Summary:
- Kyagulanyi emphasized that the Bill is yet another attempt by the regime to stifle economic growth in coffee-growing regions, impacting 12.5 million Ugandans who depend on the coffee industry.
KAMPALA: The President of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has accused the National Resistance Movement (NRM) of weaponizing the Coffee Bill to harm communities in Buganda and Bugisu, regions that did not support the ruling regime in the 2021 general elections.
Kyagulanyi stated that the Bill directly targets coffee farmers who have long relied on the crop for their livelihood. He made these remarks during the NUP’s weekly press briefing on Monday at the party’s headquarters in Makerere Kavule.
Kyagulanyi emphasized that the Bill is yet another attempt by the regime to stifle economic growth in coffee-growing regions, impacting 12.5 million Ugandans who depend on the coffee industry.
He strongly opposed the legislation, drawing parallels to other cash crops like vanilla and tobacco, which he claims were systematically neglected and are now far less profitable for farmers.
He also dismissed claims that the rationalization Bill is intended to cut administrative costs, arguing that the government has expanded bureaucracy with new positions such as assistant Resident District Commissioners, an enlarged cabinet, and the creation of overlapping entities like the State House Revenue Intelligence and Strategic Operations Unit alongside the Uganda Revenue Authority, all of which place a heavy financial burden on taxpayers.
Kyagulanyi commended NUP’s parliamentary front for standing firm against what he described as oppressive Bills that aim to impoverish Ugandans.
Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi, the Butambala County MP, added that Uganda risks economic setbacks similar to Kenya’s experience when it attempted to dissolve its coffee agency.
“That move led to a 50% decline in Kenya’s global market share before the country restored its agency model”. He said.
Kivumbi warned that dissolving the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) would similarly damage Uganda’s position in the global coffee market and urged the 12.5 million Ugandans involved in the coffee sector to reject the Bill.
Kivumbi also disclosed a recent phone call from Speaker Anita Among, who reportedly expressed that her hands were tied on the contentious Bill.
He argued that President Museveni is clearly targeting people in Buganda, a region heavily engaged in coffee farming.
