Twenty-six years since I first joined Uganda Sports Press Association (Uspa), I’ve never seen a fractious and acrimonious buildup to the annual general assembly (AGM) like what I witnessed in the past few days.
For the record, I’m no longer an active member and rarely delve into the association matters but when active members wash their dirty linen in public – social media to be precise – then it is cause for alarm.
Granted, election time has a habit of bringing out feelings of agitation from interested parties but this one went a notch higher. And, by the way, it is not the usual sloganeering of ‘change’ or ‘no change;’ the Uspa campaigns have been punctuated with accusations of embezzlement and lack of accountability flying around for the past few weeks.
Phrases like ‘Let’s get the old guard out’ have also been prominent. This is a complete turnaround from the core values and ethos on which Uspa built its brand to be- come the model body for journalists in Uganda.
The association has not been around for 46 years by chance, but I’m afraid it is losing focus. And this has been the case since big money came around 2003 with the advent of Mike Ezra.
It was then that special interest groups emerged, voting blocks and patterns became streamlined and, of course, control of money became a big issue. Since then, few Uspa bosses have left with their reputation intact.
OFF TRACK
This time around, Uspa seems to have taken a serious plunge as far as its vision is concerned. It would have been a healthy debate if some ‘disgruntled’ members were demanding more training opportunities or improvement of professional standards. This is the core of any professional body.
Instead, trivial things have been making news such as the inquiry into the mystery of Uspa’s television donated by the National Council of Sports (NCS) as well as the Uspa achievement of acquiring a laptop.
This petty trading of barbs shows that Uspa has stagnated. At the moment, Uspa’s focal points of existence are the annual awards gala, elections and maybe the road safety campaign. Yet this group holds monthly meetings throughout the year.
Therefore, Uspa needs rebranding to regain its vibrancy. A divided Uspa can only fuel more intrigue and this so-called wave to get rid of the old guard smacks of desperation and lack of vision.
Amidst all this chaos, I wonder where Uspa derives the moral authority to criticize sports federations when their own house is on fire. And, these accusations and counter accusations will not go away until they are addressed in an open manner.
I’ve heard a popular view to amend the Uspa constitution as a way to remove any controversial loopholes. This effort, with all its good intentions, may not yield anything of significance if the key issues are not tackled head-on; in- stead, it would only serve to help us ‘forget the past.’ This, ideally, is not what Uspa needs.
NEW DIRECTION
Going forward, the association has reached a point whereby it needs serious soul-searching. Therefore, under this cloud of rising tensions and divisions, I wouldn’t have recommended holding the polls on Saturday. Instead, a new probe committee would be welcome to settle all grievances and start a fresh chapter for the association.
Given the jostling for power in Uspa, it is easy for one to forget that being on the executive is voluntary work that requires selflessness. This only points to one thing; money, or the control of it.
So, the most pertinent issues of accountability have to be thoroughly addressed if the new Uspa executive is to steer clear of further hurdles. And it goes beyond money issues, lack of discipline, conflict of interest, intrigue and sabotage have been brought forward quite often of recent.
So, what better way than step- ping aside to allow a probe committee assess all these issues?
The author is operations director of The Observer Media Ltd.