Akena implores Besigye: Let's talk with NRM

PIC: Uganda People's Congress (UPC) party president, James Akena during a press briefing at the UPC offices in Kampala on June 14, 2016.Photos/ Maria Wamala

Lira Municipality MP and leader of a faction of Uganda People's Congress (UPC), Jimmy Akena, was reportedly set to join cabinet as deputy prime minister. Umaru Kashaka interviewed him on this and other related issues and below are excerpts.

What are you negotiating with the Government because I also heard you were set to join cabinet as deputy prime minister?
I am not struggling for positions; I am looking at the bigger picture of improving the livelihoods of Ugandans and moving the country forward.  The whole issue of politics is that you have your set of ideas or priorities which you feel will enhance the well-being of the citizens of Uganda and move the country forward.

The UPC policies have not changed and are not likely to change. We are going to work harder in articulating and developing those policies and reach out to people with those policies because we feel those policies will improve the livelihoods of the citizens of Uganda.

As for now 2016 elections are over. The programme and policies which are going to be implemented are those which came from NRM. We will definitely try and reach out to NRM to appreciate our point of view with the view that will help enhance, for example, the rural economy.

Where we are not comfortable we will say so, but at least on my side I am trying to do so in a positive manner without being vulgar, very negative but at the same time maintaining the core values and beliefs of UPC.

How far have you gone with the negotiations?
We are in the process of defining the nature and extent of the possible cooperation. Anything that will come out of those discussions and negotiations will be referred to the party organs of UPC to take the final decision.

In these discussions I am looking at issues like how can we have a political culture which is going to be more tolerant, which is going to appreciate diversity of opinions and ideas and how we are going to deal with the questions of transition.

Won't the discussions with the Government distract you from your work of trying to capture State power in 2021?
I have an interest to see UPC in government and any party worth its salt would be struggling to position itself so that it can be in government and direct the course of the nation but where we put the nation and what we hope to see in the nation must be above our partisan interests. I brought up the issue transition but transition is not a one day affair. It's going to be over a period of time.

How can you talk to Opposition politicians like Kizza Besigye on how to resolve the current political impasse?
I have no problem sitting down and talking to people on whatever issues. I can talk to President Museveni and NRM. I can talk equally and comfortably to Besigye or Mugisha Muntu the party president. What are we trying to do? How are we going to solve these problems? Are these problems going to be solved in this matter? Let's hold dialogue with the Government and see how we can move the country forward. I am talking to anybody who is willing to listen. At this material moment some of the conversations are with the NRM Government because it's the Government in power.

The policies which they are (NRM people) going to try to implement are going to affect the people. So the necessity and the difference in approach should be obvious because I may have the most wonderful idea or I may have the idea which may be considered by some to be totally untenable but when I am not in Government it remains an idea.

A decision made by the Government today has an effect on citizens across the board, so there is a difference on that engagement. For example if we increase spending per capita on health services, it will have a massive effect.

But if we, the Opposition, agree to say no let's put an increase of $50 we are not the Government to effect it so we need to influence those who in Government as much as possible. Of course while developing our own programmes which we would implement if and when we are given the authority by the citizens of Uganda.

But are there any alternative policies you have ever articulated?
I will start with the ideas of UPC which have been taken over by Government. Look at the 2006 manifestos of all political parties which contested in 2006 elections, only UPC talked about the issue of Students' Loan.

And UPC looked at it in the context of how do we relieve the burden of parents who have bright students who can qualify for university education but don't have the resource and to do it in the way which will be fairer than what was then existing in the State House scholarships which had an element of political aspect.

So we put forward in the manifesto that we need a Student Loan system which is going to be able to cater for this issue and we also put that it should be under the ministry of education and not State House.

Now definitely in the implementation it is not exactly as we envisaged but it's something which we put out clearly. Now when the issue of Student Loan comes on the floor of parliament which was an idea we put out can I oppose it? I can't oppose the concept of Student Loan. I will instead bring the issue of how we thought it would work better.