Tshabangu wins top post – ZimEye

According to our correspondent, Senator from Matabeleland North, Sengezo Tshabangu, has been appointed Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.

This significant announcement was made by the Speaker of Parliament, Attorney Jacob Mudenda, during parliament on Thursday.

The appointments come shortly after Mudenda cancelled the appointments of opposition lawmakers to various parliamentary committees, shaking up the political landscape.

This reversal was under Jameson Timber’s orders.

Previously, Chipinge South MP Clifford Hlatshwayo was appointed as CCC’s Leader and Matabeleland South MP Nomatemba Ndlovu was appointed as CCC Secretary General.

Tsabang’s sudden rise has not been without controversy.

Former Mount Pleasant MP Fadzai Mahere, who resigned from parliament in protest at Tshabangu’s actions, harshly criticised the move.

In a fiery post on his Facebook page, Mahere lamented what he saw as a shift towards a one-party state.

“The reality is that he is a ZANU PF puppet and his organisation is an organisation created to do ZANU PF’s bidding.

“Zimbabwe has effectively become a one-party state,” Mahere argued.

“He was not a leader of the CCC, he never held a position where he could make decisions for its members, he had no values, he had no honor, he had no mandate from its members or the public.”

Mahere further expressed his dissatisfaction with the dynamics of parliament under Tshabangu’s leadership, saying: “There is no way I can take part in this joke of ‘parliament’ engineered by the Zimbabwe People’s Party. Zimbabwe operates a whip system.”

How can I agree to be flogged by someone who is being flogged by Zanu PF? What about the people who elected me to demand change and hold Zanu PF to account?”

As the new Leader of the Opposition, Senator Tshabangu will play a vital role in Parliament.

His duties include serving as the Opposition’s lead spokesman in dealings with government and other stakeholders, and overseeing the formation of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees and the selection of Opposition representatives to international organisations such as the Pan African Parliament (PAP), the SADC Parliamentary Forum, the International Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the African Caribbean Pacific European Union (ACP-EU).

Additionally, Tshabangu will become a member of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Rules and Orders, further consolidating his influence within the legislative framework.

The appointment highlights the volatile nature of Zimbabwean politics, where sides and power dynamics often shift rapidly, sparking intense debate and scrutiny from different sides of the political spectrum.

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