FDC adds fire to hot coffee deal
FDC party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat celebrates with supporters after he was nominated to be the party flag bearer in the 2021 presidential election at the party headquarters in Najjanakumbi, Wakiso District on August 26, 2020. PHOTO/RACHEL MABALA
What you need to know:
- FDC president Patrick Oboi Amuriat described the agreement as one of the most fraudulent deals the ruling government has signed with foreign investors.
Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party has criticised the coffee agreement signed between government and an Italian investor, saying it will disadvantage local coffee business people and affect taxpayers.
In the story about the deal published by Sunday Monitor, it is indicated that Uganda Vinci Coffee Company (UVCC) has been given exclusive rights to buy all Uganda’s coffee even before the government can look at other players. Finance minister Matia Kasaija signed the February 10 deal on behalf of government while Enrica Pinetti signed on behalf of UVCC.
Addressing journalists at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala, yesterday, FDC president Patrick Oboi Amuriat described the agreement as one of the most fraudulent deals the ruling government has signed with foreign investors at the expense of Ugandan taxpayers.
He asked Parliament to interrogate the deal, saying the technical people government has entrusted with managing the economy are incompetent.
“It is sad that this company (UVCC) was given free land in the industrial and business park at Namanve and will enjoy tax exemptions. Something is given to foreigners and yet a businessman in Kikuubo and other parts of the country will not benefit,” Mr Amuriat said.
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“We want to see the role of Parliament, the representatives of people, in this. After mourning late Speaker Jacob Oulanyah, we believe that the first responsibility for the new Speaker and her deputy should be to interrogate this particular deal because we are really handing it over to people whom we already know are incompetent and risking the lives of millions of people,” he added.
Seeking answers
The FDC president wondered how Ms Pinetti, who is behind the controversial Lubowa National Specialised Hospital project that is yet to show any results, should be granted the coffee deal.
The much-vaunted International Specialised Hospital of Uganda (ISHU) at Lubowa on Entebbe Road, a 264-bed healthcare project, was supposed to be completed by June 2021. However, the deadline has been extended to September 2022.
In March 2019, Parliament hurriedly approved the Ministry of Finance’s request for issuance of promissory notes amounting to $379.7m (Shs1.4 trillion) as security to the project developer.
Mr Amuriat claimed that the same Ms Pinetti has previously been accused of doing shoddy work in Libya and Chad.
At the same briefing, the FDC leader welcomed Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the East African Community, saying this creates a potential market for Uganda’s products and job opportunities.
