Row erupts over sh15b govt allocation to political parties

A row has erupted among political parties with representation in Parliament over sharing sh15b released by the Government to fund their activities.

The finance ministry released sh15b last Tuesday for the five political parties under the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) getting the lion's share due to its numerical strength in Parliament.

The IPOD chairperson, MP Asuman Basalirwa, has protested the way the sh15b was shared out. He said the Electoral Commission (EC) wrongly allocated the money on the basis of numerical strength of each political party in Parliament, which he said was against the law. Basalirwa argued that the parties should share the money equally.

He said the NRM took sh12b out of the sh15b, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) received sh1.5b, Democratic Party (DP) got sh600m, Uganda People's Congress (UPC) sh300m while JEEMA, with one legislator, received sh41m.

The release of the money followed a recent directive by the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, to the finance minister, Matia Kasaija, to appear in Parliament and explain why political parties had not received funding in spite of the fact that Parliament had approved it in the budget.

Kadaga's intervention followed a complaint by Basalirwa in his capacity as IPOD chairperson. Basalirwa had said political parties were in need of the funds for the election process.

Wrong formula

On Saturday, Basalirwa told New Vision that although the money was released, the EC had allocated it using a wrong formula - the numerical strength of each political party in Parliament.

He said according to the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Act, 2010, Section 14(a), (b), it is provided that "in respect of elections, the Government shall finance political organisations and parties on equal basis".

Basalirwa said since this is an election period, the money is supposed to be shared equally.

He said he recently had a meeting with the EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama, during which it was agreed to have the money shared equally among the parties.

Basalirwa argued that his party was supposed to receive sh3b, although it has one representative in Parliament.

But instead, he got a communication from the EC that they had been given sh41m. "In essence, we have been cheated," he said.

Basalirwa wants the EC to explain why they went against the law. He vowed to petition the Auditor General about the matter.

"Why would a judge not follow the law when the money is for electoral activities? Each party decides how it will use the money," he argued, adding that political parties need the money to train their agents, pay for advertisement and other related activities.

Finance ministry directives

Paul Bukenya, the EC media and public relations manager, said the electoral body had received sh15b forthe first and second quarter, and that the process of allocating the money to the five political parties was still going on.

He, however, said they received communication from finance ministry instructing them to allocate the money based on numerical strength of each political party in Parliament.

He said the formula used to allocate the money is given by the ministry.

"The finance ministry wrote specifying that funding would be based on the day-to-day activities and distributed according to the number of MPs each party has in Parliament, so we cannot deviate from this directive," he explained.

The NRM has 293 members in Parliament, followed by FDC with 36, DP 15, UPC six and JEEMA one.

Emmanuel Dombo, the NRM party director for information and publicity, advised Basalirwa to raise his complaints in IPOD where, he said, such matters are best handled.

"JEEMA is looking after one MP and they cannot get the same amount as NRM. I am sure that the money is allocated basing on the number of MPs represented in Parliament," he said.

Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the FDC spokesperson and MP for Kira Municipality, said initially, every year Parliament would appropriate sh10b for all parties with MPs and the money would be shared out depending on numerical strength.

He, however, said during a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, which FDC did not attend, IPOD members agreed that the formula needs to change.

Ssemujju said the money was also increased from sh10b to sh30b every year. It was decided out of this money, parties be allocated sh10b to share equally. He said sh10b was to go to IPOD and the remaining sh10b be shared according to numerical representation in Parliament.

Out of this money, Ssemujju said, FDC gets between sh800m and sh1.1b and it is released in four quarters.

"We have also been complaining about the system used," he said.

Political Parties Act

During the last summit of IPOD held last year, it was agreed that the Government increases funding to parties from sh10b to sh35b starting this financial year. Section 14(a) of the Political Parties and Organisations Act, 2005 allows for the Government to contribute funds or other public resources towards activities of political parties and organisations with representation in Parliament.

According to a joint communiqué that was issued, it was agreed that a portion of the money be shared equally to cater for basic administrative costs.

"All parties get an equal share for running offices from the headquarters up to the district level, while 15% will go to the IPOD secretariat and the balance will be shared based on numerical strength," the communiqué read.

The IPOD summit, held at Protea Hotel in Entebbe, was attended by summit chairperson and DP president Norbert Mao, NRM's national chairman President Yoweri Museveni, UPC president Jimmy Akena and JEEMA's national chairman Mohammad Kibirige Mayanja. But the FDC president, Patrick Amuriat, snubbed the meeting.

The law providing for party funding was enacted following a 2005 referendum that reverted Uganda to a multi-party political dispensation, abandoning the Movement system that was in place for over a decade.

However, the Government started funding parties between the financial years 2014/15 and 2017/18, with the NRM taking the lion's share because of its numerical strength in Parliament.

ANT wants defectors' share

Another issue relating to the funding was the status of MPs who have since defected to other parties.

Both National Unity Platform (NUP) and Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) have demanded a share of the money since they have MPs in Parliament.

But their demand has so far been rejected on the basis that the MPs were elected on the basis of their former parties. A number of FDC and DP MPs have since defected to ANT and NUP.

In August, the ANT leaders met Kadaga over the funding to political parties. They argued that IPOD should recognise them in light of three MPs who had joined ANT.

The ANT delegation included party leader Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu, secretary general Alice Alaso and MP Paul Mwiru, who had just defected from FDC. Other MPs who joined ANT are Gerald Karuhanga (independent) and Kassiano Wadri (independent).

But Kadaga said she would consult widely, especially on the issue of IPOD and MPs that had switched allegiance.

The law allows MPs to cross to any party of choice during the last six months of Parliament's tenure. Scores of DP MPs have since joined NUP headed by Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine.