MDC-T Students' Council demands urgent elective congress

The MDC-T Students Council has demanded an urgent elective congress, with its chair, Ian Makone, saying no-one has monopoly of the party.

The council is an organ that falls under the party's national youth wing.

The students' council resolved that, having suffered a huge loss at the last harmonised elections in 2013, urgent party restructuring and a special elective congress must be undertaken.

Makone partly attributed the election loss to 'greed' on the part of the party leadership which got into the Government of national Unity driven by the lust for self enrichment, without consulting the people.

Confusion and protests caused by the party primaries was also blamed for the MDC-T drubbing.

According to Makone, the standing committee members stampeded for government posts at the expense of party programmes.

"Obsessed with the goodies accompanying top government positions, MDC-T ministers forgot the welfare of the general populace. Amassing of wealth by our party seconded government officials and neglect of the struggling workers during the GNU cost MDC-T the 2013 elections, hence the need for serious retrospection and the elective congress," Makone said.

He added that the party should have reinstated student activists suspended from the party on unclear grounds.

Makone took a swipe at Tsvangirai's advisors and close associates whom he described as non technocrats, poor strategists and bootlickers.

A call was made for MDC-T not to be led by dictators, but by people's wishes as reflected by ideas contributed through branch, district, ward and other grassroots structures.

Makone expressed concern with the party's neglect of victims of political violence, some of who were killed for supporting MDC-T.

The party leadership also took the flak for a poor voter mobilisation strategy.

The council described ongoing power struggles in the party in which some top members have called for Tsvangirai's resignation as misplaced and divisive.

"As the students' council, we want to make it clear that no one is bigger than the party. No person has monopoly over the movement, no individual is a permanent leader of the party and leaders come and go," Makone said, reminding MDC-T followers that they voluntarily joined the party.

Suppression of dissenting voices and divergence of views in MDC-T was described as a symptom of dictatorship which should not be allowed to flourish.

"Millions of Zimbabweans who own MDC-T cannot be held at ransom by a few in the leadership who continued to struggle for power," said Makone.