DP's Siranda explains subdued mobilisation strategy
The Democratic Party's rather subdued mobilisation activity in Ankole subregion is being played, Secretary General Gerald Siranda has said, explaining away the usualness of rallies and processions.
Speaking to the Nile Post, Mr Siranda - the youngest member of the East African Legislative Assembly - said they would have done a rally or had a procession but "we know that after the procession we will go back to Kampala but what next?”
"So what we are doing in the Ankole that was for long a DP stronghold is that we are engaging our district party chairpersons and executives about our party membership application and registration renewal," he said.
"That’s why we are engaging district chairpersons who will eventually engage the constituencies that will engage subcounties and those engage up to the villages.”
DP, the oldest political party in the country, for long dominated the Ankole subregion but its fortunes have over the years hit the gutters.
The green party now wants to separate the membership of the party from supporters and well-wishers.
According to Siranda, having a particular number of members and focusing on them will give them a clear position to win the support of the region.
“We want to separate the DP membership from the supporters and well-wishers so that I know in Isingiro I have 100 or 20 and the other districts and focus on those ones then we can ask the supporters and well-wishers to support us,” Siranda said.
“Even when everybody crossed to other parties like NRM, the late Boniface Byanyima remain in DP so this is a district we know that people are in NRM but they are like a person who is being beaten by rain and end up in a witchdoctor's house.
"When you come out they think you have been consulting but you are taking shelter so as DP we know that people here in Ankole have taken shelter in the NRM, the real party that people here believe in in terms of real multiparty politics is the Democratic Party.”
On being in bed with the ruling NRM, Siranda went philosophical, saying "you can never take power unless you understand the chemistry of managing power."
DP president-general Norbert Mao signed a cooperation agreement with President Museveni and joined his Cabinet, where he is the Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister.
"Mao is on a mission as a reconciling person of Uganda, if it is a house we have agreed to be a mop but the house should be clean and anybody that thinks they can take power from Museveni without engagements, I think they are day-dreaming,” Siranda said.
The DP is on a countrywide engagement with party leaders at the district level to have them trained on membership application and registration renewal.
