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MDC-Alliance Matabeleland North has allegedly waged war against their Bulawayo counterparts and recommended that the party’s national leadership dissolves Bulawayo provincial structures.
MDC-Alliance Matabeleland North is allegedly blaming the party’s structures in Bulawayo for making the opposition movement unpopular in the region.
MDC-Alliance Bulawayo councillors have not made the situation better with their factional fights which are allegedly destabilising council operations.
The party has suffered loses across the country in by-elections that have been held since the 2018 harmonised elections.
An MDC-Alliance insider said Matabeleland North branch met on Saturday last week in Lupane where they resolved to recommend that the party’s Standing Committee members, upon deliberating on the resolution, should recommend to the national council that Bulawayo structures be dissolved.
“As Matabeleland North we had our meeting on Saturday to discuss issues affecting the party in the province and during our discussions an issue about Bulawayo came up,” said the source. There is a general consensus among our party members that Bulawayo structures need to be dissolved as they do not reflect or represent regional interests. Our grassroots structures are not happy that Bulawayo province seems to be controlled by people not originally from the region.
“Somehow, the people on the ground feel MDC is no longer serving their interests by bringing individuals from other regions to dominate leadership positions in Bulawayo. We call it regional subjugation.
“There is a feeling that Bulawayo is led by people who do not understand our culture as Matabeleland region.”
The source said they will take up their recommendations to party’s Standing Committee for debate and possible adoption.
Pressed on why Matabeleland North was having interests in the affairs of Bulawayo, the source said: “What happens in Bulawayo directly reflects the mode of the party in the region and we want the party’s president (Nelson Chamisa) to know that this could have repercussions for the MDC as a party in the region even in future elections. We have been losing by-elections of late.”
Contacted for comment, MDC-Alliance representative Mr Jabulani Hadebe, who allegedly chaired the meeting, declined to comment on the party’s resolutions.
“Yes, we had our routine PEC meeting on Saturday,” he said. “But why are you interested in the outcomes of the meeting? We came up with our resolutions that we will forward to our national leadership. But I will not disclose to you what we discussed as we have never done that before.”
A comment could not be obtained from Bulawayo PEC yesterday as officials were not answering their mobile phones.
MDC-Alliance secretary-general Mr Chalton Hwende said he had not been debriefed over the Matabeleland North meeting.
“But from what you are saying it’s not proper or constitutional for a province to recommend the dissolution of another province,” he said. “Because dissolution of a province is a preserve of national leadership and I’m sure Matabeleland North is aware of the constitution of the party.”
Online Reporter