As pressure mounts on UPC President Olara Otunnu to hold a delegates conference, the party needs 60 million shillings to organize the event.
Inside party sources reveal that Otunnu is willing to hold the delegates conference but the party is financially constrained.
The pressure to hold the delegates conference is coming from former party presidential candidates Jimmy Akena Obote, Yona Kanyomozi, Dr. David Dickson Opul, Fred Luwero and Sospater Akwenyu, all opposed to the leadership of Otunnu.
The officials led by Akena, who is also Lira Municipality MP, stormed the party headquarters early this month demanding for an urgent meeting to discuss the convening of the delegates conference.
The officials say the delegates conference will help decide Otunnu’s fate as party leader and resolve the leadership crisis which has dragged on for long.
However, the party treasurer, Peter Walubiri says it will be much more expensive to hold a delegates conference today than when they last held one in March 2010 at a cost of 40 million shillings.
Walubiri says the cost would involve transporting the delegates, hiring the venue, communication and documentation expenses, meals and accommodation.
He reveals that the party staff is currently working on the modalities of how much money will be needed to fund both the delegates conference and the national council.
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It is still not clear how and where the party will get the required money to hold the delegates conference.
Walubiri says most of the party activities are funded by party members. He however, notes that ever since the wrangles begun, the party Members of Parliament stopped remitting the two hundred thousand shillings each as monthly contributions.
The Milton Obote Foundation (MOF) also contributes quarterly to the party affairs though Walubiri could not reveal how much comes from the foundation. He adds that the party does not expect any money from MOF for the delegates conference.
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But Akena tells Uganda Radio Network that the money needed to hold the delegates conference can be fully provided by MOF. However, this can only be done if a formal request is made by Otunnu.
He adds that the quarterly finances from MOF are used to pay salaries and administration work at the party headquarters.
Efforts to get in touch with Otunnu on whether he would make the request were futile since he wasn't in his office on Thursday and his phone is switched off.
