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{
    "id": 566603,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/566603/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 327,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Ogolla",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1264,
        "legal_name": "Gideon Ochanda Ogolla",
        "slug": "gideon-ochanda-ogolla"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. There are a number of things that I really want to point out regardless of the issue of money. There is something that is growing in this country where we are talking about issues of money going or money getting to the other side without properly defining what those monies are for. We need to be very clear in terms of why we are giving political parties money because I think this is not very clear. Many are thinking that it is money for purposes of setting up their secretariat or for the party to do their little things here and there which, in my view, are not necessarily some of the things that political parties are supposed to be doing. In my view, there is a very distinct role that political parties are supposed to be playing. Rather than the whole issue of campaigns and trying to get to power, there are many more other things that political parties are supposed to be doing in-between elections. One of them is, for example, the issue of political education, political socialisation and giving space or providing a forum where alternative views and choices can be looked at. All those need to be looked at for purposes of building democracy in the country. What I have been seeing is that many of us think that political parties are only for purposes of campaigns and running their secretariats for the secretariats’ sake. So, in my view, some of those things need to be clear when you are talking about funding political parties. Where should the fund go to or what is it that political parties are supposed to be doing in-between elections? It is not money for elections. The other thing we are supposed to be looking at is the whole issue why thresholds were set up. There is a purpose why thresholds are in place. This practice of setting thresholds is world over. I want to bring in an example where, in Zaire, people thought there were many political parties one time. They were 70plus and yet, out of the 70plus, over 30 of those political parties were of some small clique of people who were already in power. So, we could be talking about supporting many other political parties outside there thinking that “they are small”, not knowing that some of those small political parties are actually parties of the bigger parties. So, when you are looking for money to give small parties, you will be giving the same big party money in a different way. So, we really need to be very careful about this. Right now, we have over 50 political parties. Many of those political parties are formations around campaign times in the understanding or knowledge that people or candidates are going to be in problems in one party and then they will move to the next and when they move to the next, there are some monies that they pay. It is around that time that we seriously commercialise the whole issue of political parties. This is not right, in my view. We do not need to come up with a legislation that is going to give space for that kind of behaviour or practice. It is not right and if we are talking about funding of political parties, those political parties that we are funding or we are suggesting or proposing to fund must have some history. They must have a history in the sense that they are not parties which are just formed around when we are doing elections, go quiet after that then wake up again in five years when we are doing elections. Those are things that we must be very careful about. The other thing that---"
}