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Uganda Peoples Congress

Uganda Peoples Congress
National Secretariat
Plot 8-10 Kampala Road, Uganda House,
P. O. Box 9206, Kampala
phone/Fax:+256-41-236748

Secretary General's report to Annual Delegates Conference November 2008

REPORT BY THE SECRETARY GENERAL TO UGANDA PEOPLES CONGRESS MEETING OF THE ANNUAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE HELD ON FRIDAY 21ST-22ND NOVEMBER, 2008 AT MANDELA NATIONAL STADIUM, NAMBOOLE, KAMPALA

The Party President
Distinguished Delegates
Dear friends
Ladies and Gentlemen,

  1. On behalf of the secretariat of the Uganda Peoples Congress I warmly welcome you to this very important Conference. To our delegates and members I seek your indulgence for any administrative shortcoming that you have so far encountered and may face in the course of this Conference. These reflect some of the challenges facing our Party and which call for collective action to solve.
  2. A significant number of the distinguished delegates are members of the National Council. At the meeting of the National Council held on 20th April this year, I gave a report of the performance of the Secretariat from 20th November 2005 when the Annual Delegates Conference last convened up to the date of the National Council meeting. In that report, I briefed the Council on
  3. Management of the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
  4. Staffing
  5. Preparation and dissemination of the Strategic Plan
  6. Preparation and dissemination of proposed Constitutional amendments
  7. Youth activities
  8. Central Executive Committee meeting
  9. Women activities
  10. District Training Programme
  11. Public campaigns and engagements
  12. By-elections
  13. International relations
  14. Redefining Party ideology
  15. Party property
  16. Concluding remarks
  17. I need not report the contents of that report which is attached hereto.
  18. Ever since this last report, work at the Secretariat has continued. I can only note and add in the following paragraphs latest developments.
  19. On staffing, Patrick Aroma bureau secretary for mobilization resigned. We are in the process of recruiting a replacement. Training of staff on diverse subjects has continued with generous support from the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). We thank them for their support.
  20. We have also continued to disseminate the Strategic Plan and the proposed amendments to the Constitution. All proposals on the Constitutional amendments received since the National Council meeting have been carefully reviewed and new ideas incorporated in the draft which will be presented to this Conference shortly.
  21. Youth and women activities have continued since April. The latest was a Youth Training Seminar held in Kawempe, Kampala with the support of FES. The IRI has supported a Youth Party Internship programme since June. A number of youth have been sponsored under this programme to serve as interns at the Party Secretariat, UPC Parliamentary caucus and District offices. As we speak, two youth are going for training on social justice in Tanzania.
  22. Public campaigns and engagements have continued. On Saturday 8th November, 2008 we held a memorial service at Christ's Cathedral Bugembe, Jinja for our late Party President and thereafter held a public rally at Busoga Square, Jinja. With the support of IRI our members have been active on four different regional radio stations to articulate Party issues.
  23. The FES has continued to support our project on redefining the Party ideology. They have sponsored a retreat for Party leaders on ideology and two workshops on workers rights and legislation. In addition FES has generously donated equipment and installed internet capacity at the Secretariat.
  24. Regarding the sensitive issue of the Party property, I reported that the leaders of the Party and MOF had opted for dialogue. I am glad to report that some progress on resolving this issue has been made. The suit filed by two members of MOF against the Governors and managers of MOF has been amicably settled with the support of the Party. The remaining suit involving the Party and MOF is also under discussion for settlement. As soon as a comprehensive settlement is reached all relevant Party organs will be informed. For the time being I again request for your understanding and restraint.
  25. Distinguished delegates let us seriously consider the address of the Party President and in particular the call for commitment, sacrifice and hard work. I am of course aware, as the Treasurer shall report, of resource constraints but lack of resources cannot stop us adopting a proactive attitude. We can still have the courage to stand up for our Party on all occasions, to speak good of it and to convince those close to us to join or remain in the Party.
  26. On the issue of resources, I think that if all Party members paid their annual subscription fee and made modest monthly contributions, some money can be raised to finance the activities of the Party. Look at the figures below:-
  27. Annual subscription of Shs.1000 per member.
    (10 members in each of 4 branches in each of 4000 parishes) 10 * 4 * 4000 * 1000) = 160.000.000/=
  28. Weekly donations of Shs. 500/=
    160.000 members * 500 * 52 weeks =4,160.000.000/=
    Total = 4,320.000.000/=
  29. Obviously we have more than 160.000 members and several can donate more than Shs. 500 per week. The challenge is to mobilize and motivate them. There must be organs and leaders to do so. That is why we need to urgently adopt a new and vibrant Constitution, elect leaders from the grass root and get moving.

For God and my Country

Peter Mukidi Walubiri

Secretary General