By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
NATIONAL
Whereas the many farmers across the country are living in a state of fear over the controversial coffee deal signed brtween the government of Uganda and an Italian Investor, Enrica Pinetti; the National Resistance Movement legislator Hon. Juliest Agasha Bashiisha, also Mitooma District Woman MP has assured Ugandans that parliament will not accept the agrerment.
“I want to assure Ugandans that the coffee export agreement concerns all of us disregard of our political affiliations,” Agasha said
Recalling the recent rejection of scrapping off the bail application for criminal and capital suspects as directed by President Museveni, MP Bashiisha has affirmed to Ugandans that parliament will not accept the agreement unless it is cancelled and fresh negotiations in its clauses are done
“As parliament, we won’t accept this agreement like we rejected the bail application scrap plot.” MP Bashiisha assured farmers
She made the remarks while appearing on Local Radio Station, 100.2FM Radio West in Mbarara during a Radio Weekly Political Talkshow; “Manya Ebirikufa Omu Ihanga Ryawe” on Sunday
About the Controversial Coffee Deal
On February 10, 2022, Government of Uganda signed an agreement with Vinci Coffee Company Limited owned by an Italian Investor Enrica Pinetti inwhich she was allocated a 27 accre free land in Industrial Park Namanve to establish a coffee processing facility in Kampala.
According to the coffee document, Ramathan Ggoobi, the Secretary to Treasury signed on behalf of government while Enrica Pinetti, the board chairperson of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited signed on behalf of the company.
In one of the clauses, the agreement stated that the company will be given exclusive rights to buy all Uganda’s coffee and its concession will end in 2032, but subject to renewal
The company agreement with government has provisions to exempt the Vinci Coffee Company from paying taxes including Income tax, Pay As You Earn, Excise duty, and NSSF. This document has provisions that seek to subsidize this company giving them a special tariff of 5 cents per unit in terms of electricity.
Mixed Reactions
Controversies aroused between government and netizens after realizing that the clauses within the agreement contained inconsistencies to coffee farmers.
Besides, it was established that Pinetti was the same investor behind the crippling Specialized Lubowa Hospital construction project and the construction of Green Light Children’s Hospital in Entebbe.
This created doubts among citizens on the performance of the Vinci Coffee Company Ltd demanding that the agreement be cancelled with immediate effect.
Speaker Probe into Coffee Export Agreement
Owing to the much pressure on the unfair agreement from opposition political parties, coffee farmers and the general public, the speaker of parliament Anitah Among directed the Trade, Tourism and Industry Committee of Parliament led by the Mbarara City South MP Mwine Mpaka to brobe into the agreement and later compile a substantive report to update parliament on the same.
According to the committee chairperson Mwine Mpaka, the compilation of the report is done now waiting to be accomodated to order paper.
According to the crafts of the report seen by Parrots UG, the report contains findings of Parliament investigations on the coffee deal that was signed between the government and Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited (UVCC) in February this year.
The report among others called for the cancellation of the deal and recommended that fresh negotiations be done between UVCC and the government
It should be recalled that in the last parliamentary sittings, MPs demanded to have the report indicated on the order paper so that they can debate it before a binding position can be taken by Parliament on the same.
However, their demands were ardently rejected by the deputy speaker of parliament Rt Hon Thomas Bangirana Tayebw who claimed that adequate time was required to debate on the report.
It was later established that the President had summoned the Trade Committee of parliament to State House to discuss the committee report on the same agreement.
Speaking during the Manya Ebirikufa omu Ihanga Ryawe show on Radio West on Sunday, the Buhweju county MP Francis Mwijukye also doubles as the shadow minister of Trade disclosed that in the meeting with the president, the committee chairperson Mwine Mpaka refused to alter findings of the report.
“I want to commend the chairperson of the Trade Committee of Parliament Hon. Mwine Mpaka for refusing to alter findings of our report when he met with the president unlike other MPs who after meeting Museveni are bribed to change their thoughts,” MP Mwijukye hailed.
The Isingiro District LC5 Chairman Aaron Turahi has urged MPs not to accept to give away country’s coffee to a single buyer
“If I were an MP, I would not accept this agreement. I appeal to legislators not to sell our country by giving exclusive rights to one single coffee buyer,” he said
The panel also asked MPs on the trade committee not only to focus on the negative impacts of the agreement but also its benefits to Ugandan coffee growers and the country at large.
