By Mulengera Reporters
On Tuesday, Semujju Mohamed, who leads the association of sugarcane growers in Buganda region, led a delegation to the consultative meeting Minister David Bahati convened at Kampala’s Imperial Royale Hotel. He was instigated by the Speaker of Parliament after cane growers across Uganda got aggrieved with Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja’s decision to direct a ban on all roadside weigh bridge operations in Buganda and Busoga sub region.
The ban was protested because it was based on wrong information (Minister Mwebesa withdrew the letter which Nabbanja referenced in her 17th March directive) and also was construed as aimed at protecting the interests of sugar manufacturers and millers who farmers say are very exploitative in the way they measure and price the out growers’ cane.
The sugar manufacturing giants like Kakira and Kinyara were also accused of being against privately-operated weigh bridges because they fear competition and want to remain monopolies in their respective regions where new investors have been trying to make inroads, while generally offering farmers better prices and better terms.
After demanding to know from Bahati and the two colleague ministers he came with that this meeting was being held in good faith, as opposed to obtaining information which can be used by politicians to extort money from the targeted big players, Semujju said weigh bridges should stay but only be regulated more to ensure that the equipment is well calibrated in consultation with UNBS and URA so that out growers’ cane quantity isn’t undervalued.
On his delegation was Vice Chairman Luwero cane growers’ association Roland Kamusiime who controversially turned guns on Luwero-based Victoria Sugar Ltd, a company which many other speakers at the same meeting had earlier on defended for acting very truthfully as an upcoming sugar miller.
As Victoria Sugar officials uneasily turned in their seats, Kamusiime claimed that the company wasn’t acting transparently when weighing the cane. He accused the sugar miller of cheating farmers by under declaring their cane in order to end paying them much less.
He demanded that the government forces the company to allow cane owners access to the location where their weigh bridge is located in order to ascertain the authenticity of the tonnage. He claimed “we are never allowed to see the reading on the weigh bridge and they just tell you what they want.”
He added: “We have mobilized resources to buy our own weigh bridge as cane growers and this will have to operate in the open. If the company’s officials try to stand in our way to measure the cane from outside in the open, there is going to be war and you will see bloodshed in their compound. If they aren’t cheaters, why do they insist on hiding the weigh bridge?” Responding to this, Bahati said he wasn’t surprised because he has been part of the sugar wars for now 6 years and tempers have always flared at such meetings.
Kamusiime demanded that the weighing should be done in the open and a well authenticated record is printed out for the farmer to go home with a copy while waiting to be called to come and pick his or her money. Kamusiime also criticised the newly established Sugar Stakeholders Council (the regulator of some sort) which he said had let down farmers by being docile as opposed to fearlessly taking on the exploitative millers.
He agreed with others who had criticised Kinyara Director Rai for over dominating the agenda at the Council, and also demanded inclusion of real cane growers and not the current members who he said have no locus. “How can you assure us you can give the government the right information when many of you aren’t cane growers and therefore don’t understand our problems?”
Mr. Ismail Butungo, a very energetic young man who kept speaking on behalf of Victoria Sugar, vigorously pushed back against Kamusiime’s claims and declared him an agent of one of the bigger players in the sugar industry who was repeatedly accused of being nervous and fearful of new players because he doesn’t like competition because it shields out growers against exploitation through low pricing for their cane. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
