Parliament has directed government to terminate an agreement it signed recently with Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited. Parliament has described the agreement as illegal and demanded that ” officials who committed Government to such illegalities should be penalized as a deterrent mechanism to stop similar occurrences in future.
The officials involved in the controversial agreement are Minister of Finance Hon Matia Kasaija, Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi and Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka, whereas Enrica Pinetti signed on behalf of Vinci Coffee Company Limited.
MPs sitting on Wednesday morning spent over 8 hours deliberating on the matter after Mbarara City South MP Mwine Mpaka, chairman of Parliament’s committee on trade presented findings of the full report.
“The government is directed to terminate this agreement and report to Parliament, within 6 months from the date of adoption of this report,” Mpaka said.
Mpaka said that the livelihoods of farmers and all persons engaged in the coffee value chain are likely to be affected due to the fact that coffee requirements of the agreement represent approximately 15% of the total coffee production and 100% of the premium coffee beans
Mpaka’s committee further recommends that government should consider extending appropriate incentives to the already existing 47 local companies that are doing value addition.
The Committee concluded that the Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka failed to carry out an appropriate legal due diligence in exercise of his statutory functions under article 119 (4) (b) of the Constitution to draw, peruse through and approve the agreement.