The Sunday News
Lungile Tshuma Sunday News Correspondent
FACTIONALISM is rocking the MDC Renewal Team in Bulawayo over the provincial chairperson position amid revelations that Mr Elton Mangoma is backing Ward 28 councillor Collet Ndlovu while Dr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo is supporting former city deputy Mayor Amen Mpofu.The contestation and positioning comes as the Renewal Team is preparing for elections to choose the provincial chairperson scheduled for next Sunday.
The chairmanship post fell vacant after city lawyer Mr Kucaca Phulu resigned citing work commitments. Sunday News is reliably informed that Mr Mangoma who is also reportedly eyeing the presidency of the United MDC has been making frantic efforts to cement his faction.
Closes sources said Clr Ndlovu has been seen as unfit for the position prompting Dr Nkomo, a close ally to the party’s secretary general — Mr Tendai Biti —and some party members in the executive to look for a “better” candidate to challenge Clr Ndlovu. Dr Nkomo is currently the national chairperson of the party on an interim basis.
“The truth of the matter is that we don’t have a proper candidate. We do not want to behave like the MDC-T who just picked Gift Banda to become the party’s provincial chairperson because he is rich. We want people who will guide the party and not political opportunists who are not fit for the position,” said the source.
“Mangoma wants to be the leader of the party but he is not a good candidate. After realising that Collet was being sponsored by Mangoma, we had to look for a better candidate because we do not want Mangoma to behave like a king in the party. We want the party to be democratic and people should choose the person they want.
“This issue has widened rifts among the party members and factions are starting to fight each other. Sipepa is fighting from Biti’s corner because many people believe that Biti has good leadership qualities and they are backing Mpofu on this one.”
The party’s provincial spokesperson, Mr Edwin Ndlovu confirmed that elections will be held next Sunday but said he could not give the names of the competing candidates, as the names were submitted to Dr Nkomo.
“February 1 has been set as the day for holding elections. The provincial council which includes all the three main wings in the province — youth, women’s league together with the main wing are the ones that will vote. For contesting candidates, please talk to the national chairperson where names are being submitted to,” said Mr Ndlovu.
Contacted for comment Dr Nkomo asked this reporter to call him later in the day. Repeated efforts to get him to comment failed as he was not answering his phone.
Mr Mpofu admitted that he has been approached by many people to take over the post but could not give names of the people who approached him. He said it is up to the people of Bulawayo to choose the candidate they want to lead them.
“People came and asked me to take the chairmanship’s post hence I am in the race. To me it’s not an issue because I have been in similar positions for some time. What I am trying to avoid is a situation where elections divide people and we fight each other like what happened to the MDC-T elections,” said Mr Mpofu.
MDC Renewal is a splinter group of the MDC-T and has already signed a re-unification agreement with the MDC led by Welshman Ncube and they are set to a launch new party that they are calling United MDC.
