By Weswa Ronnie
BUTALEJA
Bukedi sub region ruling NRM party top leaders have threatened to demonstrate over what they called delayed payment of their allowances and the unfulfilled pledges to the region by the National party chairman who is also the President of Uganda.
During the NRM Electoral process engagement meeting that was presided over by Dr Tanga Odoi, the party Electoral commission chairman at Butaleja Technical Institute on Thursday, the leaders led by Owule George Omoding, the NRM party chairman for Pallisa district who also doubles as the Bukedi sub region NRM chairman and Ursher Wilson Owere, the Tororo district NRM chairman for the workers league and also former Secretary General for the Uganda National Workers Union revealed that they have had numerous meetings with the top national party leaders including the National chairman demanding their allowances of Shs150M for each of the 151 party districts in Uganda that is said to have been promised to them shortly after they had assumed office.
According to the leaders, the party promised to give 150 million shillings to every district NRM executive committee, and 2 million shillings to the District NRM chairperson monthly but to their surprise, the chairperson gets 2 million shillings quarterly and 150 million shillings to the Executive members has never materialized.
In the meeting today Monday, December 16, 2024 that was attended by 96 delegates who included the District NRM executive committee, District NRM Registrars and Administrative secretaries from all the 7 districts of Butaleja, Tororo, Busia, Budaka, Kibuku, Butebu and Pallisa, Dr Tanga Odoi was reminded of the unfulfilled pledges to the region by the National party chairman like Tamarking of Namutumba Butaleja -Lwangoli road and Busolwe Nagongera -Tororo road.
Hasahya Sovereign, the Executive Assistant in the Office of the Director of Publicity and Communication at the NRM secretariat and also female youth leader in Butaleja who was the meeting coordinator revealed that Government has been able to empower Bukedi sub region through the social economic empowerment programs like the PDM, Youth livelihood, Emyooga, Education for all and skilling Ugandans among others.
She went ahead and asked the Bukedi party leaders to be calm saying the National chairman is very considerate and he will answer their queries since they have tasked the NRM Electoral commission chairman to deliver their message to him.
Steven Mugole, the Member of Parliament for Kabweri county in Kibuku disclosed that he recently had an engagement with NRM party leaders in his constituency but found out that many of them have lost morale for the party arguing that the Party only sees their value during elections.
Dr Tanga Odoi asked the executive members to mobilize the public for the digital membership registration, whose centre is at Busitema University, and encouraged teenagers of 16-17 years to also take part in the registration ahead of the party’s structure elections early next year.
He apologized for the delays to have fresh structure elections but blamed the mess on the central executive committee, which according to him delayed to release the funds for the exercise.
The chairman also guaranteed that the structural elections and NRM primaries will be held by lining, to boost sanity in the process.
According to Tanga, elections by lining up behind candidates helps to make accountability, saves time and money, then also solves the queries related to vote rigging.
Odoi, further stated that he will present the queries captured in the meeting, including facilitation to the NRM offices across the country.
