News / National
Chamisa reconfigures party structures
16 Oct 2018 at 14:28hrs | Views
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa has announced a reconfiguration of party structures, including doing away with Chitungwiza and Midlands South provinces to align it with the national architecture of 10 provinces.
Unlike the ruling Zanu-PF party whose provinces reflect the country's constitutional 10, the MDC structure has always had 12 provincial executives since its formation in 1999.
The party - then led by its founding president, the late Morgan Tsvangirai - split its Midlands province into two as well as adding Chitungwiza and some parts of Mashonaland West such as Mhondoro and Norton as an independent provincial executive.
However, since Chamisa took over the party's leadership following Tsvangirai's death in February, the party has been undergoing a radical metamorphosis.
MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that the decision to revert to a ten provincial executive was a resolution of the party's previous congress in 2014.
"The changes have to be done before our congress due next year because it was resolved at the last congress to do so," Mafume said.
Mafume said the party had realised the necessity of having the party structures "work in tandem with the national architecture".
"This will make it easier for the party to effectively administer the party and provided services to its supporters," he said.
The development comes as the party is also considering coming up with a war veterans' wing at its next congress.
Mafume said after Chamisa indicated that he was willing to accommodate former freedom fighters who defected to his party form former vice president Joice Mujuru's National People's Party (NPP) by setting up a wing to represent them, the MDC was now walking the talk.
"There was a suggestion when president (Nelson) Chamisa was welcoming NPP members, some of whom are war veterans, to the MDC that there is need to have a war veterans wing in the party," he said.
"Obviously, it is a process. It is something that will be submitted to our organs to see how it can be worked out, the modalities and framework for a war veterans' wing".
The MDC recently welcomed back its former secretaries-general Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti into the party after they were appointed vice president and deputy national chairperson respectively.
Former deputy national chairperson Morgen Komichi was also promoted to the position of the other of the three MDC vice presidents.
Ncube - who was among the MDC founding members before his acrimonious fallout with Tsvangirai in 2005 - was part of a grouping that contested the July 30 election
under the MDC Alliance banner.
Biti broke ranks with Tsvangirai following the 2013 elections loss and formed the People's Democratic Party.
Unlike the ruling Zanu-PF party whose provinces reflect the country's constitutional 10, the MDC structure has always had 12 provincial executives since its formation in 1999.
The party - then led by its founding president, the late Morgan Tsvangirai - split its Midlands province into two as well as adding Chitungwiza and some parts of Mashonaland West such as Mhondoro and Norton as an independent provincial executive.
However, since Chamisa took over the party's leadership following Tsvangirai's death in February, the party has been undergoing a radical metamorphosis.
MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume told the Daily News that the decision to revert to a ten provincial executive was a resolution of the party's previous congress in 2014.
"The changes have to be done before our congress due next year because it was resolved at the last congress to do so," Mafume said.
Mafume said the party had realised the necessity of having the party structures "work in tandem with the national architecture".
"This will make it easier for the party to effectively administer the party and provided services to its supporters," he said.
The development comes as the party is also considering coming up with a war veterans' wing at its next congress.
Mafume said after Chamisa indicated that he was willing to accommodate former freedom fighters who defected to his party form former vice president Joice Mujuru's National People's Party (NPP) by setting up a wing to represent them, the MDC was now walking the talk.
"There was a suggestion when president (Nelson) Chamisa was welcoming NPP members, some of whom are war veterans, to the MDC that there is need to have a war veterans wing in the party," he said.
"Obviously, it is a process. It is something that will be submitted to our organs to see how it can be worked out, the modalities and framework for a war veterans' wing".
The MDC recently welcomed back its former secretaries-general Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti into the party after they were appointed vice president and deputy national chairperson respectively.
Former deputy national chairperson Morgen Komichi was also promoted to the position of the other of the three MDC vice presidents.
Ncube - who was among the MDC founding members before his acrimonious fallout with Tsvangirai in 2005 - was part of a grouping that contested the July 30 election
under the MDC Alliance banner.
Biti broke ranks with Tsvangirai following the 2013 elections loss and formed the People's Democratic Party.
Source - dailynews
