MDC set for major rebound

The Movement for Democratic Change led by Professor Welshman Ncube is set for a huge rebound if its turn around strategy is anything to go by.

According to inside information leaked to Bualwayo24 News, the MDC has been involved in an intensive turn around programme which is meant to take the country by surprise. The programme is epected to be officially launched at the beginning of February.

The programme comes at a time when a majority of people in the country have been wondering what has been happening to the once extremely vibrant party in the run up to the July 31 elections.

Since the elections the party went on a surprising mute only making headlines on the wrong side of things. The most controversial of the issues the party was faced with, was the secondment of party Secretary General Priscillia Misihairabwi Mushonga to represent Matebeleland South in the proportional representation on the women's quota House of Assembly seat.

The issue got very hot resulting in several high ranking members of the party either resigning from the party or being suspended or dismissed. Top among these were former Member of Parliament Siyabonga Malandu, Policy Director Qhubani Moyo, Bulawayo Alderman Charles Mpofu and Matebeleland South Chairman Petros Mukwena amongst a host others.

The mass exodus of members led to critics believing that the party was doomed to close down. In the back ground the Welshman Ncube led Executive was in heavy conflict resolution and making frantic efforts to quell the situation. According to the source, the party leadership sometimes deliberately allowed tempers to rise in the media instead of challenging them as a strategy.

According to the "grand revival plan" the party's first point of call was to quell the Misihairambwi issue which the party seems to have already achieve by appeasing the volatile Matebeleland South Province. The next issue is to resolve the Mat South Provincial leadership issue particularly the Petros Mukwena issue.

According to the source, Mukwena's issue is already being addressed by party vice president and his suspension or dismissal will be reversed soon. Information at hand is that Mukwena will be seconded to a different position in the National Executive. In the same wake negotiations are being done with all members of the party that grudgingly resigned from the party and most of them are reported to have acceded to being re incorporated into the party.

The final stage of the revival plan by the so called Green Team is to go on an audit of all structures with emphasis being put on the strengthening of the lowest structures, the branches. The source indicates that according to the plan the party will work on strengthening branches in all the wards in the country and set committees that will focus on recruitment, political education and mobilisation.

The MDC revival plan comes in the midst of serious internal wars in its rivals that is ZANU PF and MDC T. The two parties are of late involved in heavy media and social network blasting of rival factions in the fight for leadership changes. While the two parties tear apart internally, the MDC has suddenly exhibited a huge degree of unity and harmony between its members particularly on social networks. There is also a sudden shift in the MDC membership from continuous rush to the media to throw the party's dirty linen into public to a more reserved stance where party president and/or spokesperson now appear to be the mouth of the party.

With the continuous squabbling in the MDC T and ZANU PF the MDC turnaround strategy may just but come out handy for the party and give it an edge over its rivals in the run up to the 2018 elections. A snap survey done by this reporter seems to be suggesting that if Welshman Ncube and his MDC would quickly reach out to the people at this stage, they are likely to get the sympathy of a lot of people who are fed up with the ZANU PF and MDC T leadership succession wars. A number of people interviewed expressed a lot of sympathy for the MDC and desire to see it rise and pursue further its devolution of power fight which seems to be dying a premature death under ZANU PF.