NRM should control KAP
Apr 20, 2005
MEMBERS of Parliament and ministers are reportedly rushing to join a pressure group set up by Major Kakooza Mutale.
MEMBERS of Parliament and ministers are reportedly rushing to join a pressure group set up by Major Kakooza Mutale.
Over 150 MPs and ministers are alleged to have joined the Civic Education for Development Organisation, the business and project wing of Mutale’s Kalangala Action Plan.
The KAP played an active role campaigning for the Movement and President Museveni in the 2001 elections. In principle there is nothing wrong with such a pressure group and, although KAP supporters were involved in a few scuffles, the allegations of violence against KAP were greatly exaggerated.
However, this large scale involvement by politicians raises serious questions, if it is true.
If most of the Movement Caucus in Parliament has joined the KAP through CEDO, what will be the chain of command? Will those MPs and Ministers be answerable to Kakooza Mutale, or to the chairman of the NRM Caucus, or to both?
Either way, it is muddying the waters of how the new NRM should work.
Kakooza Mutale should be commended for his energy in trying to build Movement structures for political mobilisation.
However, this should be done strictly within the confines of the organisational structures of the NRM. If KAP is working for the Movement, it should be clearly subordinate to the NRM hierarchy. It should not become an alternative power centre.
It is unfortunate that the NRM structures have not yet been clearly defined and activated. The NRM should accelerate its moves to create a proper framework so that people can participate in its development.
Otherwise, people will get sucked into alternative political structures like KAP.
This will quickly dilute the image and undermine the effectiveness of the new NRM organisation.
We could end up with a situation where the Movement name stands for a disparate group of political factions and where the NRM has no single effective organisational structure to allow it to compete effectively with the political parties.
Over 150 MPs and ministers are alleged to have joined the Civic Education for Development Organisation, the business and project wing of Mutale’s Kalangala Action Plan.
The KAP played an active role campaigning for the Movement and President Museveni in the 2001 elections. In principle there is nothing wrong with such a pressure group and, although KAP supporters were involved in a few scuffles, the allegations of violence against KAP were greatly exaggerated.
However, this large scale involvement by politicians raises serious questions, if it is true.
If most of the Movement Caucus in Parliament has joined the KAP through CEDO, what will be the chain of command? Will those MPs and Ministers be answerable to Kakooza Mutale, or to the chairman of the NRM Caucus, or to both?
Either way, it is muddying the waters of how the new NRM should work.
Kakooza Mutale should be commended for his energy in trying to build Movement structures for political mobilisation.
However, this should be done strictly within the confines of the organisational structures of the NRM. If KAP is working for the Movement, it should be clearly subordinate to the NRM hierarchy. It should not become an alternative power centre.
It is unfortunate that the NRM structures have not yet been clearly defined and activated. The NRM should accelerate its moves to create a proper framework so that people can participate in its development.
Otherwise, people will get sucked into alternative political structures like KAP.
This will quickly dilute the image and undermine the effectiveness of the new NRM organisation.
We could end up with a situation where the Movement name stands for a disparate group of political factions and where the NRM has no single effective organisational structure to allow it to compete effectively with the political parties.