Musician Eddy Kenzo has threatened to resign as the president of the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) citing over disorganization.
In a leaked conversation, Eddy Kenzo is heard addressing his reasons to what is assumed to be fellow federation members. He revealed that as the federation; they lobbied for ten billion for the SACCOS and were given five at the start. He later had a meeting with Gen. Saleh and suggested that the balance should be released with immediate effect for the smooth running of the federation activities.
Gen. Saleh allegedly ordered for the release of the funds but they were intercepted by the Ministry of Finance. Kenzo reveals that the ministry started putting barriers and conditions which were not favorable for the Federation. In the meeting that Kenzo and his board boycotted, the Ministry of Finance allegedly ordered for the money to be distributed directly to the associations without going through their account, something they didn’t agree with.
“If they do this, it means as a federation, we do not have work. The moment they told our members that they will be dealing with them directly, it means we are useless. They would have cut off our voices. The moment we are divided, it would be easy for them to manipulate us. They want to eliminate us without even telling us. They want to disorganize us and waste the money without accountability. There is a lot of chaos between us and the ministry. we cannot compete with them that much and as a person, I cannot continue,” he said.
He blamed the confusion and misunderstandings from the constant fights from the government leaders which he says would in the end affect the artists and their job.
He, therefore, couldn’t continue with the disorganization and chose to step down. He promised to hand in his resignation as soon as he came back from Acholi as he couldn’t handle the heat anymore.
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“As a person, I cannot continue with this disorganization. These music fights will never stop because they are sponsored and backed up by our leaders. When I come back from Acholi, I will put in my resignation from the music leadership. I hope you guys can find another person to continue with this because I cannot manage. Others can continue with this job but personally, I’m defeated.
For us it is not about money; it is about accountability, sustainability and empowerment. I’m so disturbed by our leaders because most of them do not care about making the industry better. I do not have the power or energy to fight with the government anymore and the only thing I can do is to step down. Hope I have done my best,” he said.
