Analysis
190 NRM MPs sign to support Museveni in 2016
STICK WITH YOU: NRM MPs have vowed to support Museveni in 2016 general elections
The dramatic move is believed to be intended to forestall Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi’s alleged plan to upstage Museveni in the delegates conference by offering himself to contest for presidency.
While at Kyankwanzi, Mbabazi denied such a plot but observers say he has been working underground mobilizing delegates.
RESOLUTION ON PARTY COHESION AND GOVERNANCE
We, the undersigned members of the NRM Caucus attending a retreat at the National Leadership Institute (NALI) Kyankwanzi (6th – 16th February 2014);
Fully aware of our Country’s historical past and the need to consolidate and sustain the Milestones registered over the years since 1986;
Cognizant of the fact that there is still a lot more to be done in order to realize our ideological vision of uniting Uganda(Nationalism), Pan-africanism, transforming our country from a poor peasantry society to a modern economy and upholding democracy;
Conscious of the fact that what has been so far achieved over the last 28 years needs to be guarded jealously and improved upon to realize our vision;
Aware that when individuals engage in personal scheming, party cohesion is undermined, development efforts are distracted and the population is diverted from work to early politicking;
DO here by resolve;
i) To support H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to continue leading and facilitating our country on its take off journey to transformation.
ii) To strongly appeal to and urge H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to offer himself as a Presidential Candidate and NRM flag bearer in the 2016 general elections.
iii) To discourage some senior leaders within the party with Presidential ambitions from pursuing schemes that compromise party cohesion, unity, breed factionalism, and instead urge them to use established party procedures in an open manner.
Justification
Political Parties world over have one common agenda; that is, to contest for power and win so as to implement their plans/manifestos. Without attaining victory at the polls, all their plans however good and well intentioned they may be, will be shelved. It is the party that wins and not the individual leaders.
The idea therefore, of looking at ourselves as individual political entities, separate from the party and therefore working to advance personal ambitions is wrong. The party must win first and so we all win. We therefore do not need to take any chances or attempt to make trials/experiments while selecting a Presidential Flag bearer. Anybody else can wait.
We are safer with a “driver” who has not only demonstrated ability as the founding leader of the revolution that liberated Uganda but also managed to keep the Country together given its turbulent political history, restored our Country’s National pride, built the economy with strong Fiscal and Monetary policy instruments and guaranteed peace and stability within the Country and the Region with a strong National, Professional and disciplined army. This “driver” is none other than President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
As NRM we should stand to reject and resist firmly the well orchestrated propaganda of our opponents, sometimes spiced so well to even appeal to our own party Members and leaders from within by saying that our President has overstayed and therefore should handover power in a peaceful transition. Let no one be fooled. The strength of our leader stands out and so his opponents will invest in any possible blackmail that will deter him from running and thus give them a free ride. They are terribly defeated with him in the race.
The question therefore, is not Long stay per se, or change of leaders after short intervals but rather, what the leader does for his or her Country. If changing leaders after short intervals were to be the remedy for guaranteeing a Country’s political future, then Uganda would have prospered by far between the period 1962 up to 1986 when we changed up to eight Presidents. Why then didn’t we experience economic growth, stability or peaceful transition so much talked about? To the contrary, Uganda’s only real independence as well as attainment of democracy and people’s freedoms has been under the uninterrupted 28 years of NRM rule.
There is no logic whatsoever in this cheap and populist notion that the NRM adversaries deliberately scream so much loud about, so as to intimidate us from fielding our own best, that guarantees and boosts our party victory fortunes. They should mind the business of their own parties.
Colleagues, History is there to prove us right. Visionary leaders that managed to build strong foundations for their Countries and transform them like Li Kuan Yu of Singapore, Late Melesi Zenawi of Ethiopia, among others, never did so by just taking short stints at the Presidency. They did so over a long period. That is how longevity can be very positive especially if the leader means well. Such leaders however, like the late Zenawi, were unfairly demonized by the traitors of Africa both from within and without, but they resisted those lectures of symbolic and not real democracy. It’s their sacrifices that today account for the rich economies of their Countries and prosperity of their people.
Democracy is therefore, not built by numbers of leaders merely taking turns at the Presidency. Democracy is instead built by ensuring that its core pre-requisites like “universal, free, fair and regular elections, free press, full citizenry participation, among others do exist and are deliberately promoted.” This is what the NRM did. Those voices screaming loud therefore, do not in any way represent the majority wishes of Ugandans. They should never intimidate us from deciding who leads our Party and who carries our flag.
I appeal to our other senior party leaders with presidential ambitions to shelve them for now and we collectively concentrate on securing party victory. Harboring ambitions is not necessarily bad; it should however never; be pursued at the expense of party cohesion, disrupt development efforts and divert the population from work to early politicking. Personal ambitions for leadership notwithstanding, the interest of our party must at all times take precedence over personal interests.
Conclusion
As for me the mover of this motion, and all the seconders whose hands are hereto appended, we shall support President Y.K Museveni come 2016 and we accordingly urge him to unreservedly offer himself for this National task as he has always done in the past. We appeal to other members of all the other party organs and the wider NRM fraternity to support this proposal and thus be able to secure victory for our party with a winning candidate come 2016.
Our decision is logical and we shall speak and mobilize for it at every fora no matter what schemes of intimidation our adversaries foment against us.
Comments
