Biti isolated as PDP women's assembly back Moyo

THE People's Democratic Party (PDP) women's assembly has thrown its weight behind underfire secretary-general Gorden Moyo, who last week booted out party leader Tendai Biti as boardroom squabbles rocked the opposition party.

Biti and several other top-ranking party officials were "fired" for allegedly railroading the party into the Morgan Tsvangirai-led MDC Alliance without the consent of other executive members.

Biti, who was replaced by Lucia Matibenga in the interim, has, however, dismissed his expulsion as null and void and in turn announced the expulsion of Moyo and his allies for turning the party into a regional entity.

PDP women's assembly secretary-general Warning Luphahla accused Biti and his team of mortgaging the party to the MDC Alliance in breach of the party's constitution and previous resolutions made by the general council.

"We would also like to thank our leaders in the general council for their wisdom, competency and the courage to stand by the party principles and values in respect of the constitution against the background of recent attempts to mortgage our party to the highest bidder," Luphahla said in a congratulatory message to Matibenga.

"As women, we feel honoured in this party to have one of us being entrusted with a position of utmost responsibility such as that of leading a party as vibrant as the PDP at the level of president.

"We are, however, under no illusions about, the amount of work lying ahead of you which is Herculean given the state of decay in Zimbabwe, but our hearts are warmed by your proven pedigree as a focused and visionary leader destined to return the country to political and economic sanity," Luphala added.

Matibenga could not be reached to comment on her new role as PDP interim leader.

The MDC Alliance, a supposed grouping of seven opposition parties pushing to contest next year's general elections under one umbrella body, has caused divisions in most of the parties involved in the pact.