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Resolutions of the MDC 9th Annual National Conference
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
May 31, 2009

The conference:

NOTES, acknowledges, celebrates and hails the party for surviving ten years of brutal dictatorship, violence, repression and emasculation by an autocratic predatory state,

FURTHER HAILS, celebrates, acknowledges and is indebted to the people of Zimbabwe for supporting and standing with the Party and for remaining firm in resolute in the fight for democratic change in Zimbabwe,

MOURNS, be mourns, remembers and celebrates the lives of our depated giants, heroes and heroines including Tichaona Chiminya, Talent Mabika, Trynos Midzi, Learnmore Jongwe, Gift Tandare, Isaac Matongo, Susan Tsvangirai, Tonderai Ndira, Better Chokururama, Machiridza, Remius Makuwaja, Nicholas Mudzengerere, and many others whose blood and bravery continues to water the tree of our struggle,

RECOGNIZES and acknowledges the roots of our movement, our umbilical cord to the struggle for national liberation in Zimbabwe, our mandate being fulfilling the unfinished business of the national liberation struggle.

ACKNOWLEDGES and recognizing the further maternity of our movement and struggle from the National Working People's Convention of February 1999, and indeed the preceding struggles led by the workers through the ZCTU, the Student, Women and Constitutional movements,

CELEBRATING the importance and achievements of democratic mass resistance and protests, and the landmark positioning of March 11 2007, September 13 2006 and the Final Push of 2003 and other protests in the history of our resistance and struggle,

EQUALLY AWARE of key historic signposts of our struggle including the February 2000 Referendum, the orgy land reform related violence, the barbaric operation Murambatsvina, the treason trial of the Party President,

REGRETTING the split of the Party in October 2005 but very much congnisant of the powerful, broad and dangerous domestic and regional forces that were behind the same,

FOREVER INDEBTED to the capacity of the Party to regroup, rebuild, refocus and re-strategize after the split and celebrating the great Congress of March 2006 and the centrality of this Congress's resolutions,

FURTHER COGNISANT of the key role and strategic importance of the Party's ROADMAP, developed in May 2006 and its instrumentality as a tactical compass,

ACKNOWLEDGING the dialogue that the Party engaged in and recognizing the same as a fulfilment of the Congress Resolutions of 2006 and the ROADMAP,

GRATEFUL to the people of Zimbabwe for delivering the March 2008 election victory against tyranny and a totally unequal electoral framework,

APPLAUDING the correctness of the decision to boycott the 27 June sham and violent "event"

RECOGNIZING the strategic obligation of executing the GPA and participating in the Transitional Agreement,

GREATLY CONCERNED with the continued existence of outstanding issues on the GPA, the reproduction of toxic issues and the slow levels of delivery by the Transitional Government,

NOW THEREFORE it is resolved,

1. Conference restates the founding goal of achieving and attaining genuine democratic change through peaceful and non-violent means and remains committed to its core values of social justice, equality, equity, freedom, solidarity and transparency.

2. Restates its commitment to the crafting by Zimbabweans and for Zimbabweans, of a new people-driven Constitution.

3. Calls on the Transitional Government to take on board concerns by civic society on the process and ownership of the Constitutional making process initiated in terms of the Global Political Agreement.

4. That the Party shall actively participate and mobilize actively in the Constitution making process and furthermore shall;

a. Work with civic society in reaching some understanding on the process

b. Develop urgently its own Constitutional positions and principles.

5. Restating commitment to the Congress Resolutions of 16 - 19 March 2006 and the ROADMAP of May 2006, Conference resolves that a genuinely free and fair election must be held at the conclusion of the Constitution making process.

6. Concerned with the plight of victims of political violence and the absence of a legal framework for the programme of National Healing or Transitional Justice Conference, resolves that the Inclusive Government vigilantly and urgently addresses the issue of welfare of victims, the National Framework of National Healing and Transitional Justice.

7. Noting the reference of GPA outstanding issues to SADC, Conference calls for the immediate convening of an Extra-Ordinary Summit of SADC to urgently deal with the outstanding issues.

8. Aware of the conflict and divisive effect of the unresolved issues of the Attorney General and the Reserve Bank Governor. Conference calls that in the national interests, Johannes Tomana and Gideon Gono must resign forthwith.

9. Whilst acknowledging progress made in some areas by the Transitional Government, Conference calls on the Transitional Government to address the issues of deficit of performance in the following areas:

i. The absence of any legislative reform agenda

ii. The slow pace of media reform

iii. Continued high and multiple tariffs by State bodies and parastatals

iv. The slow implementation of the Government 100 Day Plan

v. The continued deployment of the military in villages

vi. The existence of militia and 'ghost workers' on the government payroll

10. Concerned and frustrated by the failure of State institutions to transform and adapt to the new order and in particular the lack of a paradigm shift on the part of a few individuals in State Security institutions, Conference resolves that the Transitional Government must move urgently to ensure that Institutional and paradigm Transformation in our State Institutions and more importantly that the National Security Council must meet urgently in terms of the law.

11. Noting the high levels of corruption in Government and public institutions including Local Authorities. Conference resolves for the appointment of all Commissions in particular the Anti-Corruption Commission and further calls on the Transitional Government to strengthen governance and transparency through appropriate legislation at all levels of the State.

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