At least 8,000 NRM delegates are converging at Namboole Stadium today to discuss key party constitution amendments. Among them is a proposal by party vice chairman for eastern Uganda, Capt. Mike Mukula, intended to bar party secretary general, Mr Amama Mbabazi, from holding any other government position.
Mr Mukula told Saturday Monitor yesterday that it was a big mistake to allow a party secretary general and his deputy to take over ministerial positions because the individuals are too busy and this has paralysed party activities. Capt. Mukula noted that there are rifts within the party and many of its organs are dysfunctional because the two officials charged with running party activities are always unavailable to offer guidance and direction. This, according to Mukula, has turned the party into an exclusive organisation easily reached by a certain club of members.
Mbabazi in fire line
“I’m now moving an amendment to our constitution (NRM party) to stop this,” Capt. Mukula said, adding, “I would like to see a party where a secretary general and his deputy are not ministers. This should also apply to the party treasury general and his deputy.”
He pointed out the party’s youth league, the women’s league, the entrepreneurs’ league and the veterans league as some of the structures that have remained unproductive to the extent of not holding any meeting for the past five years. He said: “I am doing this because I want to see the party improve on its structures. This will allow key members of the party to put their strength and energies in building the party.”
The party secretary general, Mr Amama Mbabazi, has come under criticism from the Young Turks of the NRM, among them Henry Banyezaki, Theodore Ssekikubo and Wilfred Niwagaba. They accuse Mr Mbabazi of being inaccessible and of killing the party through inaction. It is in this context that many NRM power brokers have been looking for an opportunity to remove him from the position of Secretary General.
These law makers have also argued that Mr Mbabazi must be relieved of some of his government duties which, according to the law makers, have kept him more occupied. “You cannot be a member of Parliament, a secretary general and a minister of security,” Capt. Mukula said, adding, “You can’t be a master of all. We need to make the party more vibrant because to me, a party is a central organ and a lifeline of the government.” If Capt. Mukula’s proposal gets the backing of the majority at the national conference, this will set the ground for highly contested elections for the party’s most influential position.
The Vice President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, and Trade and Industry Minister Kahinda Otafiire have already expressed interest in the post. Prof. Bukenya told this newspaper in an exclusive interview to be published in Sunday monitor tomorrow, that Mr Mbabazi was a good lawyer who should be deployed in the Attorney General’s office and leave the work of mobilisation to other cadres.
Capt. Mukula further said; “The party needs to come up with a much broader agenda of internal reforms in order to be able to confront present and future challenge.” “I want to see a much stronger secretariat set up with a strong institutional frame work. To increase the momentum of the party, the secretary general and his deputy must commit all their time to mobilisation and training of new and old members of the party.”
Rwemiyaga County MP Theodore Ssekikubo, who is also vying for party secretary general position, said there is limited interface between the party headquarters and the districts and sub-counties. Mr Banyezaki (Rubanda west) said he supports Capt. Mukula and that he would ensure that this proposal goes through.
“The moment you allow the secretary general to work as a minister in government, then just know that you are creating confusion. He [Mbabazi] has affected activities of the party because he is always busy,” Mr Banyezaki said. But Presidential Political Assistant Moses Byaruhanga said Capt. Mukula’s proposal falls short of addressing the bigger problem affecting the party- lack of finance.
“Most of the party structures like the women’s’ league, the youth league and the veterans’ league have not met because the party lacks finances to facilitate them, and not because the secretary general is weak. Raising finance is not a responsibility of the secretary general but a responsibility of all members of the party,” Mr Byaruhanga said yesterday.
Capt. Mukula also said he will support a new proposal by Rukungiri District Chairman Zedekia Karokora, that seeks to bar party members found guilty of corruption and electoral malpractices from vying for party positions.
More proposals
Mr Karokora told Saturday Monitor that he has already tabled his proposal to key party organs, including the legal committee and was optimistic his initiation would be embraced by the delegates today.
The NRM National Conference has been convened to discuss key party issue among which is the proposed universal adult suffrage elections for primaries for those intending to seek candidature from LC1 to Parliament. This proposal was passed by the party National Executive Committee early this year.
President Museveni is expected to brief the delegates on what has happened since the last national delegates’ conference in October 2005, where the delegates elected the presidential candidate for the 2006 elections, adopted the NRM manifesto and elected the current office-bearers.
The national conference consists of the national chairperson, the vice-chairpersons, NRM MPs, all people who stood as MPs on the NRM ticket but lost, NRM sub-county chairpersons, NRM LC3 chairpersons, and NRM LC5 councillors, among others
No comments:
Post a Comment