Tibamanya, must you be an MP to serve Uganda?
Dec 05, 2010
EDITOR: The urban development state minister and Kashari county MP, Urban Tibamanya, has vowed not to return the NRM party card as directed by Ofwono Opondo, the party’s vice-spokesperson (The New Vision, December 2).
EDITOR: The urban development state minister and Kashari county MP, Urban Tibamanya, has vowed not to return the NRM party card as directed by Ofwono Opondo, the party’s vice-spokesperson (The New Vision, December 2).
Tibamanya is seeking re-election for Kashari county on an independent ticket. He lost to the Mbarara district LC5 chairman, Yaguma Rutashokwa, in the NRM primaries. The minister cited election rigging as the reason for standing as an independent candidate. He said: “I will not return the NRM party card because I still belong to the party.
I went to the NRM party on my own and secured the card on my own.†However, I would have excused him and let it pass had he not been a minister.
He knows very well that the NRM prohibits its members who lost in the party primaries from standing as independent candidates. For him to insist that he will not return the party card under the pretext that ''he went to the NRM party on his own and secured it on his own'' does not portray him as a serious person. The party, like any other institution, has rules. You either follow the rules or ship out.
Mr Minister, you cannot choose at will.
Stand as an independent candidate and get out of the NRM or step down and remain in the party. You cannot eat your cake and have it. Stop the greed, swallow your pride and be reasonable. There is life outside Parliament. You do not necessarily have to be an MP for you to contribute to the development of this country.
Ntegye Asiimwe
Kampala
Tibamanya is seeking re-election for Kashari county on an independent ticket. He lost to the Mbarara district LC5 chairman, Yaguma Rutashokwa, in the NRM primaries. The minister cited election rigging as the reason for standing as an independent candidate. He said: “I will not return the NRM party card because I still belong to the party.
I went to the NRM party on my own and secured the card on my own.†However, I would have excused him and let it pass had he not been a minister.
He knows very well that the NRM prohibits its members who lost in the party primaries from standing as independent candidates. For him to insist that he will not return the party card under the pretext that ''he went to the NRM party on his own and secured it on his own'' does not portray him as a serious person. The party, like any other institution, has rules. You either follow the rules or ship out.
Mr Minister, you cannot choose at will.
Stand as an independent candidate and get out of the NRM or step down and remain in the party. You cannot eat your cake and have it. Stop the greed, swallow your pride and be reasonable. There is life outside Parliament. You do not necessarily have to be an MP for you to contribute to the development of this country.
Ntegye Asiimwe
Kampala