Tea growers demonstrate over none payment, accuse minister of sabotage

KABALE
About 20 tea nursery bed operators in Kabale and Rubanda districts last yesterday staged a demonstration in Kabale Town over governments delayed payment of their supplied tea seedlings.
They accuse Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the State minister for Urban Planning and Kinkizi East MP of sabotaging the payments.

Led by the chairman of Kabale District Tea Nursery Bed Operators, Mr Philp Zikampereza, the demonstrators carried placards saying a letter written to the Inspector General of Government to investigate the Kikiizi Development Company and Mr James Musinguzi Garuga, whose company is charged with the duty of being a lead agency, over fraudulent acts disguised as corporate social responsibility is the cause of their delayed payment.
Mr Zikampereza said tea nursery bed operators in Kabale are demanding about Shs7.2b for the tea seedlings they supplied in September 2015 and in March this year.

Dr Baryomunsi said the demonstrators were being used by Mr Musinguzi Garuga to attract public sympathy as the IGG investigates the alleged fraudulent acts in Kanungu district.

“My letter to the IGG over fraudulent acts in Kanungu tea project has nothing to do with the delayed payments of the farmers in Kabale District. Why is it that people of Kanungu District are not demonstrating? Why have they not been paid for seedlings supplied in September 2015 and March this year when my letter to the IGG was written in August this year? They have their own issues,” Dr Baryomunsi said.

But Mr Zikampereza denied being influenced by either Mr Musinguzi or any other person. “This is our own initiative as we demand our rights to get paid. Mr Musinguzi was not even informed despite the fact that he is the lead tea growing agency for tea growing agency in this area and there was no need of informing him because he never contracted us to supply the tea seedlings and is not responsible for our payments,” Mr Zikampereza said.