Power struggle paralyses districts
Jun 24, 2011
ELECTIONS are over. District leaders have already been sworn in. You would imagine they have rolled up their sleeves and are ready for the hard job of delivering services to the electorate.
ELECTIONS are over. District leaders have already been sworn in. You would imagine they have rolled up their sleeves and are ready for the hard job of delivering services to the electorate.
Dead wrong! In fact, business in many districts is paralysed. Personal rivalry, party differences, sour-graping over political posts and machination by CAOs looking for stooges, are the order of the day as LC5 councillors and chairmen fight over positions and dominance.
At the heart of the matter is the struggle for the position of speaker and places on the district executive councils across the country.
Mukono
After a petition by the loser in the speaker elections, the Chief Magistrate, Mary Ikit, banned council activities, including the passing of the budget. Mubarak Ssekikubo beat the former speaker, James Kunobwa.
However, Kunobwa challenged the results saying that Ssekikubo used one name while contesting for the position of speaker and a different one during campaigns to become councillor. Kunobwa wants court to annul the results of the election of the district speaker.
Ssekikubo says he converted to Islam after the general polls and changed his name. For the time being, his position has been frozen until court makes a ruling and council business is at a standstill.
Section 12 of the Local Government act 1997 says apart from swearing-in, “no business shall be transacted in the council before the election of a speaker at any time that office is vacant.â€
The wrangles have affected the district to the extent that the secretary for finance, Asuman Muhumuza, recently said that if by June 30, the budget was not passed, the district would be penalised. “We are supposed to read the budget, but we cannot, because of the wrangles between the speaker and his opponents,†he said.
Iganga
The LC5 chairperson, Shaban Nkutu and the speaker, Herbert Kisame were allies during the general elections. However, their relations soured when Nkutu backed Kisame’s rival, Peter Balunywa, during the speaker elections.
The council is now divided. Most of the new councillors are backing the chairperson, while the older ones are behind the speaker.
Due to the bickering, Nkutu has not allocated positions to the people he recently chose to serve on the district executive.
Bukomansimbi
The Minister of Local Government, Adolf Mwesige and Kabakumba Masiko, the Minister in charge of the Presidency had to intervene. The NRM councillors, who are the majority, rejected chairman Muhammad Kateregga’s executive committee.
Kateregga, a member of Justice Forum, had mostly appointed opposition councillors, which angered the NRM camp. To-date, the district has no executive committee.
Ntungamo
In Ntungamo, the Western Division LC3 boss, Yakobo Binyerere, who appeared at his swearing-in ceremony with eight wives, has appointed an executive committee of only women. This has infuriated male councillors.
“If he wants to remain in office, he has to drop two of the women and replace them with male councillors,†said Benon Nuwagira (FDC), the council’s opposition chief whip.
Binyerere insists he will not appoint any opposition councillor when he is “pure NRMâ€.
Sironko
The chairperson, James Nabende, is one of the 20 FDC councillors on the committee, while NRM has 17. However, for two consecutive council meetings, the NRM councillors rejected the appointment of Nalusalo sub-county councillor, Peter Muyobo, as the vice-chairperson.
There is a common belief that the rejection is intended to frustrate FDC. Fortunately, council committees have been constituted, which allows some business to go on.
Kayunga
Councillors loyal to the former chairperson, Thomas Mulondo, are plotting the downfall of their new boss, Stephen Dagada.
Mulondo and Dagada, both engineers, are rivals who have defeated each other for the top district seat in turns. Pro-Mulondo councillors have not been included on Dagada’s executive. They were particularly annoyed by Dagada’s choice of Juliet Nalunga, the Kayonza sub-county woman councillor and Godfrey Niyemanya, the Galiraya sub-county councillor on the executive yet they are newcomers.
Other councillors who were loyal to Dagada but were not appointed are also up in arms. Many complain that he promised them seats on the executive.
But Dagada argues that the councillors he appointed to the executive were the ones best suited for the jobs.
Kampala
In Kampala, there are two main wrangles. One is between the councils and the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi.
Councillors protested when they learnt that their monthly allowances had been cut from over sh1.7m to sh400,000. They threatened not to pass the KCCA budget for the next financial year. However, they took a different stand on realising that they would have no allowances if they did not pass the budget.
Before the budget could be passed, the mayors of Kampala municipalities, Mubarak Munyagwa of Kawempe, Godfrey Nyakana of Kampala Central, Ben Kalumba of Nakawa and Joyce Ssebugwawo of Rubaga, were also claiming that Musisi had usurped their powers.
It was only after Musisi quoted articles in the KCCA Act to convince them that she had the authority to trim their financial power that they relented. Only Munyagwa protested by walking out of the council meeting that passed the budget.
The other wrangle in KCCA is related to the appointment of the Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago’s deputy. Allegedly, due to in-fighting, Lukwago has delayed in appointing someone. NRM councillors, who are the majority, insist that one of them should be appointed Lukwago’s deputy.
Soroti
The majority of chairman, George Egunyu’s (NRM), while most of the councillors are FDC. The councillors have twice rejected his nominees for the secretary for Finance. Egunyu first nominated Richard Ongodia, but the councillors said he did not have a good relationship with civil servants. They also questioned his past performance in the same position.
Egunyu then proposed the Soroti West and East Division woman councillor Margaret Amongin, but the councillors said she was from the same division as the chairman and the speaker. Since the secretary for finance takes charge of the budget, this disagreement has paralysed business.
Mityana
The wrangles are between Muslims and non-Muslims. The four Muslim councillors are upset that none of them was appointed on the executive.
Recently, the district’s Muslims led by Sheikh Ali Kasaliko petitioned the chairperson, Deborah Kinobe, to appoint a Muslim on one of the committees.
But Kinobe said Muslims would get their turn when the committees were reshuffled.
There are also some unresolved issues between the NRM councillors who supported Kinobe and those who backed the NRM-inclined independent, Joseph Luzige.
Kamuli
The chairperson, Ahmed Mugaino, has failed to name his executive committee.
His candidate for the position of speaker, Thomas Kategere, lost and councillors elected Samuel Bamwole instead. The chairperson then appointed Kategere as his deputy, but councillors still rejected him.
“Without him I am not comfortable. I will name him until he is accepted. I cannot name my cabinet before he is cleared,†Kawugu said on Monday.
Mugaino’s camp is seen as serving the peasants, while the speaker’s camp tends to lean towards the elite.
Reporting By John Semakula, Paddy Nsobya, Felix Osujju, Frank Mugabi, Tom Gwebayanga, Fredrick Soma, Luke Kagiri, Charles Jjuuko, Rwambuka Migisha and Joseph Wanzusi
Dead wrong! In fact, business in many districts is paralysed. Personal rivalry, party differences, sour-graping over political posts and machination by CAOs looking for stooges, are the order of the day as LC5 councillors and chairmen fight over positions and dominance.
At the heart of the matter is the struggle for the position of speaker and places on the district executive councils across the country.
Mukono
After a petition by the loser in the speaker elections, the Chief Magistrate, Mary Ikit, banned council activities, including the passing of the budget. Mubarak Ssekikubo beat the former speaker, James Kunobwa.
However, Kunobwa challenged the results saying that Ssekikubo used one name while contesting for the position of speaker and a different one during campaigns to become councillor. Kunobwa wants court to annul the results of the election of the district speaker.
Ssekikubo says he converted to Islam after the general polls and changed his name. For the time being, his position has been frozen until court makes a ruling and council business is at a standstill.
Section 12 of the Local Government act 1997 says apart from swearing-in, “no business shall be transacted in the council before the election of a speaker at any time that office is vacant.â€
The wrangles have affected the district to the extent that the secretary for finance, Asuman Muhumuza, recently said that if by June 30, the budget was not passed, the district would be penalised. “We are supposed to read the budget, but we cannot, because of the wrangles between the speaker and his opponents,†he said.
Iganga
The LC5 chairperson, Shaban Nkutu and the speaker, Herbert Kisame were allies during the general elections. However, their relations soured when Nkutu backed Kisame’s rival, Peter Balunywa, during the speaker elections.
The council is now divided. Most of the new councillors are backing the chairperson, while the older ones are behind the speaker.
Due to the bickering, Nkutu has not allocated positions to the people he recently chose to serve on the district executive.
Bukomansimbi
The Minister of Local Government, Adolf Mwesige and Kabakumba Masiko, the Minister in charge of the Presidency had to intervene. The NRM councillors, who are the majority, rejected chairman Muhammad Kateregga’s executive committee.
Kateregga, a member of Justice Forum, had mostly appointed opposition councillors, which angered the NRM camp. To-date, the district has no executive committee.
Ntungamo
In Ntungamo, the Western Division LC3 boss, Yakobo Binyerere, who appeared at his swearing-in ceremony with eight wives, has appointed an executive committee of only women. This has infuriated male councillors.
“If he wants to remain in office, he has to drop two of the women and replace them with male councillors,†said Benon Nuwagira (FDC), the council’s opposition chief whip.
Binyerere insists he will not appoint any opposition councillor when he is “pure NRMâ€.
Sironko
The chairperson, James Nabende, is one of the 20 FDC councillors on the committee, while NRM has 17. However, for two consecutive council meetings, the NRM councillors rejected the appointment of Nalusalo sub-county councillor, Peter Muyobo, as the vice-chairperson.
There is a common belief that the rejection is intended to frustrate FDC. Fortunately, council committees have been constituted, which allows some business to go on.
Kayunga
Councillors loyal to the former chairperson, Thomas Mulondo, are plotting the downfall of their new boss, Stephen Dagada.
Mulondo and Dagada, both engineers, are rivals who have defeated each other for the top district seat in turns. Pro-Mulondo councillors have not been included on Dagada’s executive. They were particularly annoyed by Dagada’s choice of Juliet Nalunga, the Kayonza sub-county woman councillor and Godfrey Niyemanya, the Galiraya sub-county councillor on the executive yet they are newcomers.
Other councillors who were loyal to Dagada but were not appointed are also up in arms. Many complain that he promised them seats on the executive.
But Dagada argues that the councillors he appointed to the executive were the ones best suited for the jobs.
Kampala
In Kampala, there are two main wrangles. One is between the councils and the Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) Executive Director, Jennifer Musisi.
Councillors protested when they learnt that their monthly allowances had been cut from over sh1.7m to sh400,000. They threatened not to pass the KCCA budget for the next financial year. However, they took a different stand on realising that they would have no allowances if they did not pass the budget.
Before the budget could be passed, the mayors of Kampala municipalities, Mubarak Munyagwa of Kawempe, Godfrey Nyakana of Kampala Central, Ben Kalumba of Nakawa and Joyce Ssebugwawo of Rubaga, were also claiming that Musisi had usurped their powers.
It was only after Musisi quoted articles in the KCCA Act to convince them that she had the authority to trim their financial power that they relented. Only Munyagwa protested by walking out of the council meeting that passed the budget.
The other wrangle in KCCA is related to the appointment of the Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago’s deputy. Allegedly, due to in-fighting, Lukwago has delayed in appointing someone. NRM councillors, who are the majority, insist that one of them should be appointed Lukwago’s deputy.
Soroti
The majority of chairman, George Egunyu’s (NRM), while most of the councillors are FDC. The councillors have twice rejected his nominees for the secretary for Finance. Egunyu first nominated Richard Ongodia, but the councillors said he did not have a good relationship with civil servants. They also questioned his past performance in the same position.
Egunyu then proposed the Soroti West and East Division woman councillor Margaret Amongin, but the councillors said she was from the same division as the chairman and the speaker. Since the secretary for finance takes charge of the budget, this disagreement has paralysed business.
Mityana
The wrangles are between Muslims and non-Muslims. The four Muslim councillors are upset that none of them was appointed on the executive.
Recently, the district’s Muslims led by Sheikh Ali Kasaliko petitioned the chairperson, Deborah Kinobe, to appoint a Muslim on one of the committees.
But Kinobe said Muslims would get their turn when the committees were reshuffled.
There are also some unresolved issues between the NRM councillors who supported Kinobe and those who backed the NRM-inclined independent, Joseph Luzige.
Kamuli
The chairperson, Ahmed Mugaino, has failed to name his executive committee.
His candidate for the position of speaker, Thomas Kategere, lost and councillors elected Samuel Bamwole instead. The chairperson then appointed Kategere as his deputy, but councillors still rejected him.
“Without him I am not comfortable. I will name him until he is accepted. I cannot name my cabinet before he is cleared,†Kawugu said on Monday.
Mugaino’s camp is seen as serving the peasants, while the speaker’s camp tends to lean towards the elite.
Reporting By John Semakula, Paddy Nsobya, Felix Osujju, Frank Mugabi, Tom Gwebayanga, Fredrick Soma, Luke Kagiri, Charles Jjuuko, Rwambuka Migisha and Joseph Wanzusi