News / National
Simba Makoni's leadership questioned
21 Aug 2014 at 16:27hrs | Views
KNIVES were out for Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn (MKD) leader Simba Makoni last week as party members questioned his leadership qualities and why he pulled out of last year's presidential race to back Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Contention, which had simmered for long in the party, came to a head at a highly charged conference held at Harare Club recently with irate members blasting Makoni for his decision to pull out of the presidential race and throwing his weight behind Tsvangirai.
The explosive conference, which was meant to devise strategies to revive the grounded party, degenerated into a platform for verbal slurs directed at Makoni as irate members let go emotions that had been simmering within the political movement since July 31, 2013. Delegates from the country's 10 provinces took turns to heap criticism on Makoni and a few top leaders whose decision to join MDC-T was described as suicidal.
Makoni never fully got the reciprocal MDC-T backing he was promised for his candidature in the Makoni Central National Assembly constituency which he contested for but lost to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa of ZANU-PF. MDC-T's Patrick Sagandira refused to obey Tsvangirai's order to withdraw his candidature which means the vote ended up being divided.
Party members said the decision led to serious confusion in the party which resulted in a mass exodus of party supporters and desertions by key members around the country. They said the party's structures had broken down around the country and there was no longer any MKD to talk about.
"There is nothing on the ground and we have to build the party from scratch. The party has perished because of your decision to join hands with the MDC-T in last year's elections. Many people felt betrayed by the party leadership and decided to leave," said one delegate from Masvingo province.
Delegates from Makoni's home province of Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East and Bulawayo sang from the same hymn book in their condemnation of the move while there were no delegates from Matabeleland North and South provinces.
Makoni was also heavily criticised for not visiting the provinces.
A delegate from Bindura left the slightly over 300 members in stitches when he jokingly said he would talk to police in the town to arrest someone so that the leader would be able to set foot in Mashonaland Central province. He was making reference to the trial of Makoni at the Bindura Magistrates court where he answered charges of violating the Public Order and Security Act after he allegedly addressed an unsanctioned rally in Glendale in 2009.
The trial ended with his acquittal in 2012, the last time Makoni ever visited the town, according to the delegate. The party's organising secretary, Liberty Mukwakwami, also bemoaned the lack of leadership saying at one point they visited Masvingo Province with the aim of meeting the provincial leadership in the company of Makoni only to find not a single soul waiting for them. He said they returned to Harare without addressing anyone.
Makoni accepted the blame and charged members with the joint responsibility to restructure the party.
"At that moment we were convinced that it was the right decision (joining hands with MDC-T) and we thought it would come out well. We have heard your concerns but the task to re-organise the party is not Simba Makoni's alone.
"I know that there are no structures at the moment and I want you to go back and organise yourselves. The reason why we are here is to plan the way forward and we must plan and work together," he said.
Makoni, however, said MKD would remain open to alliances with other political parties in future.
"It is critical that we work with others in this fight considering the dire state of affairs in the country, so we will keep looking for partners to form a formidable coalition for the 2018 elections," he said.
Mukwakwami said he was confident that the party would be revived and come out strong. MKD's fortunes have been fast dwindling since the July 31, 2013 elections as members deserted it en masse following the ill-fated decision with analysts quick to say it was sinking into oblivion.
Contention, which had simmered for long in the party, came to a head at a highly charged conference held at Harare Club recently with irate members blasting Makoni for his decision to pull out of the presidential race and throwing his weight behind Tsvangirai.
The explosive conference, which was meant to devise strategies to revive the grounded party, degenerated into a platform for verbal slurs directed at Makoni as irate members let go emotions that had been simmering within the political movement since July 31, 2013. Delegates from the country's 10 provinces took turns to heap criticism on Makoni and a few top leaders whose decision to join MDC-T was described as suicidal.
Makoni never fully got the reciprocal MDC-T backing he was promised for his candidature in the Makoni Central National Assembly constituency which he contested for but lost to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa of ZANU-PF. MDC-T's Patrick Sagandira refused to obey Tsvangirai's order to withdraw his candidature which means the vote ended up being divided.
Party members said the decision led to serious confusion in the party which resulted in a mass exodus of party supporters and desertions by key members around the country. They said the party's structures had broken down around the country and there was no longer any MKD to talk about.
"There is nothing on the ground and we have to build the party from scratch. The party has perished because of your decision to join hands with the MDC-T in last year's elections. Many people felt betrayed by the party leadership and decided to leave," said one delegate from Masvingo province.
Delegates from Makoni's home province of Manicaland, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East and Bulawayo sang from the same hymn book in their condemnation of the move while there were no delegates from Matabeleland North and South provinces.
Makoni was also heavily criticised for not visiting the provinces.
The trial ended with his acquittal in 2012, the last time Makoni ever visited the town, according to the delegate. The party's organising secretary, Liberty Mukwakwami, also bemoaned the lack of leadership saying at one point they visited Masvingo Province with the aim of meeting the provincial leadership in the company of Makoni only to find not a single soul waiting for them. He said they returned to Harare without addressing anyone.
Makoni accepted the blame and charged members with the joint responsibility to restructure the party.
"At that moment we were convinced that it was the right decision (joining hands with MDC-T) and we thought it would come out well. We have heard your concerns but the task to re-organise the party is not Simba Makoni's alone.
"I know that there are no structures at the moment and I want you to go back and organise yourselves. The reason why we are here is to plan the way forward and we must plan and work together," he said.
Makoni, however, said MKD would remain open to alliances with other political parties in future.
"It is critical that we work with others in this fight considering the dire state of affairs in the country, so we will keep looking for partners to form a formidable coalition for the 2018 elections," he said.
Mukwakwami said he was confident that the party would be revived and come out strong. MKD's fortunes have been fast dwindling since the July 31, 2013 elections as members deserted it en masse following the ill-fated decision with analysts quick to say it was sinking into oblivion.
Source - fingaz
