NRM youth demand for grassroot structures

Jan 22, 2015

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) youth under their party ideology club have demanded for grass root structures for mobilizing supporters, saying the party’s growth has stagnated because of uncommitted leadership.

By Derrick Kyatuka and Alfred Wandera

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) youth under their party ideology club have demanded for grass root structures for mobilizing supporters, saying the party’s growth has stagnated because of uncommitted leadership.

Speaking yesterday at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) main library, the NRM National ideology club youths said the party is suffering from ideological bankruptcy, a key pillar that is supposed to hold the party together.

“NRM faces serious challenges. First of all there is poor leadership within the party and a wide disparity in income among our leaders. Some people are too rich and have lost the ideology of the party. Now they are focused on ‘tumbocracy’ (personal aggrandizement),” said Godfrey Mutabazi, Lwengo district LC5 chairman.

“We need to keep changing leadership overtime and engage young people. Young blood adds value to the system. We have over 130 NRM offices across the country but they are non-functional. All this was caused by Amama Mbabazi holding two positions – Prime Minister and NRM secretary general. He could have been the best Prime Minister Uganda has had but he failed to establish party structures,” added Mutabazi.

Rweng LCV chairman, George William Mutabazi addressing the youth during the NRM Ideology Seminar. PHOTO/Peter Busomoke

Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) chief political commissar, Col. Felix Kulayigye, who was the key note speaker, said government must set up policies that must protect its interests.

“Every society has its set of beliefs. What is the ideology of NRM as a party? What is your ideology as an individual? UPDF’s ideology is patriotism, nationalism and Pan-Africanism. Americans built America to stay in and they fight to defend it at whatever cost. Ugandans should also build Uganda to stay in,” said Kulayigye.

Kulayigye challenged educated youth who resort to strikes at university as a method of resolving disputes, equating them to rapists who fail to market their ideologies to a woman, and resort to forcing her into sex.

“How does an intellectual go on strike? It means you have failed to convince people to your side. This applies to NRM as well. Market your ideology for people to buy it and join you. Don’t be all embracing. NRM has become a bus where anybody with selfish interests joins. You should be ready to purify yourselves so that people come to NRM because of conviction but not what they expect to reap from it,” said Kulayigye.

MUBS deputy principal, Dr. Moses Muhwezi, said youth have turned to social media and in the process lost focus on education since they chat most of the time, even in class.

“Youth must change if this country is to move forward. They are nowadays busy on their smartphones in class. They don’t concentrate. I hold seven degrees but still I write down whatever I listen to. Who are you to think that you can merely listen? Even if you are a genius, you must listen to many people and write down their experiences in order to improve yourself,” said Muhwezi.