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This comes barely a week after the Kariba mayor, Clr Nicholas Hwindiri, also resigned from the MDC-T and is now running the town as an independent.

In a letter to Mr Vusumuzi Moyo, the MDC-T district chairman dated 17 December, Clr Jiyane said he was tired of interference in his duties by party officials including some youths.

Reads part of the letter: “I hereby would like to hand over my resignation from the party MDC-T. I would like to sincerely thank the party for grooming me into what I am today. I have grown within the party and learnt quite a lot in politics. “However, I have found the conditions in my once beloved party very unconducive and therefore the natural action to take is to leave.”
Clr Jiyane said he was persecuted by councillors from his own party and the party itself during his tenure as mayor.

“I persevered through that and put the residents first. Through these persecutions a few party members like you and others came to my rescue. I was finally bailed out by residents through the Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association, civic activists, other political parties and the Ministry of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development. My party worsened the situation by putting me under a series of unnecessary investigations,” he said.

At one time Clr Jiyane was summoned for a hearing at the MDC-T headquarters at Harvest House in Harare but was absolved of any wrongdoing.
“In the MDC-T there are too many bosses to report to. One finds himself failing to satisfy all the bosses, the majority of whom do not even understand local governance. The said bosses range from youths to political structures that are clueless in local governance. This takes too much of our time as office bearers,” he said.

Clr Jiyane said the party’s interference in his duties made his office dysfunctional.
“There is little time to concentrate on service delivery. This is counterproductive to the residents who chose me to work for them. The MDC-T has an agenda of recalling its office bearers from time to time. This puts too much uncertainty in office bearers leading to a syndrome or situation of Sword of Damocles,” he said.

Clr Jiyane also observed that there was no respect for elected officials in the MDC-T, saying “there was too much ridicule from the party youths and demeaning statements from senior members.
“There is too much indiscipline within the MDC-T such that holding a civic office under the MDC-T is hell on earth. One feels better respected when within other political parties’ members than one’s. Lack of respect from party members leads to disrespect even from the residents,” he said.

Added Clr Jiyane: “The party interferes so much in council business to the point of almost paralysing council operations. There are too many misguided elements that form part of party caucuses. Such elements often come up with resolutions that should be implemented by us elected officials. Almost all such resolutions are implemented and ultravires the Urban Councils Act.”
He went on to accuse the MDC-T of even interfering in one’s private life “to the point of souring relations at home”.

“With the above reasons and others which I felt could not be penned here I therefore found it prudent to quit the MDC-T and concentrate on service delivery which I was mandated by the residents to do. Let it be known that it is not my intention to denigrate anyone but highlight the misgivings of the party especially in Matabeleland North for the benefit of future office bearers,” Clr Jiyane said.
Mr Jiyane, who had been MDC-T councillor for nearly a decade, yesterday confirmed his resignation from MDC-T but was not comfortable with our Harare Bureau running the story.

Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Deputy Minister Murisi Zvidzai, who is also the MDC-T’s shadow local government secretary, would not be drawn into commenting on the matter yesterday.
“I have no comment,” he said.