Parliament Orders Vinci Coffee Deal Terminated

Parliament has directed the Executive to terminate an agreement it signed recently with Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited.

The House on Wednesday evening adopted the report of the Trade Committee on the coffee with all the amendments proposed by the MPs.

The Legislative Arm of Government has described the agreement as illegal and demanded that ”officials who committed Government to such illegalities should be penalized as a deterrent to 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 eight hours deliberating on the matter after Mbarara City South MP, Mwine Mpaka, the Chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Trade presented the 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, adding that “Upon termination, Government should regularise its relationship with Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited through proper due diligence, due process and proper stakeholder consultation before any further business can proceed. Thus, initiating fresh negotiations.”

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 the coffee requirements of the agreement represent approximately 15% of the total coffee production and 100% of the premium coffee beans.

Mpaka’s committee further recommended that government should consider extending appropriate incentives to “the already existing 47 local companies that are doing value addition.”

The Committee concluded that Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka failed to carry out appropriate legal due diligence in the exercise of his statutory functions under article 119 (4) (b) of the Constitution to draw, peruse through and approve the agreement.

In response, Attorney General Kiwanuka said: “We shall take the recommendations and review them and report back to Parliament as required on the actions in respect to the report.”

Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among dismissed allegations that the presiding officers at Parliament were compromised to delay the consideration of the report of the Committee on Trade, Tourism and industry on the Coffee Deal between the GOU and Vinci Coffee Company.