KAMPALA.
The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has said that it will survive with or without government funding channeled through the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD).
The inter-political party platform was formed in 2009 and legally incorporated in 2021 for the purpose of furthering dialogue, how NUP has deliberately refused to join the group ,saying it has no relevance and only entrenches President Museveni unending grip onto leadership which is soon extending beyond 40 years .
According to Mr Waiswa Mufumbiro, the NUP party deputy spokesperson, NUP will not be coerced into engaging in IPOD activities which he says only benefit President Museveni .
This comes after emerged that political parties that don’t subscribe to IPOD will not receive the Shs3.1 billion annual funding for political parties, following President Museveni’s assent to the Political Parties and Organisations (Amendment) Bill, 2025, on June 15.
“To hell with their IPOD money. We will not participate in IPOD, we will not engage in forceful dialogues, we have no association with IPOD. We are not driven by funding ,but rather by the determination to end this tyrannical rule,” Mr Mufumbiro said.
To address the imminent financial challenges, NUP early this week launched a fundraising drive asking party members and well-wishers locally and internationally to fund their activities ahead of next year’s general elections to a tune of Shs9billion . By Tuesday , NUP had raised close to Shs500m .
An IPOD meeting was held at State Lodge, Nakasero on Monday, chaired by President Museveni and attended by secretaries general from the Democratic Party (Gerald Siranda), Uganda Peoples Congress (Fred Ebil), and the ruling National Resistance Movement (Richard Todwong), among others. This meeting came after a spell of close to five years without members convening
Mr Siranda ,who is also secretary general of Democratic Party and a member of East Africa Legislative Assembly insists that they met with Mr Museveni as the chairperson of NRM, a member of IPOD, but not as the President of Uganda.
“Following the signing of the Political Parties and Organisations Act by the President, and after our recent meeting with the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs [Norbert Mao], we met with the NRM chairperson to plan the way forward and comply with the law because IPOD is now part of the NCF,” he explained .
“The law clearly states that political funding should only be given to parties that are members of IPOD and participate in its activities, including signing the memorandum of understanding, attending IPOD meetings, and the summit that brings together all party presidents and secretaries general, such as [Robert] Kyagulanyi, [President] Museveni, Jimmy Akena, Norbert Mao, and Sadam Gayira, at the same table,” he added.
The new law has made IPOD and the Forum for Non-Represented Political Parties and Political Organisations members of the National Consultative Forum (NCF). In the amendments, Section 14 restricts government funding to only political parties that are full members of IPOD and have an established structure.
Monday’s meeting followed a July 2 letter from Minister for Constitutional Affairs ,Mr Norbert Mao,also president of DP , directing the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Byabakama, to stop the disbursement of any finances to political parties “until you hear from me.”
“I commit to completing the necessary consultations and the process of statutory instruments outlined by the new law within three weeks,” Mr Mao wrote. Yesterday, Mr Mao confirmed the authenticity of the letter. Since its formation in 2009 as a loose coalition of political parties with representation in Parliament, IPOD has struggled to attract all political parties.
Shortly after the 2021 general elections, NUP and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) refused to join the platform, accusing it of supporting NRM’s goals. NUP’s decision not to join IPOD in light of the new law indicates that the party is willing to forgo government funding.