Mbanga, Mushore divide MDC-T

Acting Harare Mayor Christopher Mbanga remains at the helm of Town House while former banker Mr James Mushore has been locked out of the town clerk's office, with an ever interfering MDC-T divided over the suspension of party leader Morgan Tsvangirai's former chief-of-staff.

MDC-T's National Standing Committee sat last week and unanimously agreed to suspend Clr Mbanga, but he said he can only be suspended by the party's secretary general, Mr Douglas Mwonzora. The party's acting secretary general, Ms Pauline Mpariwa, wrote to Clr Mbanga advising him that he would appear before the party's disciplinary committee for failure to comply with a party directive but said nothing about the said suspension.

Ms Mpariwa's letter reads: "We write to inform you that you shall appear before a disciplinary hearing to answer the following charges: Failure to comply with party directive in that you proceeded to convene a council meeting contrary to the party's instruction that the meeting should not be conducted."

During the meeting in question, council resolved to send Mr Mushore on forced leave until court cases involving the issue of his appointment were exhausted. Party spokesperson Mr Obert Gutu yesterday insisted that the official party position was that Clr Mbanga had been suspended.

"Chris Mbanga has been suspended from the party pending his appearance before the national disciplinary committee chaired by the party's national chairman. Mr James Mushore went through all the necessary formalities of an interview up until such a time that he was duly and lawfully appointed as the Town Clerk of the City of Harare. This is the official party position.

"I'm the national spokesperson of the MDC and I am mandated to speak on behalf of the party. Any other position that you might have in your mind is not the official party position," he said.

Sources close to Harvest House claimed that Mr Mushore is indispensable because he made some concessions with the party's leadership and was promised the city's top job.

"Mr Mushore made some agreements with some influential members of the party, hence the massive protection he enjoys in the party," said the source.

However, it seems Mr Mushore does not enjoy the same support at Town House with councillors keen to see him leave as well as some officials in security who have since locked him out of the town clerk's office.

Government rescinded the appointment of Mr Mushore soon after a council meeting that announced his appointment, saying that council flouted procedures for appointing a town clerk as outlined in the Urban Councils Act and Local Government Board regulations.

According to the law in question, council was supposed to submit three candidates to the Local Government Board for approval.

Government suspended Mayor Barnard Manyenyeni over the issue.