By Spy Uganda
Parliament has summoned Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, controversial Italian ‘investor’ Enrica Pinneti and other actors over a ‘terrible’ coffee deal that has since left Ugandans spitting venom against the ‘careless’ government.
On 10th February 2022, the government through Minister Kasaija signed an agreement with Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited (UVCC) owned by Pinneti giving exclusive rights to the company to buy all of Uganda’s coffee.
The above ignited a hot debate in Parliament which forced Speaker, Anita Among to order the committee on trade, tourism and industries to probe this matter which the committee chairman responded to by issuing a long list of stakeholders in the coffee sub-sector who have been invited to appear on April 25 and April 26, 2022, for questioning.
In the highly criticized agreement, Pinetti’s Vinci coffee company is expected to construct an 80 Million US Dollar integrated coffee processing plant at Namanve Industrial Park and also market the finished coffee products in Europe and the Middle East. Don’t forget that Pinetti is the ‘investor’ behind the stalled Lubowa hospital.
The agreement extends an array of incentives and concessions to the investor in a manner that has been widely criticized as monopolizing Uganda’s coffee business.
Meanwhile, on top of Kasaija, Pinneti and Ggoobi, Parliament has also summoned Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka; Nsumikambi Mugambe; Minister for Trade, Tourism Industry and Cooperatives Francis Mwebesa, Minister of Agriculture Frank Tumwebaze and the Solicitors General.
Government entities and agencies like; Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Uganda Coffee Federation, Uganda Coffee Quality Traders’ Association, and Uganda Coffee Traders’ Alliance have not been spared.
