Hatfield Member of Parliament, Tapiwa Mashakada says the MDC Alliance has been hijacked by elements from the Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu).
Mashakada who recently crossed the floor to join the Thokozani Khupe led MDC-T said the Alliance was no longer a labour movement therefore it has taken another view.
“If you look at the configuration of the MDC Alliance now, you find that it has been taken over by former students. The Zinasu element of the MDC is now taking over. The labour caucus, majority of MPs, the trade unions veterans, founders of the party and the Tsvangirai family are now on the other side,” said Mashakada
The former deputy Minister of finance in the inclusive Government on his defection said there are people saying ‘chinhu chedu tisu takachibvuta’ (This is our project we are the one who grabbed it).
“Former Zinasu students taking over the ship paint at the statement that I said. It’s no longer the broad labour movement that we started from the ZCTU we have always named it the labour movement. Labour has taken another view.”
Mashakada exonerated Nelson Chamisa from the current MDC fissures accusing party secretary general Chalton Hwende of sleeping on duty.
“Chamisa is not really the major cause of the discord. He is not entirely to blame but you can blame the secretary general because he is in charge of the day to day running of the party. He is in charge of making sure that decisions of the party are implemented and the procedures of the party are followed but he is not clearly doing that and has led to the institution to have these lapses.” he said
Despite jumping the floor Mashakada believes Chamisa has a role to play in the country’s political landscape.
“I still believe Chamisa has a role to play in the body politic of this country, he is a young intelligent guy and his heart is in the right place. What we did was to propel him as the leader of the party because we believed he was the best foot forward but we erred.
“It was a strategic error because after catapulting him to the leadership of the party we should have gone for an extra ordinary congress to sanitize or regularize that takeover which we did not. It was a serious and fatal omission on our part” said one of the founding members of the MDC.
Mashakada confirmed on Saturday that he had left MDC Alliance due to worsening divisions after he criticised the decision to disengage from Parliament as stupid and unstrategic.
