NRM Supporters and grass root structural leaders from Wakiso district have lauded the party National Chairman and President Yoweri Museveni for morphing the idea of the top leadership going out on consultative meetings and mobilisation tours. To them, these will promote cohesion of members and enhance monitoring and supervision of government projects on ground to improve service delivery.
Wakiso leaders praised President Museveni as they interacted with senior party leaders from the Secretariat on the NRM manifesto implementation and service delivery on Wednesday at oil city motel in Busukuma division in Nansana municipality. Team was led by Deputy Secretary-General, Rt. Hon. Rose Namayanja and the National Treasurer, Amb Barbara Nekesa
In her speech, the Deputy Secretary General, Rt. Hon. Namayanja expressed her gratitude to President Museveni for his initiative, describing him as visionary.
“I want to thank our National Chairman, because through his guidance, we are here to listen and share with you. I also want to thank you Wakiso leaders for the great work you are doing for our People. We thank you so much for the efforts you put in mobilisation for the President in the last elections. It is true we didn't get our desired percentage of votes but he has sent us to thank you for the efforts,” Namayanja said.
She pledged that party leadership will always endeavor to return to the people without waiting for an election cycle.
“As the Secretariat, we are here to listen to the issues you're facing,” Namayanja stated, adding: “We have come here to get information right from our people at the ground because at the national level we may not know the problems facing the people of Busukuma.”
She acknowledged some existing wrangles among members, saying it was one of the major reasons for the party’s poor performance in some areas. “When the Electoral commission released the election roadmap. It received eleven manifestos and Ugandans chose the NRM manifesto and. It’s the NRM that formulates the budget based on its manifesto and therefore we have to monitor how the NRM manifesto is being implemented,” Namayanja told the leaders.
She tasked the CAOs and town clerks to prepare to explain to Ugandans how far they have reached with implementing the NRM manifesto in regards to Parish development model, Emyooga and other poverty alleviation programs put in place by the government.
“The NRM chairman at the district has all the authority to monitor government programs within the district and report with the RDC's office for solutions in case of poor performance,” she said.
The Party's National Treasurer Hon. Amb. Barbara Nekesa Oundo told the leaders that President Museveni sent the delegation with caution to avoid divisionism and favoritism. She said the mobilization strategy was to create 31 mobilisation zones all over Uganda. “We are going to visit all the mobilisation zones while holding our meetings at the constituency purposely to strengthen our party structures and membership so as to retain power,” Amb. Nekesa stated.
She said the job of the party leaders should be easy because the achievements of the NRM are visible and only requires people to speak about them.
“We are now focusing more on the fourth principle of the NRM which is social economic transformation,” she said. Adding: “We should put more effort into job and wealth creation. Let us use all the available resources and avenues to create jobs and improve household incomes.”
Amb Nekesa explained that God blessed Uganda with vast natural resources and what is left is for the people to use the enablers put in place by the government like roads, peace and security, electricity, ICT infrastructure to transform their lives.
“Let us all embrace the government programs and move together towards prosperity,” she said, adding: “The president advised us to tell the people not only to work for the stomach but also to have balances for fees and investment so as to create wealth. She carried the President’s message against partitioning land into smaller pieces as this affects the productivity of the land.
Nekesa further encouraged leaders to join the fight against land grabbing with a call to security agencies to support the RDCs in the fight against the vice.
The NRM vice chairperson for Buganda region, Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi, who later joined the secretariat leaders and reiterated the call to end land wrangles in Wakiso District. He said the RDCs should avoid taking sides in matters of land wrangles.
Kiwanda said many parts of Buganda were divided and thus affecting the party support at grassroot level, calling upon leaders to iron out their differences for the good of the Party.