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President’s appointments serve as key lesson in strategic recruitment
Effective leadership is not only about making appointments, but about identifying people with the right experience, assigning them responsibility and giving them the opportunity to deliver. The experience of the NRM Secretariat offers a perspective on President Museveni’s approach to strategic deployment and institutional leadership, writes Kenneth Asiimwe
Kenneth Asiimwe. (Courtesy)
By: Admin ., Journalist @New Vision
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OPINION
By Kenneth Asiimwe
One quality I have increasingly come to appreciate about President Yoweri Museveni is his ability to identify people, study their strengths and place them where he believes they can serve most effectively.
Leadership is not simply about occupying the highest office. It is also about identifying the right people to carry responsibility. Looking at some of the President’s appointments over the years, I believe there are cases where time has vindicated his choices.
A good example is the leadership at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretariat.
In 2021, President Museveni, in his capacity as the NRM national chairperson, appointed Richard Todwong as secretary-general and Amb. Barbara Nekesa Oundo as national treasurer. Today, the two remain part of the senior leadership of the secretariat.
In my view, their tenure provides an important case study in the President’s approach to strategic deployment.
Todwong brought to the secretariat considerable political and administrative experience. Before becoming NRM secretary-general, he had served as deputy secretary-general, MP, minister without portfolio and presidential adviser on northern Uganda.
Alongside him, Nekesa brought experience from Parliament, Cabinet and diplomatic service before taking responsibility for the party’s treasury.
What deserves recognition is not merely the positions they occupy, but the institutional work that has taken place under the secretariat leadership. This year, the party reported extensive grassroots mobilisation, co-ordination of district structures, preparations for local elections and plans to strengthen institutional capacity through permanent party offices.
The secretariat has also pursued structured engagement with independent MPs. In August this year, more than 60 independent MPs signed a framework for co-operation with the NRM in Parliament, with Nekesa among the senior party officials involved in that process.
These developments matter because a political organisation cannot depend permanently on personalities and election-season enthusiasm. It requires functioning structures, administration, mobilisation, financial organisation, discipline and continuous engagement with its membership.
In my view, their tenure provides an important case study in the President’s approach to strategic deployment.
Todwong brought to the secretariat considerable political and administrative experience. Before becoming NRM secretary-general, he had served as deputy secretary-general, MP, minister without portfolio and presidential adviser on northern Uganda.
Alongside him, Nekesa brought experience from Parliament, Cabinet and diplomatic service before taking responsibility for the party’s treasury.
What deserves recognition is not merely the positions they occupy, but the institutional work that has taken place under the secretariat leadership. This year, the party reported extensive grassroots mobilisation, co-ordination of district structures, preparations for local elections and plans to strengthen institutional capacity through permanent party offices.
The secretariat has also pursued structured engagement with independent MPs. In August this year, more than 60 independent MPs signed a framework for co-operation with the NRM in Parliament, with Nekesa among the senior party officials involved in that process.
These developments matter because a political organisation cannot depend permanently on personalities and election-season enthusiasm. It requires functioning structures, administration, mobilisation, financial organisation, discipline and continuous engagement with its membership.
For this reason, I wish to publicly appreciate President Museveni for the confidence he placed in the party leaders. I equally commend the wider secretariat team for the work they have undertaken in strengthening the organisation of the party.
No institution or appointment should be considered beyond scrutiny. Every leader must ultimately be judged by responsibility, integrity and service. But where an appointment produces visible institutional progress, it is equally important to acknowledge it.
There is a broader lesson here about President Museveni’s leadership style. Some appointments may initially attract questions or may not immediately reveal their strategic value. Time, however, provides a more meaningful test. In several cases, people entrusted with responsibility have subsequently demonstrated why the President placed confidence in them.
Appointments are ultimately about more than rewarding individuals. They are about identifying ability, assigning responsibility and demanding results.
For the transformation and institutional strengthening that I believe we have witnessed at the NRM Secretariat, I say thank you to President Museveni for his choices, and congratulations to Hon. Todwong, Amb. Nekesa and your colleagues for the responsibility you continue to carry.
May public appointments always be measured by one enduring standard: service, results and strengthening of institutions.
The writer is a youth mobiliser for the National Resistance Movement and Patriotic League of Uganda
No institution or appointment should be considered beyond scrutiny. Every leader must ultimately be judged by responsibility, integrity and service. But where an appointment produces visible institutional progress, it is equally important to acknowledge it.
There is a broader lesson here about President Museveni’s leadership style. Some appointments may initially attract questions or may not immediately reveal their strategic value. Time, however, provides a more meaningful test. In several cases, people entrusted with responsibility have subsequently demonstrated why the President placed confidence in them.
Appointments are ultimately about more than rewarding individuals. They are about identifying ability, assigning responsibility and demanding results.
For the transformation and institutional strengthening that I believe we have witnessed at the NRM Secretariat, I say thank you to President Museveni for his choices, and congratulations to Hon. Todwong, Amb. Nekesa and your colleagues for the responsibility you continue to carry.
May public appointments always be measured by one enduring standard: service, results and strengthening of institutions.
The writer is a youth mobiliser for the National Resistance Movement and Patriotic League of Uganda