Purging leaves MDC-T weak

THE on-going power struggles within the MDC-T will leave the labour-based party at its weakest point and incapacitated to present a formidable challenge to Zanu-PF in the next elections, analysts have warned.
Although the elections are still four years away, analysts said the party was slowly losing public confidence because of the way it was handling internal problems related to leadership renewal.
In the past few weeks, there have been vicious machinations in the party to purge all senior officials who have called for the MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai to step down after successively failing to dislodge President Robert Mugabe from power.
Tsvangirai has been at the helm of the party since its formation in 1999, squaring off with Mugabe three times and losing.
The party's deputy treasurer general, Elton Mangoma was recently suspended after he wrote a letter advising Tsvangirai to step down to allow leadership renewal.
Mangoma, who was assaulted by party activists in the presence of Tsvangirai at Harvest House last month, is said to be working closely with MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti.
This view gained currency when Biti declared that Mangoma's suspension by the party's national council was "null and void", a direct challenge to Tsvangirai.
Before Mangoma, several senior party officials including treasurer general Roy Bennett, former Marondera MP Ian Kay, Warren Park MP Elias Mudzuri and Eddie Cross had publicly said the MDC-T needed to seriously consider leadership renewal.
This has not gone down well with Tsvangirai and other party officials who appear to have embarked on a purging exercise to remove all those who supported the leadership renewal call from within its rank.
There is a widely held view that the on-going re-organisation of the MDC-T was designed to remove Biti, Mangoma, youth assembly chairperson Solomon Madzore and his secretary general, Promise Mkhwananzi, as well as provincial leadership of Manicaland, Matabeleland North and South who supported leadership renewal.
As the leadership renewal wave builds, Tsvangirai has also inviting those that had been fired or left the party voluntarily to re-join the party.
Among those that have recently re-joined the party are MDC99 leader, Job Sikhala and MDC-M's Joubert Mudzumwe. Tsvangirai has also extended his hand to the MDC led by Welshman Ncube and Simba Makoni's Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn.
Ncube severed ties with Tsvangirai after the MDC-T leader unilaterally declared that the party would not participate in the 2005 senatorial elections against popular vote.
Since then attempts to re-unite the two parties have failed.
Political commentator, Thabani Nyoni said the MDC-T's failure to address internal problems could weaken it ahead of the 2018 national elections. He said as a party, the MDC-T must exhibit transparency and democratic values when dealing with internal problems rather than resorting to purging and political violence.
Another political analyst, Dumisani Nkomo said the on-going re-organisation of the MDC-T was an attempt to dump his critics and to reward his loyalists.
Nkomo said Tsvangirai would soon be surrounded by bootlickers and opportunists eyeing for rich pickings rather than promoting founding values of the party.