By Mulengera Reporters
State Minister in charge of Karamoja Affairs Moses Kizige has blown his own trumpet regarding how deeply influential he is in the ruling NRM party and government. Speaking at celebrations to mark 10 years of existence for Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy (CCEDU) this Monday morning in Nsambya where he represented his boss Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, Kizige introduced himself as one of rarely visible but very powerful movers in the ruling NRM.
“I’m an accountant by profession but I’m also among the key movers in the NRM top hierarchy; both at technical and strategic level. One of those people who move things yet you never get to see them often. We are always working behind the scenes to get things done,” Kizige said before beginning to read Rugunda’s written text. Kizige further blew up his own credentials by telling the gathering that at OPM, besides being in charge of the Karamoja docket he also deputizes General Duties Minister Mary Karoro Okurut when it comes to overseeing the monitoring and evaluation mandate of government programs through the PM’s office. He said he is able to effectively do this because of the relevant high qualifications he possesses in the accounting field including being a Fellow of the US Institute of Certified Accounts.
The Bugabula County North MP, who famously chaired the Movement caucus in Parliament under which MPs each shared Shs5m before voting to scrap term limits in the Constitution, also referenced on those days of the mid 2000s when he daily made controversial news as he led efforts to permit Museveni rule without being immediately barred by any limitations imposed by the Constitution.
Kizige recalled outsmarting key opposition legislators like Norbert Mao at that time during the 7th Parliament (2001-2006). Speaking as CCEDU founding member, the DP President General Mao had made a moving speech paying tribute to CCEDU and its founder Dr. Livingstone Sewanyana before Communication Manager Charity Ahimbisibwe, who was the day’s co-MC, had called upon Kizige to deliver Rugunda’s message.
Saying he was speaking as a certified accountant on this one, Kizige also responded to CCEDU governing board Chairman Dr. Livingstone Sewanyana who had disapprovingly commented about the last week action by Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) calling upon banks to furnish it with all bank account information regarding operations of several NGOs including CCEDU. Kizige specifically said, whereas the government in which he powerfully serves by policy believes in strong CSO movement, he doesn’t see anything wrong with a compliance audit being undertaken unless NGOs have something to hide. “As long as you haven’t done anything wrong, you will be exonerated and that is why you shouldn’t be angry about this audit by FIA because it’s normal business,” Kizige said.
Kizige, whose submission was in part heckled by fellow Busoga politician Paul Mwiru who subsequently scorned him for being a beneficiary of bad electoral legislation, also reminisced about his days at as a student at Lumumba Hall in Makerere where he was a student (SCR) leader along with Sewanyana. He was Secretary Finance and Sewanyana Interior Secretary in the same executive in the 1980s. “Dr. Sewanyana called some of us in his room and suggested let’s go and start an NGO called Uganda Human Rights Activists. I declined saying as an accountant I had nothing to do with NGOs and Dr. Sewanyana carried on and see how far he has gone. I thank him for the work he is doing at the UN where he has raised the Ugandan flag so high,” said Kizige recalling how he instead took on a job as an accountant with Kibimba Rice Scheme before joining politics later on.
Saying CCEDU had done such a great job in the last 10 years impacting the quality of elections in this country, Kizige dispelled rumors that anyone in the Museveni government intends to deregister it along with other NGOs. To emphasize his political power and might, Kizige claimed NRM would still rule Uganda for many more years to come and that as long as they are in charge nobody would be permitted to marginalize leaders of NGOs like CCEDU which are lawfully doing their work.
Moving a vote of thanks after Kizige, Richard Sewakiryanga (another CCEDU founder) asked Kizige to inform people in government of the large concentration of brain power in CCEDU whose views GoU should seek as it goes about legislating electoral reforms recently tabled by AG in Parliament. He said desire to circumvent problems like state harassment explain why as CCEDU founders they deliberately choose to exist as a loose coalition rallying citizens to do election-related advocacy. Referring to Bobi Wine’s spokesman Joel Senyonyi who sat in the audience, Sewakiryanga jokingly said even People Power copied the approach of operating as a loose coalition from the CCEDU success story.
He said in the NGO movement, their philosophy is there are chiefly two things a citizen can ever give to government namely the vote and taxes. And that chiefly is the mobilization they deliberately continue to engage citizens in. Laughing off those wishing the organization death, Sewakiryanga bragged that CCEDU was an idea that was here to stay for many more years to come now that founding Chairperson Dr. Sewanyana was handing over office to a new team. “CCEDU is an idea that is here to keep reminding citizens that voting is very important and I don’t see how that is going to die today or tomorrow,” Sewakiryanga said before announcing another campaigning relating to 2021 elections that CCEDU will soon be unveiling seeking to strengthen citizens engagement in electoral processes. “We don’t only intend to show we have the best brains in CCEDU but we are also coming up with the alternative language, alternative text and analysis on each of the bills for electoral reforms” that government recently tabled in Parliament. (For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755 or email us at mulengera2040@gmail.com).
