Former Gwanda Mayor Resigns From Ncube MDCDe Necker further advised the MDC leader Welshman Ncube to embrace different opinions from party leaders to avoid mass resignations. Another Welshman Ncube-led MDC official, Lionel De Necker, has resigned from the party. De Necker, a former mayor for Gwanda, says he decided to resign because the party's leadership has not been reaching out to the grassroots level since its defeat in the 2013 disputed elections, among other reasons. He was the party's secretary of local government in its current executive. Party spokesman Kurauone Chihwayi, who recently replaced Joshua Mhambi who also resigned from the party, acknowledged receiving a resignation letter from De Necker Friday. But he says the allegations against the party's leadership are not true, adding the party is too involved in preparing for the 2018 elections to worry about the “baseless” claims. However, De Necker told VOA that MDC leader Welshman Ncube has failed as a leader. He alleged Ncube makes all the decisions with the Standing Committee, without involving the National Executive Council. The party's Standing Committee members were not elected. “The party has not been able to reach out to the grassroots ever since the mauling it received in the elections of July 2013 serve for the informal conversations amongst a few provincial members and some national leaders on social media effectively rendering the party a WhatsApp movement divorced from the reality of our people,” reads part of the letter, which De Necker confirmed he wrote to Mr. Ncube. The former Gwanda mayor further advised the MDC leader to embrace different opinions from party leaders to avoid mass resignations. “I urge you (Mr Ncube) to take time and do deep and honest introspection, dissect the party and honestly measure its effectiveness and make a critical decision. In doing so, this reflect on the current composition of the party leadership and compare it to the leadership that emerged from the congress in 2011."\n\n"I am sure you will realize that the faces have changed like a group playing the game of musical chairs possibly changing guards faster than any party wishing to create cohesion and achieve growth," De Necker concluded. Ncube could not be reached but the party's spokesman dismissed the claims as baseless. No media source currently available