News / Local
MDC-T recruits, trains jobless youths for Bulawayo demonstration
22 May 2016 at 08:43hrs | Views
Opposition MDC-T Bulawayo province is reportedly recruiting desperate unemployed youths in the city to make up numbers for its planned demonstration next Saturday.
The party is said to be promising funding for various projects if they participate.
The Sunday News reports that party is going around the districts, training the youths on MDC-T slogans and chant songs to be sang during the demonstration.
On Thursday the opposition party got the green light to stage its planned demonstration in the city after High Court Judge, Justice Martin Makonese ordered the police not to interfere or interrupt the march noting that the police were being unreasonable and infringing on the people's rights to freely demonstrate.
The party's provincial leadership led by its youth chairperson, ward one councillor Mlandu Ncube were busy on a recruitment drive to avoid a flop which will expose the waning fortunes of the party.
Party sources revealed that the organisation was also considering hiring buses for people from other provinces who will pretend to be from Bulawayo during the demonstration.
"Previously the party strongly relied on its relation with the Bulawayo Progressive Residents' Association but with the high levels of corruption that have been levelled against Bulawayo councillors led by the provincial chairperson, who is the city's Deputy Mayor, Councillor Gift Banda, this relation has turned to the worst.
"The party now has no option than to look for other ways of recruiting people to attend the demonstration. Further they are looking for people they will trust not to turn the demonstration into an opportunity to question Clr Banda and his councillors hence the move to train and dangle a carrot of promise of fund injections after the march," said the source.
Another source further claimed that the party was snubbing members of the MDC Veteran Activist Association with fears that they might fuel factional fights during the demonstration.
"It is a known fact that the province is already heavily divided therefore the party's vice president Ms Thokozani Khupe has told the leadership not to entertain any VAA members fearing that these people might embarrass them during the demonstration.
"The order is that if need be these members will be singled out and shown to police details with the purported charge of them attempting to disrupt the otherwise peaceful demonstration," said the source.
The party's provincial organising secretary, Councillor James Sithole, confirmed that they were training people who would attend but said this was simple to train them on orderly conduct.
"Yes, we are training our members but it's on orderly conduct, we want our members to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner knowing that we are a peace loving party but for further details please contact our information department, they are the ones who are allowed to speak to the media," said Sithole.
The party is said to be promising funding for various projects if they participate.
The Sunday News reports that party is going around the districts, training the youths on MDC-T slogans and chant songs to be sang during the demonstration.
On Thursday the opposition party got the green light to stage its planned demonstration in the city after High Court Judge, Justice Martin Makonese ordered the police not to interfere or interrupt the march noting that the police were being unreasonable and infringing on the people's rights to freely demonstrate.
The party's provincial leadership led by its youth chairperson, ward one councillor Mlandu Ncube were busy on a recruitment drive to avoid a flop which will expose the waning fortunes of the party.
Party sources revealed that the organisation was also considering hiring buses for people from other provinces who will pretend to be from Bulawayo during the demonstration.
"The party now has no option than to look for other ways of recruiting people to attend the demonstration. Further they are looking for people they will trust not to turn the demonstration into an opportunity to question Clr Banda and his councillors hence the move to train and dangle a carrot of promise of fund injections after the march," said the source.
Another source further claimed that the party was snubbing members of the MDC Veteran Activist Association with fears that they might fuel factional fights during the demonstration.
"It is a known fact that the province is already heavily divided therefore the party's vice president Ms Thokozani Khupe has told the leadership not to entertain any VAA members fearing that these people might embarrass them during the demonstration.
"The order is that if need be these members will be singled out and shown to police details with the purported charge of them attempting to disrupt the otherwise peaceful demonstration," said the source.
The party's provincial organising secretary, Councillor James Sithole, confirmed that they were training people who would attend but said this was simple to train them on orderly conduct.
"Yes, we are training our members but it's on orderly conduct, we want our members to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner knowing that we are a peace loving party but for further details please contact our information department, they are the ones who are allowed to speak to the media," said Sithole.
Source - Sunday Mail
