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NRM sets up subcommittee to tackle office rent arrears
President Museveni (second left) listens to Sironko District National Resistance Movement chairperson Mr Sulaiman Mafabi during the launch of NRM party offices on January 28, 2014. PHOTO | FILE
The National Resistance Movement (NRM) has set up a subcommittee to compile details about outstanding rent arrears accrued by its offices countrywide.
Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the NRM director of communication, told Daily Monitor in an interview on Tuesday that the money government gives them is insufficient, adding that political parties have limitations to what extent they can fundraise to deal with their internal financial predicaments.
“At the NRM, a subcommittee headed by the deputy national treasurer, Ms Jacqueline Kyatuheire, has been set up to compile the details about the outstanding rent arrears so that the top management can consider that report once it is submitted,” Mr Dombo said.
The NRM party is grappling with rent arrears for their offices countrywide.
In Busoga Sub-region, for example, Mr Trevor Baleke, the Kamuli District NRM administrator, said the party last cleared rent arrears last December.
He said most districts are between five and nine months in arrears ranging from Shs250,000 to Shs700,000 per month.
“Jinja and Kaliro have nine-months arrears, Mayuge (7 months), Iganga (8 months), Namutumba (6 months) Kamuli, Buyende and Namayingo (five months each), but I want to make an assurance that the party will soon clear those arrears,” Mr Baleke said.
Mr Baleke attributed the crisis to changes at the party Secretariat, which he said involves changing signatories, going through reports and all sorts of bureaucracy.
In Luweero District, the arrears had by June 2018 accumulated to Shs1.8m, prompting the landlord to evict the party.
However, the district party leadership later cleared the arrears and recently, the State Minister for Higher Education, Mr John Chrysostom Muyingo, paid office rent for a year.
In Bugisu Sub-region, the Sironko District party chairperson, Mr Sulaiman Mafabi, constructed a party office.
“As a loyal NRM cadre and staunch supporter of President Museveni, when I realised that the party had no office in Sironko District, mobilised personal funds amounting to about Shs250m and set up an office which was officially opened by President Museveni in 2014,” Mr Mafabi said.
Mr Dombo said the NRM has depended on the goodwill of the wananchi right from the bush days.
“That voluntary spirit still exists and many party members still contribute towards different aspects of the party to which we are very grateful,” he said.
The Sironko District party office is fully furnished with a boardroom, offices for the three MPs (Woman, Budadiri East and West constituency), district chairman and party chairperson.
In Masaka, the offices are housed in a building owned by businessman Hajj Mohamood Thoban rent-free, and according to the Masaka Region NRM administrative secretary Hajj Umar Ssebulime, the office is running smoothly.
“The party just gives him (Hajji Thoban) some Shs200,000 for “maintenance” every month although at times it takes some months to come; but we have never had any problem with him because he gave us the office space for the love he has for the party,” he said.
Mr Ssebulime, however, said some offices in the districts of Greater Masaka are on the verge of being evicted. “Sometimes, the money comes after six months, but the landlords are always patient,” he said.
In Kalangala, the NRM party offices are housed on the building of former Internal Security Organisation (ISO) boss Col Kaka Bagyenda. The same building also accommodates the office of the resident district commissioner and NRM youth office.
In Arua District, the NRM leadership is using the Uganda Cooperative Union next to the police station. This, according to the leaders, has saved them from paying.
In Yumbe, the NRM is operating without an office after the landlord evicted them due to accumulated arrears.
Mr Rasulu Adiga, the Yumbe District NRM administrative secretary, said the Secretariat has not yet constructed an office. “The party owes Shs1m for the previous landlord that has accumulated for 10 months at the rate of Shs100,000 per month,” he said.
Mr Adiga added: “During the election period of 2021, we got a new office space for two rooms at the rate of Shs450,000 per month and stayed in the office for a year but due to unpaid rent, we were evicted.”
He said they have spent four months without an office.
“The Secretariat wants us to get new office space but without money it’s impossible because this time, landlords are demanding an upfront payment of six months or a year,” Mr Adiga said.
Mr Majid Aniku, the Yumbe District NRM chairperson, said the party operates well during election period, but “doesn’t bother” after elections.
“We love the NRM (party) but are disappointed by the Secretariat’s failure to pay rent. It is better to secure land and build our own office to be on a safer side,” he said.
Compiled by Philip Wafula, Fred Wambede, Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa & Felix Warom Okello
