Former Member of Parliament for Norton Constituency, Temba Mliswa, stated that the opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) is “effectively gone.” This comes after the High Court rejected an application made by 14 CCC Members of Parliament and nine senators who wanted to reverse their expulsion from Parliament.
The recalls were started by Sengezo Tshabangu, who asserts that he is the interim Secretary-General of the party. In a series of posts seen by Pindula News, Mliswa said:
CCC is effectively gone! Let them have an immediate Congress, structure themselves properly and contest the by-elections as a new party. This wapusa wapusa thing, in an environment such as ours, is only fodder for the opponents. Be structured, have order.
Otherwise, as things stand Tshabangu is the main man running CCC. It’s very likely that some current MPs & Cllrs won’t agree to the resignation approach. They would rather talk to Tshabangu. We saw that last time with Douglas Mwonzora. The timid & selfish refused to switch sides. However, as a nation this incident is pathetic. We are wasting a lot of time on politics and politicking instead of national development. So much money will be wasted on running the by-elections while various sectors of the country such as Health and Education are in dire state.
Mliswa said the opposition needs to reflect and learn from their mistakes. He also expressed concern that they have not performed well particularly in Parliament and should have been more effective in holding the government accountable. He mentioned the EFF in South Africa as an example of a smaller party that is impactful and clear in its narrative.
Mliswa believes the opposition should be more radical and principled, willing to sacrifice for the greater goal. He also criticised the internal divisions caused by the way Nelson Chamisa handled the party’s primary elections and the exclusion of prominent members including Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube and Kucaca Phulu. He suggested that the recalled members could run as independents in by-elections and have a good chance of winning. However, he personally has moved on from politics and is focused on other things.
