MDC Alliance president, Mr Nelson Chamisa, visits Bulawayo
this weekend amid turmoil in his party which faces rejection by Bulawayo
residents over recent attempts by the party’s councillors to suspend Town
Clerk, Mr Christopher Dube.
Mr Chamisa, who is scheduled to address a rally in Lupane
tomorrow ahead of the Lupane East by elections set for 3 August, will meet Bulawayo
structures either today or on Sunday.
MDC Alliance Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Mr Swithern
Chirowodza said his boss would hold a meeting with Bulawayo structures on
Sunday.
“The meeting is about ordinary house keeping issues and the
by election in Lupane just to get updates from the ground on what is
happening,” he said.
Mr Chirowodza said Mr Chamisa would not address the issue
of attempts by councillors to suspend the Town Clerk as he was waiting for a
security report on the matter.
Sources within MDC-Alliance said it was less likely that Mr
Chamisa would address the behaviour of his councillors as they belonged to his
preferred faction.
“You have to understand that the Bulawayo provincial party
structures are already divided along tribal lines and Chamisa has aligned
himself to the faction that wanted to suspend the Town Clerk so nothing will
happen to those councillors,” said a source.
Bulawayo residents last week called on the Government to
dissolve council and appoint a commission to run the local authority’s affairs
due to alleged corruption and maladministration by the city fathers.
The call followed the chaos that rocked the council after
Deputy Mayor, Councillor Tinashe Kambarami, working closely with Ward Four councillor, Silas Chigora, violently removed
the Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube from office on July 11.
The differences between the Town Clerk and some councillors
allegedly started after he resisted their moves to interfere with council
management operations.
The councillors are said to be angry that the Town Clerk
has refused to involve them in the distribution of the $5 million ward
retention fund as well as the allocation of stands and premises.
The city’s Mayor, Clr Solomon Mguni, reinstated Mr Dube
back to office on the following day and on Monday council ratified the decision
during a special full council meeting.
In the face of rejection by Bulawayo residents, Mr
Chamisa’s deputy, Professor Welshman Ncube, in a series of tweets, bemoaned
calls for the setting up of a commission to run the affairs of Bulawayo saying the move will punish the MDC
Alliance.
He claimed that by lobbying for a commission to run the
local authority’s affairs, residents would be neglecting democratic practices.
“After all the Mayor, His Worship Solomon Mguni, had
already started the corrective process both on procedural and substantive
issues. In the circumstances, it is a grave mistake to clamour for a negation
of the democratic will of the people of Bulawayo as expressed by them only a
year ago,” said Prof Ncube.
However, fellow Twitter users disagreed with Prof Ncube and
accused his party of taking people for granted. Ntate Mdluli said: “That’s what
you get for causing chaos and taking Bulawayo citizens for granted. They are
tired of your party’s imposition and childish deliriums.”
Another user Pedro Z also countered: “You have been quiet
as MDC leaders while a fire was raging. You were not bothered.”
Austin Sibya wa Gumbenyati said: “Your political deck is
crumbling period. Don’t try to focus on July Moyo. Focus on poor leadership
style within the MDC-A.” Chronicle
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