Ncube defends Tsvangirai

Welshamn Ncube - leader of the MDC - has leapt to the defence of  his counterpart in the MDC Alliance, Morgan Tsvangirai, saying he was  convinced that he did his homework before committing to the formation of  a coalition.

The reaction by Ncube follows serious differences between the  former prime minister in the inclusive government and some of his  executive members who include deputy president Thokozani Khupe, national  chairperson Lovemore Moyo and national organising secretary Abedinico  Bhebhe over some clauses in the alliance  formation.

The trio did not attend the official launch of the alliance in Harare on August 5.

Ncube  is one of the seven opposition party leaders who have since appended  their signatures to the pact that seeks to remove the long-ruling  President Robert Mugabe's government from power.

Speaking during an interview with Skyz Metro FM on Thursday evening here, Ncube seemingly took aim at Khupe and company for their alleged lack of vision.

"I  maintain that within the rank and file among the people who are  affected seriously by the economic crises that we face in the country, I  have no doubt that the people are happy with what we are doing (forming  an alliance), they have demanded it of us for a long time," Ncube said.

"I  am not in denial that there are certain people at leadership levels who  might be unhappy about the processes which led to the agreement at the  negotiators' level and at the leadership level, they have said so  themselves, I have engaged some of them and they have said so to me," he  said.

Ncube said while others in the MDC leadership were not  happy with the way things have happened in the mooted alliance, he said  Tsvangirai conducted extensive consultations before coming up with the  final decision.

"We must be cognisant of the fact that whatever  the criticism there might be, I am aware that in the MDC and MDC-T there  were wide ranging consultations not just at leadership level but across  the width and breath of the country.

"President Tsvangirai  travelled across the country consulting the structures on the way  forward and the message from those consultations in all of the parties  was that people must come together. Yes, people might be unhappy about  the allocation of this seat to that party or unhappy about clarity over  what role they themselves would play as individuals.

"What is  critical is that we can argue about parliamentary seats and who should  contest which seat and where, (but) what is important is that for the  past two decades, we have won seats, we have gone to Parliament and we  have learnt that it does not matter how many seats you win as long as  you don't capture the presidency, you are not going to deliver change to  the ordinary person in this country," he said.

Ncube, a  respected constitutional lawyer and former Industry minister in the  inclusive government, said going into an election divided was not an option.

"We  are older, wiser and more experienced and we have learnt from our past  mistakes and one of the core lessons we have learnt is that when we  disagree, we have our differences, no matter how strongly we feel that  the other person is wrong, we have an obligation to talk and talk and  think about the problems until it hurts and find a solution which keeps  us together," said Ncube.

"We know now from experience that we are  stronger together, we are more effective when we are united, we are not  living in a perfect world. The important lesson is that when we  disagree, we must remain together and find common ground and continue to  walk in the same trajectory."