Leading presidential candidates have to spend billions of shillings to run their campaigns every election cycle. So where does all that money come from? Umaru Kashaka finds out.
The 2016 presidential race is expected to be more expensive, given the fact that the stakes are high.
In order for a candidate to reach all the 427 constituencies in the 112 districts, a lot of money will be needed to cover that much ground.
The three main contenders-President Yoweri Museveni of National Resistance Movement (NRM), Dr Kizza Besigye of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and Amama Mbabazi of Go Forward pressure group-appear to have got substantial funding to run their campaigns, but the independents are financially limping.
Ofwono speaks out on behalf of NRM
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Ofwono Opondo, the NRM deputy spokesperson, told New Vision that all their campaign money comes from local business people both Ugandans and non-Ugandans.
“100% of our money comes from local business people and we use quiet methods of asking supporters to contribute money or material like T-shirts, posters, etc. Museveni has a list of key people who raise money for the party,” Opondo said.
He said the President either telephones or instructs the party secretary general or Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda to raise the funds.
“Sometimes he writes to these people to go and collect the money. We stopped using local NRM chairmen to raise money from local people because they would not remit it,” he said.
He also said they recently had fundraising events both at State House in Entebbe and Kampala Serena Hotel where close to sh30b was raised for Museveni’s presidential campaign.
He also said close to sh10b was raised during nomination periods from candidates who vied for different positions on NRM party ticket.
Opondo said all NRM leaders who are in government contribute 20% of their monthly salary to the ruling party’s coffers. He referred to these contributions from party members as financing sources for Museveni’s campaign.
Opondo, who is also the head of the Uganda Media Centre, scoffed at NRM critics who raise the usual suspicion that the party could be illegally using state funds to run the campaign.
Dr Kenneth Omona, deputy NRM treasurer, explained that each NRM lawmaker has been contributing sh150, 750 every month, which is deducted at source and makes it sh39m each month for the 259 NRM members in the Ninth Parliament.
This money from NRM MPs’ salaries also runs caucus activities. But Opondo said sh150, 750 that MPs pay is at minimum. “There are those like the party chairman (Museveni) who contributes more of their monthly emoluments to the party. Ministers also contribute,” he said.
Opondo said the party gave out its two bank account numbers in Standard Chartered and Housing Finance Banks for people of good will to contribute.
But Ofwono and Omona declined to reveal how much they had put aside for Museveni’s campaign or received from the business community. But Ofwono hinted that they budgeted for sh20m for Museveni’s campaign rallies per district.
“On average a district has four constituencies. If you split sh20m into four constituencies that are in a district, we spend approximately sh5m at every rally,” Opondo explained.
He also said they signed a contract with big city musicians and each of them is paid sh1.5m to entertain people who attend Museveni’s rallies.
“We also hired Silk Events to manage the stages, sh1.5m on a van that carries Kampala-based journalists to move with the President. The cost of sh20m may go up or come down depending on how local people have planned,” Opondo stated.
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Ssemujju speaks on behalf of FDC
Just like NRM, FDC also relies on funding from party leaders especially Members of Parliament who remit their monthly contribution to the party treasury.
Kyadondo East MP and FDC spokesperson, Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda, told New Vision that unlike in last elections where they spent sh8b on Besigye’s campaign, this time round they had budgeted sh50b.
He said some of this money came from the monthly contributions of party members and local and foreign businessmen who asked not to be named, for fear of retribution.
Ssemujju confirmed to New Vision that the leader of opposition in parliament and commissioners contribute sh700, 000 each month, while chairpersons of committees remit sh500, 000. Shadow ministers are expected to remit sh450, 000 and MPs sh400, 000.
By virtue of being the largest opposition party in Parliament with 37 MPs, the FDC controls four oversight committees and provides the Leader of Opposition in the House.
These committees include public accounts committee, local government accounts committee and government assurances committee.
But some political parties here also get funds from UK and US parties that are linked to them such as Labour Party, Conservative Party, Democratic Party and Republican Party respectively to finance their campaign activities.
Ssemujju said running a modest presidential campaign costs about sh30m per day.
But he hastened to add that a presidential candidate can even spend sh100m a day. “For example on a daily basis, a presidential candidate addresses meetings before going for rallies and these meetings you have to hire venues and facilitate the attendants, but also a candidate moves with a team of a minimum of nearly 50 people and you need vehicles not less than 10,” he said.
“You spend money on fuel, accommodation and welfare of the people you move with,” he added.
Ssemujju said they have a bank account in Centenary Bank for a presidential candidate and for FDC party.
He said they also have campaign bureau headed by Kamuli district LC5 chairperson Salaamu Musumba and Wilberforce Kyambadde.
Supporters of Dr. Besigye recently started an act of donating money and other items at every rally to facilitate his campaign .
After addressing his first campaign early November at Nakivubo Stadium, Besigye took to his Facebook page a day later revealing that he received sh2.7m from his supporters.
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Josephine Mayanja- Nkanji speaks on behalf of Mbabazi
Mbabazi’s director of media and communications, Josephine Mayanja-Nkangi, told New Vision that they have a campaign war chest of more than $7m (approximately sh25.5b).
“We get funds from all places inside and outside of the country,” she said. She, however, declined to offer details, referring New Vision to the Go Forward Chief of Staff Solome Nakaweesi.
When contacted, Nakaweesi promised to give New Vision contacts of someone to furnish us with information, to no avail.
Mbabazi’s sister-in-law and also chief mobiliser, Hope Mwesigye, told New Vision that they have a finance committee for 2016 campaign and Mbabazi is the chairman. The Go Forward pressure group recently launched a fundraising campaign to build Mbabazi’s campaign kitty.
Robert Ssajjabbi, the spokesperson of this campaign dubbed ‘One Million for Change’, told reporters in Kampala that they were targeting one million funders.
Parties also got money from the Electoral Commission. In April this year, the Electoral Commission announced that it had released sh10b to facilitate the political parties’ activities ahead of the 2016 polls. Analysts say some candidates might also be using this money to run their campaigns.
The formula of distribution of EC money was on the basis of strength in Parliament. The NRM took sh8.2b, FDC sh1.14b, Democratic Party sh464m, Uganda People’s Congress sh309m, Justice Forum (Jeema) sh30.9m and Conservative Party also sh30.9m.
Some sources within these candidates’ camps told New Vision that some of the money is sourced from personal wealth. All the three main candidates run businesses in and outside Kampala.
Prof. Mwambusya Ndebesa, a political analyst and history don at Makerere University, argued that most of the business people must be behind-the-scenes bankrolling campaigns of these presidential candidates.
“Of course the businessmen give more money to NRM, but to be on the safe side you also give to the opposition in case they win or their supporters harass you,” Ndebesa said.
He, however, stressed that “you cannot rule out funding from outside in one way or the other which we don’t know.”
“Take the example of NRM and President Museveni, he can ask one of his friends a President and that President can give him like $10m. $10m is a lot of money in the circumstances of Uganda,” he said.
But the he noted that a President, especially from rich countries like Arab countries giving his compatriot $10m is not a big deal.
“Some private companies that are dealing in contracts here like railways, roads and energy or which were given some contacts through negotiations are paying back. They also fund the incumbent,” he said.
Ndebesa also said there might be some governments out there which are funding the opposition so as to unseat the President. He, however, said so far the opposition has not demonstrated that it has a lot of money.
“I mean I don’t see big convoys and if you look at the crowds that come to attend rallies, they do not even receive T-shirts. I hardly see posters and many adverts around Kampala, for example,” he said.
