Buganda Kingdom Prime Minister Peter Mayiga has cautioned against dissolving Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), saying it would amount to punishing Baganda.
“The Kingdom of Buganda has severally advised against scrapping UCDA since it superintends coffee production, upon which nearly 2 million Ugandan households depend,” said Mayiga in a brief statement on Friday afternoon.
“Apparently, scrapping UCDA is a punishment against Baganda, who contribute nearly 50% of coffee exports, since Speaker Anita Among (and those who support scrapping UCDA) see the Amendment Bill as a victory against Baganda!” he added.
Mayiga’s remarks come just a day after MPs from Buganda and Bugisu opposed the Bill seeking the rationalization of UCDA.
The Bill aims to merge UCDA with the Ministry of Agriculture through the Rationalization of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX) policy.
Speaking to NRM MPs recently, President Museveni said returning government agencies into their parent ministries was meant to streamline operations by eliminating the unnecessary ones.
“If you say Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) is so crucial, then let’s remove the ministry and then we have UCDA and I could see the MPs really getting stuck,” said Museveni.
The President further said he did not agree to the argument that ministries are incapable of managing the huge task ahead because their staff are permanent and pensionable, adding that the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) who are also permanent and pensionable are doing well.
However, MPs, majorly from the opposition side opposed the scrapping of UCDA, saying that it has over the years outperformed its mother Ministry by helping farmers and increasing the coffee exports.
Members of Parliament from the Buganda and Bugisu regions recently issued stern warnings against any attempt to dissolve UCDA, stating that such a move would have disastrous consequences for Uganda’s coffee industry and affect the livelihoods of over 12.5 million people.
Buganda Kingdom has been spearheading massive coffee growing in the central region under the campaign, ‘Emmwanyi Terimba Initiative’
Mayiga today said, “‘Emmwanyi Terimba Initiative’ will go on unabated…”
He added: “I urge Baganda (and other Ugandans) to continue growing coffee: your livelihood is more important than the motives of present day politicians.”
Regulation
UCDA plays a crucial role in promoting and regulating Uganda’s coffee industry by enhancing marketing, ensuring export quality, supporting research, and advancing value addition, while coordinating the sector’s activities and formulating relevant policies.
MPs described the agriculture ministry, the institution set to absorb the UCDA’s functions, as inefficient and incapable of managing the coffee sector.
MP Nandala-Mafabi stressed that dissolving such a pivotal institution, without a viable alternative, would create economic uncertainty and potentially cripple one of Uganda’s most valuable exports.
Hon. Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi (NUP, Butambala County) and also the Chairperson of Buganda Parliamentary Caucus said dismantling UCDA could result in a situation similar to Uganda’s vanilla trade, which is now controlled by a few individuals.
“The accreditation of vanilla exports in Uganda is in the hands of two or three people—individual companies—and it is now these individuals who set the prices. They are the buyers, processors, and exporters, and that’s why the vanilla trade, which once thrived, has collapsed,” he said.
