By Mulengera Reporters
Dr. Lawrence Sserwambala, the Executive Director for IPOD, on Saturday spent several hours addressing millions of Kabaka’s subjects. He first appeared on 88.8 CBS Fm (10am-12pm) and later on appeared on 89.2 CBS Fm (12-3pm).
He was with other panelists who included Dr. Abed Bwanika, MP Mpindi Bumali, Erias Lukwago, OPM’s Robert Sebunya, Moses Kasibante, Lubega Mukaku, Ken Lukyamuzi, PPP President Saddam Gayira and others.
The two programs were respectively moderated by Med Nsereko and Martin Oscar Kintu. The topic was the Shs45bn IPOD cash that political parties with representation in Parliament are going to share equally.
Sserwambala, who Lukwago dismissed as proud, said the IPOD money came into existence because government wanted to shield parties from reliance on foreign funding.
He also explained that to become IPOD member, a party has to formally apply and then the Council of Secretaries General of IPOD votes on that application. This actually means that Bobi Wine’s NUP’s application can be blocked by what foot soldiers despise as small parties (Jeema, DP, UPC, FDC & PPP).
Each Secretary General has one vote and in total they are seven parties now eligible to be in IPOD including these five above plus NRM and NUP itself.
Kavule could apply, in order to access the IPOD billions and still be humiliated by the SGs dragging their feet on the application. Especially Jeema, PPP and DP are already in active rivalry with NUP, meaning their SGs can’t miss that opportunity to politically deflate and humiliate NUP.
Sserwambala explained that before the Political Parties & Organizations Act was amended, it was enough to have MPs in Parliament but under the newly-amended law, a party must formally apply to join IPOD and then qualify to partake of the Shs45bn available annually.
Even after joining, that party’s President has to attend IPOD meetings and be photographed with fellow party Presidents. Sserwambala explained that this is why NUP and FDC have to apply to be admitted afresh if they are to partake of the Shs45bn as Uganda prepares for 2026.
He clarified that Lukwago’s PFF and Mathias Mpuuga’s DF too can apply to join IPOD since they now have MPs in Parliament and thereafter qualify to partake of the IPOD billions.
Lukwago said they didn’t form PFF in order to get government cash but to struggle for Uganda to become a better-governed country. Abed Bwanika said that DF, for which he is the national treasurer, will be taking advantage of that window to access the IPOD billions because they need the money to organize for elections and to sponsor their candidates.
Sserwambala also explained that besides the Shs45bn to be shared, there is another Shs10bn which the five parties which had MPs in the 10th Parliament are going to be sharing. These include Jeema, FDC, DP, UPC & NRM. It’s to be shared equally.
Sserwambala added that the law ought to have been followed in 2021 because it was the election year but it wasn’t and NRM ended up taking the lion’s share yet that Shs10bn, going into the election year 2021, was supposed to be shared equally.
Sserwambala said that the leaders of DP, Jeema and UPC have eloquently been explaining this point to the NRM Chairman YK Museveni who he said now supports the proposal to have the money paid to the four deprived political parties as arrears.
This will bring DP, UPC and Jeema (which are already entitled to Shs9bn each from the Shs45bn for 2026) to earning an additional Shs2bn each.
There is also pressure on Gen Museveni to add for them interest as those arrears are being paid to them.
During the same CBS panel discussion, Sserwambala revealed that before the law was amended, NUP was able to pocket a total of up to Shs22.8bn from IPOD which came to them through the Electoral Commission.
Abed Bwanika said that since NUP can’t afford to miss out on the Shs45bn, time has come for their President Robert Kyagulanyi to eat a humble pie and go sit with Gen Museveni, Mathias Mpuuga and other co-Principals in IPOD.
Bwanika said this is the best platform Kyagulanyi should use to look Gen Museveni in the eye and demand for the release of the so-called political prisoners including Eddie Mutwe, Achileo Kivumbi, Bobi Yanga and others.
He said that time had come for Kyagulanyi to realize that Mathias Mpuuga is now a big man and a co-principal who he can’t afford avoiding sitting down with on the same table to discuss national issues.
“He has to sit with President Museveni and respect Rt Honorable Mathias Mpuuga whether he likes it or not,” said Dr. Abed Bwanika who agreed with many of the things Dr. Sserwambala, NRM’s Mpindi and Kasule said throughout the two hours of CBS morning program.
It was only Erias Lukwago who dissented and had to be rescued by phone callers who demonized the IPOD billions. Some opposition callers thanked Dr. Sserwambala for bringing to them credible information about the Shs22.8bn NUP had so far pocketed from IPOD.
They also castigated their leaders at Kavule for never disclosing adequate information to them about this Shs22.8bn.
Sserwambala dared any big man at Kavule who thinks he is lying about NUP pocketing a total of Shs22.8bn in the last four years from IPOD, to step forward and contradict him.
He said that besides the Shs100m got per MP every year, there is much more money which NUP has been getting from government under the IPOD arrangement including money to fund party meetings, travels, mobilization activities and other forms of capacity building.
He said IPOD even contributes a fraction of the funds required to organize delegates conferences of parties and even internal elections. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
