Speaker, Deputy still reading coffee report
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa chairs his first sitting. PHOTO / DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- Mr Tayebwa, who chaired the House last evening, told members that the presiding officers have to be well acquainted with the contents of the coffee report in order to guide the debate properly, and denied any possible connivance to keep the report away.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, has said the coffee report of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade and Tourism has yet to be presented for debate because it is still being scrutinised.
Mr Tayebwa, who chaired the House last evening, told members that the presiding officers have to be well acquainted with the contents of the coffee report in order to guide the debate properly, and denied any possible connivance to keep the report away.
“As presiding officers we have it, we are reading it and we shall ensure it is placed on the order paper, that is guaranteed,” he said.
Mr Tayebwa’s comments came after a request by Opposition Chief Whip John Baptist Nambeshe to amend the order paper to facilitate the debate because of its importance and public interest.
“Yesterday, the chair was unequivocally clear that the report is ready. I have perused through the order paper, that particular report is conspicuously missing and I would implore you to amend the order paper and have this dicey and unpredictable matter of urgent public importance included,” Mr Nambeshe said.
The committee chairperson, Mr Mwine Mpaka, on April 29 tweeted that they concluded investigations and they would be ready to present their findings and recommendations on May 3, but the item was absent on the order paper.
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During the Tuesday sitting, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju raised similar questions as to why the long anticipated report had not been planned for, to which Speaker Anita Among responded: “We will have it on the order paper at an ample time.”
President Museveni and Members of Parliament during a caucus meeting on April 26 agreed to review the impugned provisions of the coffee deal signed between government and Uganda Vinci Coffee Company (UVCC).
Clauses granting the company a decade-long tax exemption, free 25 acres of land in Namanve Industrial Park valued at $2m (Shs7b), cheaper electricity and an alleged monopoly met resistance from coffee farmers, and legislators prompting an audit by Parliament.
During the Labour Day celebrations, President Museveni took a swipe at those who have opposed the deal, describing them as agents of foreign interests.
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The committee findings and recommendations are expected to guide the way forward. No date has been given for the tabling of the debate.
