By Frank Kamuntu
The Office of the National Chairman (ONC) coordinators led by Hajji Shafiq Mwanje, the head of the mobilization, and his deputy, George William Kalema earlier this week held a meeting with the NRM district chairpersons in Busoga subregion together with the party executive committees, RDCs and their deputies, CAOs, DPCs, DISOs, and other security heads of the region.
The visit aimed to discuss with the NRM stakeholders, including the top district officials, a way forward for the party ahead of the 2026 general elections and to avoid the same mistakes in the previous elections.
In Bugiri District, for example, the district leadership on Monday, April 15, 2024, shared with the ONC about the unfulfilled government promises, pending projects, and those ongoing, plus the challenges they are facing in the implementation of the same.
Among the issues raised included the poor road network in the district, internal conflicts within the party leadership, and low sugarcane prices, which leaders say has affected and might still be a factor in the forthcoming elections.
In response, ONC’s Mobilization Chief, Mr Mwanje advised the district party leadership to institute nonpartisan committees at Sub-county levels to help identify different candidates for various elective positions ahead of a busy campaign period coming forward.
According to Mr Mwanje, the committees should be neutral and in any way influential for political positions within the district. He added that such committees will help to vet the candidates who are interested in taking up elective positions, and also help to decongest positions so that good candidates are not tied up in one position of interest.
During the meeting still, the leaders further asked President Museveni’s Office of the National Chairman Manager, SPA Hadijah Namyalo to intervene in resolving a tense dispute between two rival parties and forge a way for their reconciliation for the betterment of the party in the district and region at large.
They further requested the ONC team to deliver their special message to the President and Party National Chairman to fulfil pending promises made for their electorate such as the elevation of the district hospital to a Referral status, and handling the price of sugarcane so that farmers can benefit from the lucrative plantations in the district.
After Bugiri, the ONC team also visited Luuka District, and held a meeting with the NRM district executive and the party’s administrative committee, plus the local government leadership and security heads for a stakeholder discussion on issues with the eastern district and to forge a way forward on how NRM can perform better in the upcoming elections.
In their meeting with Luuka leaders, the ONC team was shocked to find out that the district voted 99% in other positions and yet voted less than 50% for the Presidential elections.
When asked why, the district party leaders and local government executives cited unfulfilled promises and in-fights among the NRM bigwigs in the region as reasons why the electorate might have voted against the National Chairman in the 2021 elections.
They (the leaders) also said that when the army beat up the civilians when NUP’s Bobi Wine visited the area in the run-up to the 2021 elections, the NRM government ignored the electorate and didn’t reach out to them for at least compensation and reconciliation, which might have impacted such a voting pattern.
They, similar to Bugiri leaders, also cited poor roads in the district, and lower sugarcane prices which leaves farmers harvesting less from the lucrative sugarcane growing activity, thus asking the President to intervene and institute a factory within to uplift their standards of living…
In response, the ONC team assured the leaders that President Museveni is very much thoughtful about the promises made for Luuka way back in 2016, and that the road in particular; Luuka-Iganga Road is already in budget for implementation before the next elections.
They (ONC team) also asked the leadership of Luuka through the Busoga Consortium for Development to arrange and pay a courtesy visit to H.E. Museveni’s Senior Presidential Advisor and Political Head at ONC, Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo so that they can formally present their views and grievances, and make them reach the President’s office.
The SPA herself affirmed to this publication about her plans to reach out to the Bazzukulu in Bugiri and Luuka as far as the wealth creation campaign is concerned, and promised that she will set a date to empower them with startup capital items to uplift their well-being. She thanked the leaders in the two districts for the warm reception of ONC team.
“Having started on our new journey of uniting different stakeholders at different levels including the Bazzukulu at the district to village level under the theme of securing your future through Wealth Creation, we thank the people of Bugiri and Luuka Districts for the warm reception and understanding of our concept. We look forward to meeting other stakeholders in different districts,” SPA Namyalo said.
“Today we are in Bukomansimbi District,” she added.
Overall, the meeting with the district leaders in the two districts within Busoga Sub-region was impactful as it opened eyes of both the ONC team and the party leadership at district levels which will help in the restructuring of the positions ahead of the internal positions.
The meeting was attended by ONC Busoga Sub-region regional Coordinators Ms. Kyanika Rahmah, Muteguya Denis, Kisoma Samuel, and District Coordinator Dhamuzungu Denin.
The Office of the National Chairman continues to traverse the country, meeting NRM party leaders as the ruling government eyes to recapture its past glory and reclaim elective positions from the opposition.
