It has emerged that Ms Enrica Pinetti, the purported owner of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited (UVCC) signed an $80million Coffee processing contract as a witness.
This latest development has thrown spanner in works triggering a lot more queries on who could be the rightful owner of this firm.
Whereas Minister Matia Kasaija signed on behalf of Uganda Government and in presence of Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi as witness, the part for the second parties is only signed once leaving space for the actual contractor empty.
The contract which has lately raised dust was clinched between Ministry of Finance and UVCC, sidelining the line- minister Frank Tumwebaze who heads Ministry of Agriculture and other relevant entities like Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
Because a huge section of government official believe that the agreement is bad for the country, Parliament has since summoned 21 bodies and individuals involved including Pinetti to respond to a number of questions related to the agreement.
Pinetti, reports link her to the erecting of unexisting Lubowa state of the art Hospital where government has injected shs 140 billion as part of the whole 1.2 trillion to empty ground as construction site.
The same investor on February 10, signed an $80million Coffee processing contract with Ministry of Finance.
However, the deal has been widely criticized with the Speaker of Parliament directing the trade committee to investigate the matter “in public interest.”
Following the speaker’s directive, the office of the chairperson Trade Committee, Hon Mwine Mpaka issued a long list of stakeholders in the Coffee sub-sector who have been invited to appear before the 30-member committee on 25th and 26th April 2022 as investigations into the Coffee Agreement commence.
These include; PS Ministry of Finance Ramathan Ggoobi, Uganda’s Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Minister for Trade Industry and Cooperatives Hon Francis Mwebesa, Minister for Agriculture Hon Frank Tumwebaze, and the Solicitor General.
Other entities and agencies invited include; Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Uganda Coffee Federation (UCF), Uganda Coffee Quality Traders Association, Uganda Coffee Trader’s Alliance, Rwenzori Coffee Trust, Bugisu Cooperative Union, Ankole Coffee Cooperative Union, UNZO Coffee, Uganda Large Scale Farmers Association, BUCADEF, UGACOF, KAWACOM, ESCO (U) LTD, and OLAM (U) LTD.
Under the signed agreement, Pinetti’s Vinci coffee Company is expected to construct a 80M USD Integrated coffee processing plant at Namanve industrial park and also market the finished coffee products in Europe and Middle East. 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.
The Ministry of Finance through its PS Ramathan Ggoobi however, insist that the deal was cleared by the Attorney General and was subsequently signed within laws governing the country and that none was broken.
Explaining about the agreement, Ggoobi explained that the agreement will support government in the realization of its coffee production target from the current 7 million bags per year to 20 million bags by 2030.
