According to a coffee document dated February 10, 2022, Ramathan Ggoobi the Secretary to Treasury signed on behalf of government while Enrica Pinetti, an Italian investor and the Board Chairperson of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited on behalf of the company.
The company was given free land in the Industrial and Business Park at Namanve measuring 27 acres after it indicated its capability of establishing a coffee processing facility in Kampala. It will be given exclusive rights to buy all Uganda’s coffee and its concession will end in 2032, but subject to renewal.
The Board
Chairperson of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited, Enrica Pinetti
has snubbed Parliament’s Trade Committee which had invited her to explain an agreement
signed with government to process coffee.
The Company was
instead on Monday represented before the committee by the Company Secretary, Moses
Matovu, the Company Legal Advisor Patson
Arinaitwe and lawyer Anna Itaza.
The absence of the Italian
investor didn’t go well with MPs who questioned her action also noting that she
had previously snubbed invitations by Parliament in regard to the stalled Lubowa Specialised
Hospital project.
According to a coffee
document dated February 10, 2022, Ramathan Ggoobi the Secretary to Treasury
signed on behalf of government while Enrica Pinetti, an Italian investor and
the Board Chairperson of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited on behalf of the
company.
The company was given
free land in the Industrial and Business Park at Namanve measuring 27 acres after
it indicated its capability of establishing a coffee processing facility in
Kampala. It will be given exclusive rights to buy all Uganda’s coffee and its
concession will end in 2032, but subject to renewal.
The company agreement
with government has provisions to exempt the Vinci Coffee
Company from paying taxes including Income tax, Pay As You Earn, Excise duty,
and NSSF. This document has provisions that seek to subsidize this company
giving them a special tariff of 5 cents per unit in terms of electricity.
Tasked by Mwine
Mpaka, the Trade Committee Chairperson to explain the absence of Enrica
Pinetti, the company Secretary Moses Matovu said that she had a meeting with
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at State House and could not attend.
Matovu said that he
is vested with knowledge of the agreement and that this agreement is not with
Pinetti but the company.
//Cue in: “the
agreement is…
Cue out:…would join
us.”//
Joseph Ssewungu, the
Kalungu West MP said that the committee needed to interact with the board
chairperson of the company and not anyone else. Francis Mwijukye, the Buhweju
East MP also said that it was fortunate that Enrica is in the country noting
that she needed to appear before the committee personally.
//Cue in: “I want to…
Cue out:…appear with
her.”//
Mpaka said that they
would be proceeding well to interact with Vinci company and if MPs are not satisfied
with the presentation, the committee would then summon the directors to appear
on Tuesday.
//Cue in: “we will be…
Cue out:..all the
directors.”//
Insistence from the
committee members for the company directors to appear forced MP Mpaka to direct
the committee clerk to summon the directors of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company
Limited to appear on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Abed
Bwanika, the Shadow Minister for Agriculture who raised the issue
on the floor of Parliament earlier this month asked the committee to recommend
a cancellation of the agreement and hold accountable the government officials
involved.
He noted that the agreement
was in contravention of the Constitution, the National Coffee Act and other
laws. Bwanika was in the company of other Opposition MPs including Mityana
Woman MP, Joyce Bagala, Mawogola South MP Gorreti Namugga and Mityana South MP
Richard Lumu.
The former
presidential candidate said that the agreement needed to be cancelled so that
Ugandans who earn their livelihood from coffee are protected.
In his petition to the
committee, Bwanika said that the agreement was discriminative to Ugandans and
seeks to alienate coffee farmers and that the exemption of taxes is very
disturbing and needs parliament to look in the impact on the economy.
Bwanika also says
that there is no evidence that the Vinci company has experience in processing
and exporting coffee and that giving the company authority to determine coffee
prices contravenes Section 52 of the National
Coffee Act, 2012 which gives the mandate to Uganda Coffee Development
Authority.
These same issues were raised by Bwanika before Parliament and this led to the directive by Speaker Anita Among for the committee to investigate the matter and report back to parliament.
