ncube said he shared the same fundamental values with members of the MDC-T renewal team.
Prof Ncube who was addressing journalists at the Bulawayo Press Club said members of the MDC-T renewal team just like his party believed in collective leadership and non- violence in resolving disputes.
"It is unfortunate that it has taken these members nine years to draw the line," he said.
Professor Ncube said when the MDC-T split in 2005 over disagreements regarding the party's participation in the Senatorial elections, the same members agreed with him on the issue of collective decision- making and non violence but they could not make a decision on when to draw the line.
"A historical antidote which those of you who were not in MDC in 2005 might find amazing is that many associated with or who make up the MDC-T's renewal team, when battle lines were drawn in 2005 and we were asked where we stood, many of them in terms of ideas, in terms of conviction, in terms of moral persuasion were 100 percent with us," said Professor Ncube.
He said they only differed on whether or not it was the appropriate time to draw the line on Tsvangirai's transgression from the party's fundamental values.
Professor Ncube however said he had not joined hands with the team but said he was more than willing to meet the group.
He said the infighting within the MDC-T party was their own fight which his party would not want to join.
"We will not join in their fight because it has nothing to do with us," he said.
In 2005, Prof Ncube and other senior members that included the late Gibson Sibanda led a breakaway faction accusing Tsvangirai of among others dictatorship and fanning violence within the party, charges that have since come back again to haunt MDC-T.
Mangoma, Mkwananzi and Mafume were last week fired from the party after questioning Tsvangirai's leadership style.
Prof Ncube said when he parted with Tsvangirai back then members of the renewal team said they needed more time to try to work and make things right in the MDC-T.
"We differed back then on whether or not the time was up to draw the line. We, because of our conviction on collective decision-making and insistence on non-violence in resolving disputes decided to pull out," said Prof Ncube.
He said there was a need for true democrats to recapture the spirit of 1999 when the Movement for Democratic Change was formed, which is now missing.
"I believe we have a generational responsibility to recapture the philosophy, the spirit, the impetus, the energy of 1999, the working people's convention.
"I think we need a convention of all democrats wherever located whether free or unfree to re-look at what went wrong and re-establish a new agenda for change, a credible one, one which people believe in, one in which we sincerely believe in ," he said.
Prof Ncube said the problem with the opposition in the country was that they were always in a denial mood even when it was clear that Zanu-PF won the elections.
"We are in denial and as a result we cannot take responsibility for our failures as a people. No one wants to take responsibility for the outcome of 2013, we were 'nikuved', the election was stolen etc but real people went to vote, real people walk the streets of Bulawayo today, Harare proudly wearing Zanu-PF T-shirts and caps and I believe those people voted for Zanu PF, they might not have constituted the result, but they constitute numbers that voted," said Prof Ncube.
Source - chronicle
