Tsvangirai, Bennett deal exposed

[XXPANTHAXX]

Political Editor Munyaradzi Huni

MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai had earmarked his party’s treasurer,
Mr Roy Bennett, who is in self-imposed exile in South Africa, to become
his Minister of Agriculture.

It is understood that Mr Tsvangirai had succumbed to pressure from
former white farmers who think Mr Bennett should be rewarded for
standing firm in support of the opposition during times when many people
had deserted the party.

Other former Rhodies think he should be rewarded for sourcing campaign
funds for the party from whites in South Africa, Canada and Australia.

A highly placed source in the MDC-T, who spoke to The Sunday Mail on
condition of anonymity, said Mr Tsvangirai also planned to give the
Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Finance to some "experts"
outside the elected Members of Parliament.

"As you are aware, the president has the prerogative to appoint five
un-elected Senators and so Mr Tsvangirai wanted to appoint Mr Bennett as
a Senator so that he would make him the Minister of Agriculture.

"We were not aware of this development until we recently went to South
Africa where some of our members at the Johannesburg branch briefed us.
This has caused a lot of tension in the party because we thought such a
decision can only be taken following thorough consultations.

"Later we discovered that Mr Tsvangirai had also earmarked the Ministry
of Defence and the Ministry of Finance to what he is calling experts
outside the elected Members of Parliament. This revelation came when we
spoke to our friends in the Professor Arthur Mutambara camp who during
discussion to unite the party were told that the Ministries of
Agriculture, Finance and Defence had already been taken up," said the
source. However, the spokesperson for the MDC-T, Mr Nelson Chamisa,
yesterday said he was not aware of this development, adding that
ministerial appointments were a prerogative of Mr Tsvangirai.

"He has not announced his cabinet. I am not aware of that. You seem to
be closer to where the cabinet is being constituted than myself. Anyway
it’s the prerogative of the president to make sure that he has a
competent cabinet," said Mr Chamisa.

The MDC-T source added that in earmarking Mr Bennett for the Agriculture
Ministry, Mr Tsvangirai was succumbing to pressure from some former
Rhodies who think that the treasurer should be rewarded for a "job well
done" in sourcing funds for the party.

"We don’t dispute that Mr Bennett has done well in sourcing funds for
the party from our friends in South Africa, Canada and Australia and
that he stood for the party during times when many thought the party was
on its death-bed, but the majority view is that our leader should have
consulted us before reaching such a decision," said the source.

Mr Bennett, a fugitive from law, was granted asylum in South Africa
after running away from Zimbabwe. He claimed that he was being
persecuted before fleeing to South Africa in March 2006.

He fled Zimbabwe as police were closing in on him in connection with the
arms cache which was discovered in Mutare at the home of a former
Rhodesian soldier, Mike Peter Hitschmann. Political analysts yesterday
said by planning to appoint Mr Bennett as his Minister of Agriculture,
Mr Tsvangirai was clearly showing his intentions on the land
redistribution exercise.

"We are picking the same story that he had earmarked Mr Bennett for the
agriculture ministry, but I think this goes to show that the MDC leader
plans to reverse the land reform exercise. How can he appoint Bennett to
such a ministry because, as you know, Bennett was a farmer in
Chimanimani and once appointed, he would settle old scores?" said a
lecturer in political science at the University of Zimbabwe.

Another political commentator said while there are claims that President
Mugabe is "talking war" these days, there is nothing that provokes
former freedom fighters more than Mr Bennett’s appointment as Minister
of Agriculture.

"Some people in the opposition are saying President Mugabe is getting
into war talk, but the appointment of Bennett as Minister of Agriculture
will provoke all former freedom fighters dead or alive," said the
commentator. Mr Tsvangirai is on record as saying once he gets into
power "we will see how we can compensate and reintegrate former white
farmers".

[Im The Truth]

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