NEED Party President Kabuleta Criticizes UCDA Coffee Bill as Attack on Rural Wealth

Summary:

• Kabuleta pointed out that Uganda’s coffee earnings have recently surged from $846 million in 2022–2023 to $1.14 billion in mid-2024, marking a $300 million increase.

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KAMPALA: The President of the NEED party, Joseph Kiiza Kabuleta, has denounced the recently introduced UCDA Coffee Bill, calling it a deliberate effort by President Museveni to suppress rural wealth accumulation and stifle financial gains for farmers and legitimate commercial actors.

“I am pleased that people are finally recognizing what we have been warning about President Museveni’s measures to control rural wealth. When he took over in 1986, Uganda’s coffee exports were valued at $94 million, supporting many livelihoods. If there’s one thing that concerns him, it’s rural Ugandans achieving prosperity,” Kabuleta stated during a press conference at the party’s Lubaga offices in Kampala.

Kabuleta pointed out that Uganda’s coffee earnings have recently surged from $846 million in 2022–2023 to $1.14 billion in mid-2024, marking a $300 million increase.

“This significant growth means that rural coffee farmers are starting to see real dividends, and that’s what keeps Museveni up at night. For the past 40 years, he has waged an economic war to keep Ugandans poor, believing impoverished citizens are easier to govern.” He said.

Kabuleta argued that much of Uganda’s coffee revenue bypasses farmers, largely benefiting foreign-owned companies that control the export market.

“Top coffee export companies, including those with local branding, are foreign-owned. They maintain a hierarchy of middlemen to maximize profits while limiting farmers’ earnings. I’ve told people through my campaigns that poverty is not due to government incompetence but rather a calculated policy to keep people poor.” He noted

According to Kabuleta, Uganda earned record coffee revenues last year, with prices nearly doubling to about $4.23 (approximately UGX 16,000) per kilo.

He added “Coffee prices are reaching levels last seen in the 1970s during Amin’s regime, a time when many Ugandans achieved financial success. This resurgence in coffee prices is exactly why Museveni is concerned.”

Kabuleta warned that the proposed merger of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) with the Ministry of Agriculture would increase government control over coffee revenue and create a new layer of middlemen.

“This is Museveni’s playbook create middlemen to control any sector making Ugandans prosperous. For 40 years, he’s kept 70% of Ugandans as peasants because they are the ones who sustain his power.” He Said.

He referenced other cash crops, noting that similar policies have diminished wealth in local industries like vanilla, cotton, and tea.

“In 2008, about 800,000 Ugandans identified as fishermen, with Uganda a top exporter of fresh fish to the EU. But foreign companies, aided by our own leaders, have taken control, and today, that number has fallen below 100,000,” he said.

Kabuleta further condemned Museveni’s approach to value addition, blaming it for the collapse of Uganda’s textile industry.

“Uganda once had a self-sustaining textile industry, with 70% of textiles made from locally grown cotton. But under Museveni, this industry was dismantled, taking away economic independence from rural communities.” He said.

He concluded by declaring Museveni’s administration an obstacle to the prosperity of rural Ugandans, warning that the president’s “Make Them Poor” policy is especially detrimental ahead of the 2026 elections.

With another lucrative coffee season underway, Kabuleta argued that rural Ugandans could gain the financial independence needed to make electoral choices without government handouts like PDM, Emyooga, and Bonna Bagaggawale.

“The essence of this coffee bill is to keep farmers poor by consolidating government control. However, the true leaders of this nation will not allow this merger to happen. I’ve long warned that Museveni works tirelessly to maintain poverty. But as soon as he is gone, Uganda will experience an era of prosperity beyond what we’ve ever dreamed,” Kabuleta affirmed.