Bill sparks chaos
On Wednesday, Parliament passed the Bill that put the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) out of commission. However, the passage of the Bill, a veritable recasting of the country’s coffee regulatory framework, provoked a furore from Opposition Members of Parliament led by their leader in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi.
Tumwebaze said those in opposition to the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill have misrepresented the Bill and the government’s good intentions with the implied aim of upsetting the coffee farmers.
He added that the politicians opposing this Bill have a prime eye on the 2026 elections, instead of the country’s betterment.
According to the parliament’s website, the August House passed the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024 integrating UCDA into the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).
This move is part of the government’s Rationalisation of Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) policy aimed at streamlining public spending and reducing redundant administrative structures.
According to Mr. Tumwebaze, the government has been intentional about turning around the coffee sector since 1991, ending the monopoly of the inept Coffee Marketing Board, promoting liberalisation, and constituting agencies like UCDA to bolster production. As a consequence, he says, coffee exports have burgeoned to 9 million bags annually.
Still, the government continues to stoke controversy with its actions. In 2022, President Museveni revealed that he was the driving force behind the agreement between the government and the Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited.
He made this confession at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds as the country celebrated its 60th Independence Anniversary.
In February of 2022, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija signed an agreement with Enrica Pinetti, an Italian investor, to construct an $80 million coffee processing factory in Uganda.
The coffee agreement was roundly opposed by a miscellany of Ugandans, especially those involved in the coffee value chain.
The deal was deemed unfair to Ugandan farmers. Taking its cue from this hue and cry, parliament passed a resolution urging the government to drop the agreement as it seemingly gave carte blanche to Vinci by giving the company a monopoly to export Uganda’s coffee.
“These achievements have been in spite of the stiff opposition we have been facing from the parasites and their foreign backers such as The Monitor newspaper. Take an example on the 22 of May 2022, it said: ‘Coffee deal stinks but key culprits will not be punished’. The key culprit is me. I’m here, am abundant (sic) here, let me see who can dare touch me. I’m the promoter of the coffee value addition, nobody else. It’s me, Yoweri Museveni…In other words, Museveni is committing a crime by trying to add value to coffee,” said Mr. Museveni.
This set the stage for the chaos we witnessed in Uganda’s parliament this week.
