News / National
MDC falls on hard times
26 Oct 2013 at 07:49hrs | Views
THE Welshman Ncube-led MDC has reportedly hit the financial rock bottom, forcing it to cut back on some of its programmes.
Party insiders said production of election campaign ahead of the July 31 general elections depleted the party's coffers, leaving it surviving from hand to mouth.
The MDC failed to win a single contested parliamentary seat in the just-ended polls.
However, MDC spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube and treasurer-general Paul Themba Nyathi dismissed the bankruptcy allegations as "a hoax", saying their party had adopted a different strategy of operating in secrecy.
"The MDC is funded entirely by its members and some local well-wishers and this has not changed," Dube said.
"We can ill-afford to be invisible in our quest to rebound from the catastrophe of July 31, 2013. We have adopted a different strategy, one of stealth and this is what could be leading others to the conclusion that we have stopped moving."
Dube said MDC members were busy holding closed-door meetings at their homes instead of public gatherings to secretly strategise the party's comeback following its electoral defeat.
"Our visibility is driven by the activities of members and structures who are currently involved in massive house meeting exercises with all manner of Zimbabweans nationally as we work tirelessly towards rebuilding the party based on the leadership of the people at grassroots level," he added.
Nyathi said the MDC treasury department was only funding meetings deemed necessary.
"Of course, after the elections we need to restrategise and that includes issues around finances, but I can say that we have adequate money to fund necessary meetings," he said.
"There are meetings we have to do in line with our constitution and those are facilitated from a budgetary perspective, but as to public meetings, those are responded to as per need."
Party insiders said production of election campaign ahead of the July 31 general elections depleted the party's coffers, leaving it surviving from hand to mouth.
The MDC failed to win a single contested parliamentary seat in the just-ended polls.
However, MDC spokesperson Nhlanhla Dube and treasurer-general Paul Themba Nyathi dismissed the bankruptcy allegations as "a hoax", saying their party had adopted a different strategy of operating in secrecy.
"The MDC is funded entirely by its members and some local well-wishers and this has not changed," Dube said.
"We can ill-afford to be invisible in our quest to rebound from the catastrophe of July 31, 2013. We have adopted a different strategy, one of stealth and this is what could be leading others to the conclusion that we have stopped moving."
Dube said MDC members were busy holding closed-door meetings at their homes instead of public gatherings to secretly strategise the party's comeback following its electoral defeat.
"Our visibility is driven by the activities of members and structures who are currently involved in massive house meeting exercises with all manner of Zimbabweans nationally as we work tirelessly towards rebuilding the party based on the leadership of the people at grassroots level," he added.
Nyathi said the MDC treasury department was only funding meetings deemed necessary.
"Of course, after the elections we need to restrategise and that includes issues around finances, but I can say that we have adequate money to fund necessary meetings," he said.
"There are meetings we have to do in line with our constitution and those are facilitated from a budgetary perspective, but as to public meetings, those are responded to as per need."
Source - newsday
