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Dr Sipepa Nkomo

Patrick Chitumba Senior Reporter—
The MDC-T faction led by secretary general Tendai Biti yesterday said it was courting other political parties including MDC led by Professor Welshman Ncube for a grand coalition. Biti’s faction brushed aside an announcement by party leader Morgan Tsvangirai that MDC-T had expelled him and 10 other legislators pushing for his ouster.

Interim national chairperson of the faction, Dr Samuel Sipepa Nkomo, told the Chronicle that a stronger and truly democratic opposition was needed in the country.

“What I know is that we are talking to all the opposition political parties in the country and these include the MDC led by Professor Ncube, Zapu led by Dr Dumiso Dabengwa, Alliance Khumbula Ekhaya, Federal Zapu and others,” he said.

Dr Nkomo said what they wanted was to get an agreement from these parties on a possibility of a grand coalition.
“We are all discussing the possibilities of a grand coalition.

“It has always been important to have a recognised, strong force fighting for change in the country,” he said.
Dr Nkomo said one big opposition was the only chance they had.

“If we don’t become a big force, if we remain disunited we won’t make it. We need a grand alliance and that will improve our chances in politics,” he said.

Last month, Prof Ncube made strong overtures about the likelihood of joining forces with the MDC-T renewal team whose members he said shared the same fundamental values with his party.

He said Biti’s renewal team, just like his party, believed in collective leadership and non- violence in resolving disputes.
“It is unfortunate that it has taken these members nine years to draw the line. A historical antidote which those of you who were not in MDC in 2005 might find amazing is that many associated with the MDC-T’s renewal team, when battle lines were drawn in 2005 and we were asked where we stood, many of them in terms of ideas, in terms of conviction, in terms of moral persuasion were 100 percent with us,” said Professor Ncube.

He said there was a need for true democrats to recapture the spirit of 1999 when the Movement for Democratic Change was formed, which is now missing.

“I believe we have a generational responsibility to recapture the philosophy, the spirit, the impetus, the energy of 1999, the working people’s convention.

“I think we need a convention of all democrats wherever located whether free or unfree to re-look at what went wrong and re-establish a new agenda for change, a credible one, one which people believe in, one in which we sincerely believe in,” Prof Ncube said.