Reflections on NRM: Functionality, service delivery, career dev't

By Asuman Kiyingi

My article on the undeployed NRM loyal cadres published in the New Vision recently attracted mixed reactions.

A section of Ugandans strongly feel that  political elites in this country get more than they deserve from the public purse. My point, however, was to start a candid debate on the Party leadership  and membership roles in the NRM, with a view to making it stronger and more versatile given that it is the majority political party destined to provide leadership for this country for a long time to come. This article is a continuation of that endeavor.

A political party like the NRM that evolved from a protracted peoples' war, to a broad based, all inclusive, State Party, and finally to a Majority Political Party that has won five elective terms in office, and desires to continue contesting for power in the foreseeable future, has to invest in and rely on the people. A dedicated loyal cadreship is indispensable for this task.

Currently the NRM is undergoing an ideological evolution of growth. Going by the Kyankwanzi resolutions of both the NRM Parliamentary Caucus and Party/Government executive leadership retreats it is clear that the Party wishes to take control of the governance agenda by asserting the dominance of the party over the governance of the state. The justification for this is that the party won the popular mandate of governance for its elected officials, on account of its political platform or governing manifesto which is now the social contract the party has with Ugandans.

 In the past, the party restrained its role to actively seeking election for its members. Thereafter the elected officials that formed government, worked with nominal direction, monitoring   and supervision from the Party.

This tended to leave the Ruling Party and its Organs in the shadows of governance. At the Executive level, Party organs like the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) maintained cohesion and relevance only in as far as decision making at the top where power is retained. At the level of the Legislature, the Parliamentary Caucus has remained relevant in as far as pushing the governance agenda of the Party in Parliament.

Because these organs consist of elected officials; officials who jostle for political space in their constituencies, in the public domain, and within the Party; they have  been prone to factionalism, intrigue, and promotion of self-interest over Party interest. While this is normal behaviour for politicians, it is apparent that over the years their actions have collectively negatively impacted both service delivery and the Party brand among the population.

In addition, the functionality of Party organs being restricted to elected officials, has left out a pool of talent of unelected officials who are either irrelevant throughout a term of governance, or make political calculations in their constituencies or the public domain, intended to ensure that they regain political power through the electorate. While this may not necessarily undermine the state, the overall effect is that these collective actions impact service delivery of the Party and government to the population, and thus provide political ammunition to the political opposition that takes advantage of these weaknesses.

Evidently the cohesion and active participation of members critical to NRM survival as a majority political party has only been visible during elections. And even then such cohesion is fueled by the individuals' search for office or party reward failure to achieve which sets in motion a new cycle of jostling, infighting and even sabotage.

The continued survival of the Party has thus been hinged on two core factors: 1) the strength of the NRM brand as a liberation movement and 2); the charisma and organizational abilities of the Founder. It is the strength of the NRM brand and the charisma and organizational abilities of President Museveni  as Party Founder that have ensured that the NRM retains power over and irrespective of the internal weaknesses of the Party, especially in regard to its strength as a political brand among the masses. The strength of the Party brand has therefore been in the shadows of the strength of the Founder.

The strategy of political deployment of active loyal cadres to political positions has somehow helped to maintain cohesion among members as it answers the primary individual political motivation of political reward and political influence. While the majority of the appointees have not disappointed mention must be made of some political appointees who have at times not performed to the best of their ability in the areas they have been deployed, be it in the Foreign Service or domestically through the office of the President as Resident District Commissioners (RDCs). But still, this has been largely limited to the members that have participated in the electoral process.

Fortunately the NRM is aware of the above challenges and is taking measures to address them. Reform of the Party Secretariat from being manned by elected officials to appointed officials has created some efficiency.  Separation of the workings of the NRM from the daily governance of the State is a positive step.

The Party Leadership retreat to the National Leadership Institute in Kyankwanzi (NALI), with the aim of aligning government to the manifesto of the Party, upon whose governance agenda political power was won, also created the perfect opportunity for all party members to serve both their party and nation irrespective of whether they are elected or unelected officials. The idea of the N RM Secretariat having an input in government contracted loans is also salutary.

Party functionality:

Having reinstated the supremacy of the Party, in as far as implementing the manifesto upon which the election was won, as a basis of the social contract with the people, it is now imperative that the full functionality of the Party be restored beyond the functionality of the Secretariat.  The Party should develop the capacity to follow through on the programs promised to the people in the NRM Manifesto, and the quality of service provided.

Under the decentralised system of government, the Ministry of Local Government is a key pillar in service delivery. The budgets allocated to districts and the attendant functionalities that make up the district: be it in agricultural extension services, health and education monitoring, or public works maintenance, form the basis of the social contract with the people. The  quality of service provided at this level has always corresponded with the anxiety and frustration of the masses.

In addition to other government policy failures, sevice delivery failure has also been partly due to the dormancy of grassroot Party structures which has left politics at the executive and legislative levels for only elected officials.

The rekindled role of the Party therefore, should not stop at the top. It should be supplemented with strength and visibility of the Party at the grassroots.  This can only be achieved by strengthening the District Party Branches, all the way to the Village Party Branches. A monitoring mechanism of the Secretariat at the Executive and Parliamentary level must be complemented with a robust monitoring mechanism at the district level.

Whereas the elected officials at the parliamentary level lobby resources towards various constituencies, the elected officials at the district level, often ignored and underfunded, operate already approved budgets. It is here that the Party Administration through its Organs like CEC, NEC, and the Secretariat must lay emphasis; for the simple reason that resources at the district have been disbursed for implementation of the Party Manifesto and by extension the Social Contract made with the citizens.

The NRM is still very popular in the rural areas but the frustration of the masses over poor service delivery is building.  In the last elections the media was able to shine a spotlight on the quality of service being offered to the masses in the most remote areas much to the embarrassment of government. There is no need to wait for elections to fix problems of the population if the Party is fully active.

 For NRM as a political party with long term ambitions of governance like the CCM in Tanzania, the ANC in South Africa, and the CPP in China, now is the time to strengthen the appeal of its brand by re-inventing itself along the Kyankwanzi resolutions. Kisanja Hakuna Mchezo should go beyond a slogan.

To be able to achieve this, NRM needs to focus its sustainability on the activism and strength of its members, majority of whom volunteer their services during elections out of conviction or by patriotic sentiment for what is best for the nation. Those members who may not appear on the ballot paper but actively work to get Party members elected. It is those members who should be mobilised and engaged to continue working for the party in their communities by holding the elected members accountable. Through an agreed monitoring mechanism instituted by  the Party Secretariat, registered Party members should continue to play a robust role in their Party branches and in their communities.

The structure of the District Party Branch as a Party Monitoring Unit, in liaison with the existing monitoring units of the Executive through the RDCs, the different levels of security that have the infrastructure to track deviation of resources and destructive tendencies like corruption and embezzlement of both resources and government equipment and services like drugs, etc, and attendant structures of elected officials, both of the ruling NRM Party, and opposing political parties that have elected members as part of government, should be designed in a way that allows the Party to be assertive without being disruptive.

This would require the District Party Branch to have all information on resources sent to the district, the objectives of the Party in line with its manifesto - broken down to the District Level - and the liaison personnel in the district that would help them in the various aspects of monitoring of service delivery. This evolved structure that delivers results without obstructing or overriding the mandate of elected officials should be the ultimate attainment of desired Party functionality.

The scope of their role should be the mandate of the Secretariat in as far as how well it hopes to keep the government on track with respect to the Manifesto. The management of the Party branches, the capacities allocated for monitoring government programs, and the modus of facilitation can be agreed upon through a number of avenues; some of which  are explored below.

Sustainable service delivery:

There have been persistent complaints that the NRM uses government resources to fund party activities. Though the party raises money from its salary earning members and has many donors and wellwishers more avenues should be explored to find an institutionalised  sustainable mechanism that will help the Party fund its activities and programmes.

The NRM has laid out ambitious growth and development aspirations for Uganda. It must therefore look beyond the challenges of its resources to the opportunities available so as to realise its goals and  aspirations. Beyond the need to curb destructive vices like corruption that hinder effective service delivery, the NRM must find ways that expand its internal party revenues beyond the strength of the national purse.

In this regard the NRM's Entrepreneurial Wing should play a central and active role. There are a number of experiences in South Africa, Rwanda and Tanzania that can be useful. More often than not, government lacks the resources to fully implement its programs. Yet, all its programs are economic activities that attract profit. Even the most basic service to the citizens is a product that can be offered in the market. The NRM Entrepreneurial Wing must therefore re-examine all possibilities and lead the resource mobilization drive bearing in mind that the Private Sector must remain the key enabler of the Public Sector.

Numerous opportunities have been presented to the NRM. These should be fully explored by the NRM Entrepreneurs Wing which should play an active role in generating policy options for opening up the economy and complementing the role of government and the Party in both fulfilling its manifesto and attaining the ambitious goals it has set up for this elective term.

In line with the Vision 2040, middle-income by 2020, and the National Development Plan, the NRM, if it focuses, can deliver on its promises.

The year 2021 will be highly competitive. NRM political opponents hope to have gained ground by then courtesy of expected unfulfilled promises by the Party. The demographics of the electorate will have changed drastically, as will global political and economic trends. The impact of technology, the political wave of changing global politics and the prevalent economic conditions in the country will be a key determinant on the fortunes of the NRM as a party.

The election of 2021 will be a referendum on whether the NRM as a Party, and the vision and legacy of the Founder, can be carried into the future.  The actions of the Party in these five years, in sustainable service delivery, therefore, will be a key determinant on how that political referendum is settled.

Member career development:

The restructuring of the Party and repositioning to enable sustainable service delivery, is a God Send that should create career and deployment opportunities at all levels for party members; beyond elected officials or political appointments.

The changing electorate demographics point to a largely youthful and unemployed populace. It is this populace that will be key in transcending the vision and legacy of the Founder and the Party into the future. The monitoring of government service delivery provides ample opportunities for career growth of its members - both old and new - who can provide voluntary audit services at Party Branches and participate in economic opportunities that are  becoming available through initiatives like the Operation Wealth Creation.

The population must be skilled. The Party's most loyal members must be key in all these efforts. A balance must be created between the elected officials and the Party Members. Those that lose internal primary elections must form the aggressive monitoring teams at the District. A loss for an individual in an internal primary election should not be a loss to the Party because both individuals stand on the Party platform. The Party primaries should therefore be free and fair for the Party to remain a Platform for all contestants and create opportunity for all its members to contribute to the fulfilment of its manifesto.

The aggressive entrepreneurial activities of the NRM Entrepreneurs Wing are what will create resources that can run party activities and pay allowances of members. When members acquire opportunity in the private sector through the Party's economic activities, and are further mentored into how to use their incomes to the most optimum use, they will see their incomes separated from their activities for the Party. This will tone down the selfish political motive of reward and careerism.

Invested incomes in shares acquired in Party businesses will help members have ownership of the Party, its activities and success. Once again for all this to happen the NRM Entrepreneurs Wing must take the lead.  A government that runs the state has unfettered access to the economy. It sees first-hand the opportunities and challenges and can deploy resources in sustainable and profitable ways. A party in power can be its own guarantor in partnering with the state in areas that not only supplement its efforts in service delivery and fulfilment of its social contract to the people, but also open up the economy for investment.

A distinction must be made between Party members and the electorate. The Party must ensure provision of the best services and by default widen its support base among the people. This is not to say it becomes a  bloated machinery but rather an efficient entity that can deliver at minimum cost while expanding political opportunity and popularity among the population.

The Chinese and South African experiences of how the Ruling Parties deploy their members and grow their career projections are informative in this respect. The recent NRM Party study tours to these countries should have picked these experiences.

The writer is the former MP Bugabula South, former State Minister Works, NRM Publicity Secretary Kamuli District.