Zim Diaspora

Continued from yesterday

Districts and branch meetings

3-6 May

In order to obtain the full picture of the problems that befell the UK & Ireland structures it was of paramount importance that the five districts and their branches also be given the opportunity to express their views, opinions and experiences.

Generally there was very good attendance and all branches were represented considering that the meetings were during working hours. Members displayed the spirit of commitment to the party as evidenced by their corporation in expressing and giving solutions to the crisis.

The branch chairpersons acknowledged the importance of the visit and indicated that it would be a staring point in  restoring membership confidence following the suspension of the province. The districts by their nature of operation had nearly similar views, opinions and experience that they shared with the commission.

Below are the issues the districts and branches raised in common:

Financial reports

• The districts and branches were disgruntled and felt left out because the province did not produce financial statements as per requirement hence they felt there was no transparency.
• They were not happy with the responses they got from the province when asked for justification of expenditure.
• Remittances to Harare were done on personal grounds there were too many people appearing on record which showed that systems were not being followed
• They also raised that the national Chairman addressed the 5 districts in June 2008 in Birmingham and made clear that all resources from the IK should be remitted through his office. They also raised that his statement caused confusion because it is contrary to the system that is in place of using the Treasurer’s office.
• They were also not happy with the manner in which fundraising activities were conducted and not reflected reported in the following ways

1. The company called Crosby Abbort that was contracted to facilitate the function belongs to an interested party member I Mutanhaurwa and it was revealed that the company was registered as soon as he assumed a leadership position in the province
2. The company was charging exorbitant fees for organising  functions with the latest dinner with The President (Tsvangirai) charged £75.00 per person
3. The proceeds for dinner are not recorded anywhere in the financial statements (proof of the function provided)

They also raised the issue of the same company Crosby Abbort hosting the MDC-UK website at a fee higher than the market is offering

To be continued tomorrow;

Chawora-gate Part 5: No asylum support letters without sex first