Tanga, Lumumba clash over sacking of 364 NRM officials

KAMPALA. National Resistance Movement electoral commission chairman, Dr Tanga Odoi, has vowed to keep the NRM EC officials following the sacking of 364 workers at the ruling party headquarters by the party’s secretary general, Ms Justine Kasule Lumumba on Tuesday.
In response to the laying-off coming at the backdrop of a looming by-elections in Jinja municipality, Dr Odoi said the sacking only comes after they (NRM top officials) decried the ghost workers at the party headquarters on Plot 10, Kyadondo road.
“We are sacking people because there is immense pressure to have the ghost workers at Plot 10 fished out. We cannot jeopardise the party progress with a looming election in Jinja due next week. The electoral commission is not going anywhere, even if it means working without pay, the team will continue to work normally,” Dr Odoi said.

Speaking to journalists earlier at party headquarters, Ms Lumumba said NRM which has been employing 372 workers will retain only eight of the workers whose seven year contracts are still running since 2015.
“We want to remain with workers we shall be able to pay. When we entered office in 2015, we found many workers but some of them were holding offices they were not supposed to hold. But we could not restructure at that time because it was a busy period,” she said.

NRM party has been in power for more than 30 years and has dominated most of the political elective offices across the country. It has in the past also been accused of relying on State resources to finance some of its national activities, including regularly hosting its top organs of both the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) at State House Entebbe.
In January last year, a countrywide survey by this newspaper revealed that NRM offices in at least 14 districts across the country had either been closed or were facing closure over unpaid rent arrears ranging from a few months to five years.

Furious about the decision, Dr Odoi said, “We have tasked the SG to bring out a list of workers but she has failed. I can say she is just a poor administrator who is not listening to the chairman’s directive.”
Mr Geoffrey Nyeko, Gulu NRM administrative secretary is one of those who received the information with both relief for receiving money and the uncertainty of joblessness.

“We have worked under very harsh conditions. During Amama Mbabazi’s regime, we went over 36 months without pay. When Madam Kasule came in we got some relief as she started settling some of the arrears. I personally feel she has done her best, she has paid what she had not yet paid, that is all we wanted,” Mr Nyeko said.
Ms Lumumba told journalists that district officials had turned up to sign their termination letter and hinted that they (officials) have had salary arrears of nine months.
“We have called these NRM district officials to have them sign their termination letters. We shall pay part of their arrears, to be exact seven months out of the nine months,” she said.

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