Matibenga 'must publicly admit and resign as a minister' - Sikhala

The leader of MDC-99, Job Sikhala on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Public Service Minister Lucia Matibenga as thousands of workers embarked on a Zimbabwe-wide public sector strike, the Daily News reported.

Industrial action by over 200 000 workers in Zimbabwe has affected most schools, slowed down government business and forced a postponement of thousands of government appointments.

Matibenga, who is hardly two months in office as minister, has allegedly refused to give the public service leaders an audience, and union leaders in the Apex Council were forced to call a strike after she allegedly refused to entertain talks over demands to increase the amount of money public sector workers earn.

Yesterday, the Apex Council decided to temporarily shelve the strike to allow for more dialogue.

The five-day strike, that started in earnest on Monday, has piled pressure on the feisty Matibenga, with Sikhala yesterday calling on her to resign as minister of Public Service after displaying what the former student leader branded "astonishing arrogance" that he said has left many questioning if she can carry on in the light of her refusal even to entertain questions on the crippling strike action even from the press.

Addressing a press conference at the Media Centre in Harare yesterday, Sikhala said Matibenga was obviously not in a position to run the Public Service ministry.

"If she cannot openly solve the crisis or the challenges that she is given as a minister she must publicly admit and resign as a minister so as not to waste people's time by even refusing to address the press when the people are entitled to know what the minister is doing to solve the crisis," Sikhala told the news conference.

Sikhala's comments came after union leaders were snubbed by Matibenga in a meeting she had scheduled at her office last week.

She reportedly refused to meet the union leaders, including her arch rival in the ZCTU factional wars Raymond Majongwe â€" one of the leaders spearheading the strike.

Matibenga is in the George Nkiwane-led faction of the ZCTU while Majongwe is in the rival Lovemore Matombo-led faction that is tussling for control of the country's biggest trade union.

"Basically, ZCTU factionalism has now been taken into government business," Sikhala told reporters.

"Matibenga doesn't want to listen to concerns of civil servants because of Majongwe's position in the ZCTU, he is the PTUZ secretary-general and is also sitting in the Apex Council.

"The thing is, she thinks the civil servants strike is meant to discredit her standing as a Public Service minister. So that is why she is ignoring them and throwing insults from the 6th floor of her offices. It's because of that factional hatred."

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC has issued a press statement alleging that Zanu PF has taken the strike action "as a political tool to further their unfounded claims," insinuating that union leaders were agitating for strike action in the service of Zanu PF.

"We have to demystify that," Sikhala said.

"Matibenga is throwing insults that Majongwe is now being used by Zanu PF which is in actual fact false for some of us who know, some of us who have been fighting tyranny and dictatorship for the past decade, we know that Majongwe is a soldier of change. Majongwe has been in the trenches fighting for civil servants."