Senator Sengezo Tshabangu, representing Matabeleland North Province, has been appointed leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
The announcement was made by National Assembly Speaker Advocate Jacob Mudenda during Thursday’s session.
On Tuesday, Mudenda reversed the appointment of opposition members to various parliamentary committees, acting on an instruction from Jameson Timba.
Chipinge South MP Clifford Hlatwayo had been named as the CCC’s leader of the house and Nomathemba Ndlovu, the proportional representation MP for Matabeleland South, as chief whip.
Reacting to the shock appointment, former Mount Pleasent MP Fadzayi Mahere who resigned from parliament in protest against Tshabangu’s manoeuvres, said the country had been effectively turned into a one-party state.
“The reality is that he is a Zanu PF puppet and his formation is a Zanu PF construct, created to do its bidding. Zimbabwe has been reduced to an effective one-party state. He was never the leader of CCC nor did he hold any office that would make him remotely capable of making decisions for members. No values. No honour. No mandate from the membership or the people,” wrote Mahere on her Facebook page.
“Participating in this Zanu PF-engineered joke of a “Parliament” could never be me. Zimbabwe runs a whipping system. How could I possibly agree to be whipped by someone who is whipped by Zanu PF? What about the people who elected me to stand for change and hold Zanu PF to account?”
Senator Tshabangu will assume the role of primary spokesperson for the opposition in its dealings with the government and other stakeholders.
His responsibilities encompass the formation of parliamentary portfolio committees and the selection of opposition representatives for positions within international organisations such as the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the SADC Parliamentary Forum, the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU).
In addition to his new leadership role, Senator Tshabangu will also serve on the Parliament Standing Rules and Orders Committee.
