A row has reportedly erupted within MDC-T Bulawayo province after the party drafted two “new comers” into the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) liaison office without the consent of senior cadres in the province.
Report by Silas Nkala
Highly-placed party sources said the move recently raised a stink after Promise Mkhwananzi and Nomvula Mguni were seconded to the Jomic liaison office, with other party members questioning the criteria used to select them given that they were relatively new in the party structures.
“We were shocked to see names of Mkhwananzi and Mguni on the list of Jomic liaison officers without our knowledge,” the source said. “We do not know who seconded these two who were not even there when the party started. They are now made to benefit from such privileges ahead of senior members who have been present since the party started. This is unfair.”
MDC-T Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Mandla Sibanda confirmed the pair’s appointments and dismissed claims that they were new in the party.
“In our party as a democratic movement, we do not have omafikizolo (newcomers),” Sibanda said.
“Those people you are talking about are in the party structures. Mkhwananzi is the national youth secretary while Mguni is a member of the women’s committee in the province. So the concept of newcomers falls out.”
He added the appointment of the two officials to the Jomic structures was done above board.
