The training and commissioning exercise of NRM coordinators in Eastern Uganda under the Office of the National Chairman (ONC) entered into its fourth day with the September 09 visit to Soroti.
The activity which was superintended over by the Personal Assistant to party Chairman Milly Babirye Babalanda was graced by delegates from the 11 Districts that make up the sub region.
Key among the attendees at the function were; Fisheries, and Disaster Preparedness Ministers Hellen Adoa and Musa Ecweru respectively, leaders from the district security councils, mobilizers and members of the informal sector.
Babalanda, who was also the chief facilitator of the session, began by taking the group through what was expected of them under their new roles.
She said they would be tasked with three main duties, all geared towards party Presidential Candidate Museveni’s victory in next year’s elections.
These would include mobilising for him, marketing his candidature and protecting his votes come election day early next year. She tipped them on the need for hard work, commitment and selflessness while executing their designated duties.
She, however, emphasized that their role will be strictly confined to executing only those duties in line with President Museveni’s campaigns and thus multi tasking will not be tolerated.
She further offered the mobilizers the option of choosing either to stay or leave if at all the new assignment would create a conflict of interests.
In a special message by President Museveni to the people of Teso that was delivered by Babalanda, the President lauded the region for supporting the party and pacifying the area, which he says has paved way for development.
Museveni specifically singled out the role played by the leaders, through the patriotic voluntary work of the Arrow Boys in the mid 1990s, in defeating the Lord’s Resistance Army insurgence that had spilled to the sub region from Northern Uganda.
The NRM National Chairman, however, expressed disappointment over the ugly wars among the leaders, saying it’s a norm that every leader that gets elevated in the country gets fought by their own party, a practice that he says has allowed opposition to blossom in the area.
He preached unity, and also called for a mechanism to sort any party differences that could have erupted from the just held MP primaries ahead of next year’s polls.
Museveni equally castigated the rise of political camps within the ranks of the party, which according to him is a viable breeding ground for disaster.
He launched the group and officially handed them the duty to mobilize and spearhead his next challenge come next year.