Tsvangirai threatens councillors

MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai has warned councillors from his party that the he will wield the axe on them if they abuse their positions and engage in corrupt activities.

Tsvangirai gave the warning at Harvest House last week during a meeting with councillors.

The meeting was attended by organising secretary Nelson Chamisa, deputy national chairperson, Morgan Komichi, acting secretary-general, Tapiwa Mashakada and women's assembly boss Theresa Makone, among others.

Insiders said Tsvangirai implored the councillors to ensure they did not tarnish the party's image by engaging in acts of corruption and pushing for policies that were anti-workers.

The sources said Tsvangirai said it was prudent for the councillors to bear in mind the fact that the MDC-T was a "workers' project" hence the need to continuously push for interests of employees.

"The meeting was attended by councillors from around the country and Tsvangirai made it clear that corrupt councillors had no place in the MDC-T.

"He said corruption by councillors had cost the party hence the need for councillors to be transparent," an official who attended the meeting said. For the past years, the MDC-T either fired or suspended some of its councillors around the country on allegations of corruption involving illegal land deals.

Sources said Tsvangirai told councillors that proposed retrenchments of workers at some local authorities were unnecessary as the development would go against workers' interests.

"He told us that workers were the party's pillar of support hence implementing policies that negatively affected them would be detrimental to the party," the source said.

"He emphasised the need for policies that would prove to the electorate that the MDC-T was indeed a people-centered party."

Tsvangirai told councillors during the meeting that they should prioritise service delivery in their areas as a way of winning the support of the electorate. During the meeting, sources said, some of the councillors also complained about political interference in their work and cited Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo as the major culprit.

Komichi confirmed Thursday's meeting. "The meeting was meant to educate the councillors on what they should do in terms of service delivery and to tell them that they must be the face of the party at local level and that they should not engage in corrupt activities," he said.

"The meeting emphasised that the councillors should effectively carry out their duties and be disciplined members of the party."