NRM Staff Petition M7 Over Lumumba
NRM's Rutaro (L) addressing the media on Saturday at the Party Secretariat
Staff members sitting at the NRM Secretariat have petitioned Party chairman, President Yoweri Museveni over the conduct of their boss the Secretary General, Justine Kasule Lumumba.
The petition that was signed by about 50staff, is headed by chief petitioner Robert Rutaro, the Head of Youth Desk at the Secretariat.
The petition dated March 01 has been forwarded to the attention of the party chairman and copied in the deputy party chairman, Hajji Kigongo, SG Lumumba, her deputy Richard Todwong and parry Electoral Commission (EC) boss, Dr Tanga Odoi.
While addressing the media at the Kyadondo Road based Plot 10 Headquarters on Saturday, Rutaro said that among other pertinent issues that the staff wishes to address with the president include, the inaccessibility of the Secretary General whom staff say rarely sits at the Secretariat.
“This is the party headquarters, but she (Lumumba) is never here at her office. If the staff can’t access the SG, then how about a party mobiliser in the remotest village?” Rutaro wondered.
“One of the major reasons why NRM party fell out with Amama Mbabazi was because he was never at office.”
Recently, this paper reported how Lumumba had rented a private office to carry out party activities after falling out with fellow top staff including Tanga Odoi and her own deputy, Richard Todwong.
Lumumba now operates in a small private office at Kololo near Route 256 Bar.
The staff say there is no channel of communication between them and the SG.
In the petition, NRM staff also say the Secretary General lacks team work and most of the times she works alone to the exclusion of other staff members, thereby causing inefficiency, redundancy and idleness.
“Can you imagine there was even non-deployment of any staff in the just concluded election. We surely congratulate the president upon winning the election without any mobilization from the secretariat. Personally I did not mobilize any single youth because in the first place the SG is perpetually broke,” Rutaro added.
“There is lack of accountability at the party offices. The secretariat receives a lot of money for operation and mobilisation work, yet there is hardly any activity done.”
Much as the staff are also complaining of lack of facilitation, huge payment disparities, selective payment of salaries in their petition, it is worth noting that the secretariat blown more than Shs800bn.
At the beginning of the presidential campaigns, Lumumba sought to meet the president seeking financial asylum.
However, Museveni who was furious about their extravagant expenditure turned a deaf ear to her pleas.
“Staff here are demoralized. Many staff names are missing on payroll and so do not earn salaries for the services they render at the secretariat,” Rutaro said.
“There is a lot of discrimination where other staff are side-lined. For example Dr Odoi is not paid a salary. In her own words, SG has at one time described these staff as adult children of her co-wife, whom she met in her new marriage,”
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