By Weswa Ronnie
MBALE
Bugisu Cooperative Union (BCU) is demanding a renegotiation with government over the 619 Acres of land where Mbale Industrial Park is currently seating on.
BCU has over 800 acres of land at Doho in Industrial City Division Mbale City but 619 acres were sold to the government in 2009 at a very cheap price by the former board led by John Wamulugwa which the current board says was undervalued.
While speaking to board members and other officers from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) on Friday, 20th September, 2024 at BCU head offices located at Industrial city division in Mbale city, John Musila the vice Chairperson of BCU said the land was given to government at a cheaper price whereby each acre was sold at 4.8 Million shillings.
He says that as BCU, they are going to write to the government requesting for additional money for each acre since land current is an asset and expensive.
Musila says that the former board did lots of messes like selling Elgon hotel, acres of land at Bulambuli among others which they are trying to reclaim or recover.
Barbra Wasagali, the manager of Bugisu cooperative Union says that BCU is in the process of recovering its assets like Elgon hotel which was sold by the former board erroneously.
She says that assets which were sold would now be giving farmers revenue but adding that the current management and board is doing what it takes to reclaim some of the assets even if it may take a longer time.
Wasagali expressed her happiness with the good working relationship between BCU and UCDA which has promoted it by recommending it to sell coffee to the international market.
Charles Frances Mugoya, Chairman Board of Directors at UCDA in his response, urged the board to follow the right procedures saying government will not fail to hear them.
He said that the government through UCDA has embarked on moving to all regions meeting coffee buyers and farmers for evaluation and ministering exercise of the coffee value addition chain.
Mugoya says that they want to improve on value addition and improve on exportation of coffee such that the government can generate more revenue.
