{UAH} The Observer - Mbabazi in-law foils 'sole' Museveni move
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The Observer - Mbabazi in-law foils 'sole' Museveni move
Tuesday, 01 April 2014 22:58
Former minister Hope Mwesigye, a sister-in-law of Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, last weekend resisted attempts by NRM district chairpersons to endorse the 'Kyankwanzi resolution' in a meeting with President Museveni.
During the meeting at State House Entebbe on March 30, Mwesigye, the Kabale district NRM chairperson, rose on a point of procedure to challenge a move by her Pallisa counterpart Issa Taligoola to endorse Museveni's sole candidature in the 2016 elections.
Earlier, President Museveni, who is also NRM chairman, had promised to buy new vehicles for all the ruling party's district chairpersons. Multiple sources have told us that Museveni made it clear that the facilitation would exclude the NRM district chairpersons who are MPs or local government leaders (such as LC-V chairpersons).
These, he said, are facilitated by their respective institutions. This means that at least 60 leaders will get the cars, which sources said could cost at least Shs 11 billion. A source within the party said local leaders expect brand new double cabin pickup vehicles such as those given to Resident District Commissioners. Such vehicles cost about Shs 150m each.
"Our areas are impassable especially when it rains. We need strong cars," one of the NRM district chairmen from Buganda who did not want to be named told The Observer on Monday.
The proposal excited the leaders, according to our sources, with some shouting: "Mzee abeewo," (long live Museveni).
The president reportedly assured the leaders that the vehicles would be delivered before the end of the year. Museveni's pledge came after local leaders complained that they could not do party work because they were not facilitated.
They complained that they had been neglected yet they do a lot of ground work to ensure that the party consolidates its grassroots support.
Besides vehicles, the leaders also told the president that many party offices had been closed due to non-payment of rent. The party administrative secretaries, who run the local offices, have also gone several months without salaries, Museveni learnt.
But the president, according to sources, expressed shock at the closure of offices and non-payment of salaries for administrative secretaries. He said he was aware the party had cleared rent and salary arrears up to March this year.
He promised to consult further. Some analysts have interpreted the president's decision to buy vehicles for local party leaders as a ploy to win their support and loyalty.
The move appears to be intended to give Museveni advantage over his Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, whose reported influence amongst the party's district chairpersons must be troubling the president's strategists.
Party divisions
The meeting, sources have told us, also discussed the Museveni, Mbabazi power struggle and its implications for internal party cohesion. The president reportedly said that reports of divisions within NRM had been grossly exaggerated by the media.
Museveni said he had investigated and failed to find evidence to back up claims that Mbabazi was mobilising politically to dislodge him as party chairperson.
"What I know is that some people have been going around the country collecting signatures but that is a small matter we shall solve," Museveni said in a veiled reference to the pro-Mbabazi NRM youth leaders who were arraigned before the Anti-Corruption court last week on bribery charges.
Mbabazi did not attend the Sunday meeting which was chaired by Richard Todwong, the minister without Portfolio in charge of Political Mobilisation, who was last month appointed to assist Mbabazi as secretary general.
Some local leaders told Museveni that bodies such as Umeme and National Water (NWSC) had failed to deliver services in their areas and the opposition was using that to discredit the government.
The complaints came in after Museveni highlighted government efforts toward extending electricity and safe water to all parts of the country. Peter Ssenkungu, the Masaka NRM district chairperson, said National Water had extended piped water to mainly constituencies held by opposition MPs such as Kalungu West's Joseph Ssewungu and Bukoto East's Florence Namayanja.
Ssenkungu said this reflected badly on government and the opposition members are now claiming credit for these achievements. Museveni promised to take immediate action.
Kyankwanzi resolution
Just before the meeting wound up, Issa Taligoola, the district chairman for Pallisa, rose and moved a motion to support the NRM MPs' February 'Kyankwanzi resolution' that endorsed Museveni as the party's sole candidate in the 2016 elections.
There were ululations and commotion as Taligoola made his move. Museveni just smiled. But Hope Mwesigye, a former minister and Mbabazi's sister-in-law, who is NRM chairperson for Kabale, shot up in protest.
"Point of procedure," she shouted repeatedly as she sought to get Museveni and Todwong's attention.
"I thought we were called here to talk about problems affecting our people and how to strengthen the party in our areas not to endorse any candidate," she said as the hall went silent.
She said Taligoola's proposal was untenable because the meeting was not the right platform to endorse the Kyankwanzi resolution. Her intervention left both Museveni and Todwong speechless, according to our sources.
Undeterred, Mwesigye continued: "We are even not well constituted as the National Executive Committee (NEC) and, therefore, we are incompetent to make such a resolution."
However, Mwesigye's use of the word "incompetent" rubbed many people the wrong way. Some jeered at her although she managed to foil Taligoola's proposed resolution.
ekiggundu@observer.ug
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31023:-mbabazi-in-law-foils-sole-museveni-move&catid=78:topstories&Itemid=116
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