MDC to hold two day strategic planning meeting

By Tichaona Sibanda
2 July 2009

The top hierachy of the MDC will hold a two day strategic planning meeting beginning Friday, amid reports of lingering disagreements between party members over participation in the government.

The situation came to head on Monday when cabinet ministers from the MDC, led by Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe, boycotted a cabinet meeting.

Robert Mugabe had angered the MDC after he unilaterally shifted a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, back to Monday. He rescheduled the meeting because he was travelling to Libya on Monday evening.

But Khupe said the decision was aimed at preventing Tsvangirai from chairing the Cabinet meeting as Tsvangirai would be the chair in the event of Mugabe being away.

It is believed this latest spat between the MDC and ZANU PF has prompted SADC to finally move in and try to mediate. Unconfirmed reports say SADC will convene a meeting in the next two weeks to discuss the issues that remain outstanding in the Global Political Agreement.

Simon Muchemwa, our Harare correspondent, said there has been a lot of despondency in the MDC lately, following the slow pace to implement these remaining issues. He said a number of party members were not happy with the recent spate of arrests and convictions of MDC legislators.
But while some MPs and grassroots members have been calling for the party to pull out of the unity government, the party leadership has remained resolute that they will not do so.

Muchemwa added that the party had found it proper to convene a meeting and deliberate on events that have taken place in the last month.

‘They are obviously going to sit down and deliberate on the concerns brought up by members countrywide. The issue of the constitutional making process is also going to be tabled and the deliberate arrests of MPs will be discussed with a view to finding a common position,’ Muchemwa said.