By Our Reporter
According to a letter dated 3rd March 2024 to Mr. Mayur Madhvani Joint Managing Director Kakira Sugar Limited, HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni is not happy with the fact that his bazzukulu continues to be blindfolded by selfish investors hence keeping them in poverty as their [investors] companies scoop mushrooming growth.
In response to a letter inked by Madhvani dated 3rd February to Museveni regarding the Sugar Industry and the repair of the Ripon Falls Hotel, the president thought to understand the impediments to the Ripon Falls Hotel rehabilitation before he quickly told off Madvani to leave his people referring to sugar cane growers.
”What are the impediments for the Ripon Falls Hotel rehabilitation? Remind me. Regarding the Sugar industry, I long ago advised you to leave the people of the 4 acres or less out. Sugar-cane is not good for them. They need intensive agriculture enterprises such as coffee, fruits, dairy, poultry, etc. Sugar-cane can only make money if it is done on a big scale,” Museveni told Madhvani.
He noted that to also resolve disputes amongst investors and farmers, sugar cane growers should be represented on the sugar council.
”Regarding the Sugar Council, both the processors and the cane-growers should be represented. It is better for the sugar factories to grow their own cane,” said Museveni adding;
”Regarding the price of the cane, you all should start with the international price of sugar per tonne. You should, then, work backwards and scientifically calculate the farm-gate price for the cane of the out-growers. Confining yourselves to raw sugar, you need to be clear about Uganda’s disadvantage as a sugar-producing country. Given our altitude, our sugar yield per cane is 8% compared to 14.18% for Swaziland, 15% for Brazil, 12.16% for Sudan, etc.”
Museveni also sounded not fine with the fact that Madhvani only deals in sugar hence advising them to consider producing other products for the country to benefit.
”Therefore, our competitiveness in the interior of the African continent is on account of geography for raw sugar. Using that advantage, you should look at producing ethanol, electricity, molasses for animal feeds, and industrial sugar. I suspect that this broadening of the spectrum of the products, would enhance our earnings and competitiveness in the interior of Africa. Would that alter the position of our competitiveness globally? Do the Kibaro (cura, aimar, otita). Stop involving our people blindly into unstudied schemes,” Museveni ‘lectured’ Madhvani.
Based on Museveni’s letter, one would be right to judge that Madhvani doesn’t involve sugar cane growers in the day-to-day operations of the business, which leaves them frustrated and disappointed. This leaves Atiak Sugar Factory (The Northern Sweetness) strong in business since for it deals directly with sugarcane growers, and is being praised for working closely with the associations bringing together the growers all aiming to have a smooth relationship to spur the growth of the sugar cane industry in Uganda.
Sugar Industry and its trade have increasingly gained importance in Uganda and International trade. Apart from providing sugar, a vital food, the Uganda sugar industry provided direct employment to over 20,000 and 50,000 direct and indirect employees respectively according to the National Sugar Policy 2010.
