President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting value addition on Ugandan products rather than exporting raw materials.
While commissioning a new coffee processing factory in Rwashamaire Town Council, Ntungamo district on Thursday, December 29, 2022, the President who was accompanied by the First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni, was not happy with what he called the political actors who are fighting his idea of promoting value addition in the country starting with the coffee sector.
“I will not tolerate anybody who stands in my way of adding value to Ugandan coffee. When I bring an idea as Yoweri Museveni, I know what I’m doing and I will not allow anybody to divert me unless you want problems,” Gen Museveni said, sending a strong warning to politicians who seem not to see this.
“Leaders please, avoid politics in development. Let’s agree, if there’s something you have not understood, come and we sort it out quietly rather than making noise,” he added.
According to the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Hon Francis Mwebesa, the coffee processing facility by Aspire Africa Coffee is already adding value to coffee and in the pipeline, a range of over 20 coffee value addition products shall be produced in this park.
He said all these are intended to make Uganda a private sector-led economy based on cooperatives which are a strong power.
This according to the president, is part of the ways Uganda will achieve her economic and social transformation targets, a journey that started way back in 1986 when the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government came into power.
The President said that the NRM government has been striving since 1986 to build an economy, which is independent, integrated and self-sufficient. He appealed to coffee stakeholders to join this government effort.
“Before we came to power; we wrote a 10-point program. Point No.5 was about building an economy, which is independent, integrated and self-sufficient. We have managed to attract investors and also empower our local people to do business,” H.E Museveni said, adding that those taking unprocessed coffee are not only depriving Uganda of its wealth but also thousands of jobs.
The president reminded the gathering that in 1996 he invited a special cabinet meeting in Masaka to discuss adding value to coffee and other products at that time including cotton and was happy that the textile industry had begun yielding results.
He said there is no way Uganda and other African-producing countries can develop from their coffee when they are exporting it raw, adding that the only way for these countries is to develop a processing industry.
He linked the continued export of raw materials from Africa to the new slavery and said he cannot support it.
He made mention of the 12 billion Kawumu tannery facility he constructed in Luwero, which is now producing high-quality leather for both export and local use. “I constructed a tannery at Kawumu to stop importing leather from China. So, don’t waste time. We have everything we need like raw materials, manpower and the relevant infrastructure,” H.E Museveni said.
In her remarks, the First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni thanked the people of Ntungamo and Mr Tugume in particular for setting up such a state-of-the-art coffee factory in the region which is a step in the right direction to fighting poverty (Obworo).
“I want to thank you for the work you have done because it gives God the glory”, she said
The First Lady informed the guests that she had started growing both coffee and avocado and was happy to hear that our coffee and avocado have the best quality in Uganda. “Let us wake up and work to push poverty out of our homes”, she further said.
She also thanked the president for teaching the people how to eradicate poverty for the last 56 years and that we have started seeing the fruits of his hard work.
“Whenever God has strategically placed you, do your work well so that it speaks for itself. Let us make good use of the gifts that God has given us, like fertile soil, good weather and a favourable environment to work,” said Mrs Museveni
She called upon leaders to continue sensitizing the people to get involved in income-generating activities to increase their household incomes.
The Chief Executive Officer for Inspire Africa coffee Nelson Tugume, drew his inspiration to open up a coffee processing factory from an Ethiopian coffee shop in the USA where he bought 250gms of Ugandan coffee at $79, approximately Uganda shillings 292,300.
He commended the president for promoting value addition to coffee for Uganda to get what it deserves as one of the most coffee-producing countries in the world. The global coffee industry is worth more than US$400 billion.
Mr Tugume informed the President that a total of 50 cooperatives have come together under Ankole Rwenzori Kigezi Coffee Investment Consortium Uganda (ARKC) to promote value addition and determine their price on the global market, saying the people sitting behind the computers to determine the value of Ugandan coffee in UK and USA, none has ever owned one plant of coffee.
“Friends we should refuse that. We are not children of a lesser God. And I believe Africa is the time for us to see and know that we are on a journey that we can transform our lives and society,” Mr. Tugume said.
He asked the president to further support the coffee industrial hub, with stronger electricity and tarmac roads leading to the factory which the president agreed to work on.
Professor Victor Murinde, a financial economist at SOAS University of London and the Director of the Center for Global Finance, said the opening of the coffee processing hub in Ntungamo is one way of contributing to the transition of Uganda from low-income to middle-income and a way of recovering from the multiple shocks that the world economy has gone through.
“It has been emphasized before that coffee is the most sought commodity. The global population today stands at 98 billion people of which 30 to 40% of those consume coffee every day 65% of these in America. So basically, this is a fundamental change that is going to propel Uganda into a global economy,” Prof Victor said.
On engaging global investors, Prof Victor informed the President that he has reached out to one Sarah Taylor of Invest Africa who is committed to investing 60 billion pounds in coffee in Africa every year Uganda inclusive.
Uganda is the top coffee exporting country in Africa and its total coffee production represents about five per cent of the global production.
President Museveni and policy experts are convinced that the country could earn more money by processing all its coffee and either consuming it locally or selling processed coffee to the international market.
The President commended Mr Tugume for supporting his value-addition efforts and promised him all the support to realise his objectives. “We shall support you. What is more important is to start,” H.E Museveni said.
The Minister for Trade, industry and cooperatives Hon Francis Mwebesa commended Nelson Tugume for the passion he has for coffee and implored the president to use his expertise more.
“This young man should be appointed your special envoy on coffee because of his expressed passion and commitment to serving his country. He has marketed Ugandan coffee to the world and possibly this could be the right moment,” Minister Mwebesa said.
Odrek Rwabwogo, Special Presidential Advisor on Special Duties and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Export and Industrial Promotion said Uganda needs to borrow a leaf from Brazil which has invested so much in research, equipment, fertilizer application and empowering farmers.
The Ntungamo District LC.5 Chairperson, Samuel Mucunguzi Rwakigoba, said Ntungamo has the best quality agricultural products like coffee, banana and milk, and expressed the need to have Agro-Tourism in Ntungamo “to showcase what we can do”.
The launch was attended by among others members of parliament; Hon. Baata Kamateneti (Ntungamo Woman MP), Michael Kamugisha Timuzigu (Kajara County), Yona Musinguzi (Ntungamo Municipality), Hon. Henry Nkwasibwe Zinkuratire (Ruhaama County), Hon. Benjamin Kamukama Katangura (Ruhaama East County).
Others were; Coffee farmers from the region, Ntungamo-Kampala business community, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government Ben Kumumanya, the district leadership of Ntungamo, RDCS, and religious and opinion leaders.