News / National
Low attendance at Tsvangirai's Masvingo meeting
16 Jul 2014 at 07:14hrs | Views
EMBATTLED MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai's political fortunes continued to tumble after some of the members in district party structures in Masvingo snubbed a provincial executive council meeting he addressed at Mucheke Hall last week.
Tsvangirai was in Masvingo to meet the party's structures which constitute the provincial council ahead of a provincial congress that will culminate in his faction's elective congress set for October.
This was Tsvangirai's first meeting with his party's provincial council after the en masse defection of the executive led by Wilstaf Sitemere, who joined the party's Renewal Team led by Tendai Biti to push for his ouster.
Party insiders who attended the meeting where media personnel were ejected, said the provincial council meeting was poorly attended.
They said some of the districts were either not represented or had only few representatives, an indication that the party's structures were in disarray or totally non-existent in other districts.
Among the districts that had few representatives or none at all were Mwenezi, Chiredzi and Zaka.
The provincial council meeting was not well attended to an extent that the small Mucheke Hall was not full unlike during similar meetings in the past, said a provincial executive member.
Some districts had only a few representatives while others were not represented at all, a clear message of Tsvangirai's waning fortunes.
MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora was at pains to explain the low attendance at the meeting by some of party's districts.
"This was not a meeting to vote, it was an information-giving provincial council meeting which, however, according to us was well attended" , he said.
"I think the media is just angry that they were ejected from the meeting and now want to create stories, the fact that some districts were under-represented does not matter because the meeting was an informative one."
Mwonzora said during the party's provincial congress, the MDC-T's organising department would make sure that all those in party structures attended the meeting.
Tsvangirai reportedly told the meeting that provincial executive members who defected to the Renewal Team were baited by money.
The MDC-T nominated Bernard Chiondegwa as the new provincial chairman after Sitemere and his executive left en masse for the Renewal Team.
Tsvangirai was in Masvingo to meet the party's structures which constitute the provincial council ahead of a provincial congress that will culminate in his faction's elective congress set for October.
This was Tsvangirai's first meeting with his party's provincial council after the en masse defection of the executive led by Wilstaf Sitemere, who joined the party's Renewal Team led by Tendai Biti to push for his ouster.
Party insiders who attended the meeting where media personnel were ejected, said the provincial council meeting was poorly attended.
They said some of the districts were either not represented or had only few representatives, an indication that the party's structures were in disarray or totally non-existent in other districts.
Among the districts that had few representatives or none at all were Mwenezi, Chiredzi and Zaka.
The provincial council meeting was not well attended to an extent that the small Mucheke Hall was not full unlike during similar meetings in the past, said a provincial executive member.
MDC-T spokesman Douglas Mwonzora was at pains to explain the low attendance at the meeting by some of party's districts.
"This was not a meeting to vote, it was an information-giving provincial council meeting which, however, according to us was well attended" , he said.
"I think the media is just angry that they were ejected from the meeting and now want to create stories, the fact that some districts were under-represented does not matter because the meeting was an informative one."
Mwonzora said during the party's provincial congress, the MDC-T's organising department would make sure that all those in party structures attended the meeting.
Tsvangirai reportedly told the meeting that provincial executive members who defected to the Renewal Team were baited by money.
The MDC-T nominated Bernard Chiondegwa as the new provincial chairman after Sitemere and his executive left en masse for the Renewal Team.
Source - chronicle
