Douglas Mwonzora, the leader of the MDC-T, has said the recent recalling of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Members of Parliament and Councillors by Sengezo Tshabangu highlights the lack of proper corporate governance within the main opposition party.
Mwonzora sees Tshabangu’s actions as a signal for the Nelson Chamisa-led party to establish better organisational structures. He told CITE:
It is very clear that there is an absence of corporate governance within the party. I am aware that Tshabangu signed for other candidates in this election and people cannot say that they don’t know him.
What Tshabangu is saying there is that let’s go back to corporate governance, let’s go back to a party with structures, with officials and not a party which is one man band, that is the logic not that there is something legal about it.
Mwonzora stated that the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) did not submit its constitution to parliament, making it challenging for the Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, to determine who speaks on behalf of the party. Mwonzora clarified that the Speaker cannot judge whether Tshabangu has the authority to correspond with him without proper documentation. He also defended Mudenda, stating that the Speaker does not have the authority to interfere in political party matters. He added:
The law is very clear and apparently this law was drafted in Bulawayo, actually in the Rainbow Hotel 5th floor and the people who drafted it were myself, Jacob Mudenda, Paul Mangwana, the late Magaisa, Edward Mukosi and some lawyer from Bulawayo, Josphat Tshuma, we drafted it and we removed the powers from the speaker to determine things that come from political parties.
What must happen is that recalls must be discussed at a political level and when they come to parliament, the parliament has absolutely no discretion. So, I can’t tell you whether Tshabangu has authority, but the most important thing is that there must be evidence that he has no authority and that evidence comes from a constitution.
Mwonzora claimed that Chamisa’s letter to the Speaker of Parliament was an afterthought, implying that it was a late response to the recalls initiated by Tshabangu. He stated that Tshabangu’s actions of recalling individuals from Parliament gave him an advantage because he acted first in the matter.