By Chris Mugasha
BUSHENYI: Following the commitment by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to allocate over Sh312billion to stabilize the tea industry, a cross section of members of the business community have commended AlHajji Hassan Bassajjabalaba for having ably presented issues which led to the collapse of the tea industry.
The business community said Bassajjabalaba used his boldness, experience in business and exposure to convince the President that there are problems which needs government’s intervention to stabilize many businesses which have encountered challenges.
“Bassajjabalaba touched the real/core issues which have hampered our people in the tea industry leaving many people who have been depending on tea stranded,” said Pison Mugizi the President for Bushenyi/Ishaka Municipality Development Forum (MDF.)
“Bassajjabalaba presented issues which are cross-cutting. Like the issue of expensive electricity, it affects even the person who is using electricity only for lighting a bulb,” said Baker Nuwamanya an entrepreneur.
The President this week held a meeting with stakeholders in the tea industry and extensively discussed the different factors that have hampered the tea sector. The meeting that was attended by the Deputy speaker of parliament, Ministers, representatives of tea growers/farmers, tea processors and nursery bed operators took place at Bushenyi play grounds in Bushenyi district.
In his presentation, Bassajjabalaba who represented the processors said in countries like Kenya, government always comes in to stabilize the prices on top of extending fertilizers to farmers. “Apparently, the money we give to farmers can’t enable them to buy fertilizers and apply it in their gardens,” Bassajjabalaba said.
While petitioning government to intervene in the affairs of tea, Bassajjabalaba added that Rwanda and Kenya governments have gone an extra mile to negotiate with countries where tea is sold.
He informed president Museveni that Kenya and Rwanda went and negotiated with China for a taxi reduction (of about 30 %.) “For Uganda’s tea, we pay taxes 100% unlike our counterparts who pay about 70% of the taxes,” he disclosed.
Bassajjabalaba further explained to the president how the wars in some countries like Russia and Ukraine have greatly contributed to the collapse of Uganda’s tea. “Fertilizers became too expensive because of this war,” he said.
Bassajjabalaba however said alternative markets for tea are emerging in countries like Dubai, China, Slilanka, Italy, Spain.
“It has to be government to government negotiations and our tea will compete well if you negotiate for us,” Bassajjabalaba told the president.
Bassajjabalaba hits at UEDCL over power
The processors further decried the increasing production costs which they attributed to both expensive and unreliable electricity.
Bassajjabalaba said on top of power getting very expensive, it’s on and off on many occasions which he said it has forced factories to rely on generators. “During UMEME times, I used to spend about Sh100million on diesel every month to power generator to run the factory but now I spend Shs250million on diesel. Since UMEME left, I spend 10hours on generator,” he said.
Caption: A cross section of tea farmers, tea processors and nursery bed operators listening to the President on Tuesday at Bushenyi play grounds.
“Half of the money we spend on electricity can run a factory of the same size in Kenya,” he compared before appealing to the president to get a better power management plan. “When power is on and off, it tilts/affects quality,” he added
President Museveni responds
It’s at this moment where the President announced an injection of over Shs312billion into the tea industry and other interventions to stabilize the sector.
“We are going to make sure that we get a fund. We cannot fail to invest in something that is productive whereby you invest in money and get more money,” Museveni said as he assured the stakeholders in the tea industry.
Museveni said the funds will bail out the processors who will get an allocation of Shsh152billion, Sh46billion will go to subsidization of fertilizers for farmers while Sh112billion will be used to clear nursery bed operators who supplied tea seedlings to tea farmers on behalf of the government.
The president also announced a temporary taxi waiver on diesel for tea processing factories for some time. “Giving you a taxi free diesel is not bad economics,” Museveni argued.
He further directed the ministry of agriculture to expedite the process of drafting a policy to regulate the tea sector/industry.
Museveni further pledged to engage with the presidents of China and other countries to see how Uganda’s tea can be treated.
The stakeholders had said in countries like Kenya and Rwanda where governments have intervened in the tea sector especially regulation, their tea is fetching more money compared to Uganda’s tea which has been left in ‘lazy-fair state’. They said lack of regulation has left each player in the tea industry to do what he/she wants.
“Without regulation, we are not going anywhere with prices,” said Babu Muguzi a tea farmer from Buhweju district.
Daniel Nareeba the Buhweju district NRM secretary general reported that poor roads in the tea growing districts has left a negative impact on the quality of tea. “Tea is supposed to spend at least 3hours to reach the factory but in Buhweju and other area it delays on the road and sometimes sleep alongside the road due to impassable roads,” Nareeba said before he urged the president to give special allocations to these areas of tea growing.
Call for product diversification/value addition
The stakeholders also appealed to government to support the initiatives of value addition so that they can do a product diversification. “We are already making white tea, green tea, yellow tea, soap and perfume from our tea,” said Macklean Kyamutetera a member of Uganda Women in Tea association.
“There is more to it (tea) than what we are doing,” said the former Minister Prof.Tarsis Kabwegyere who is one of the leading tea growers in Bushenyi district.
Nursery bed operators
Dr Francis Runumi who represented the nursery bed operators from Kigezi region said since 2016 they have been demanding money from government in vain. He said about 7 tea factories have since been established in the Kigezi region. “We went to court but you advised us to sort our issues outside court which we did but since 2021 nothing has been done. Some of colleagues have since run into hiding while some have lost their properties to banks/SACCOs,” Runumi said.
“We have written and written letters complaining but we don’t know whether you have been seeing/receiving those letters,” wondered Ednah Nuwasasira a nursery bed operator from Mbarara district.
Although President Museveni agreed with the tea stakeholders on a number of issues, the President reiterated his position on tea as a low value enterprise in the fight against poverty and household incomes especially those with small pieces of land.
“Go and write to me whether tea is a high value crop or not. I want my people to be guided well,” Museveni said as he assigned Prof.Ephraim Kamuntu to coordinate the research.
Museveni told them that since 1996, he has been on the issue of sensitizing people on the business of both wealth and jobs creation. He said his emphasis has always been on the model where one can do enterprises like coffee, zero grazing, fruits, poultry and fish farming especially those with small pieces of land.
“We have been advising on both intensive and extensive agriculture to engage in high value enterprises. We have been advising on how one can use two acres to sustain a home/family,” the president said.
The president said land has continued to be a problem in the country with the ever increasing population. “A family with children on one acre of land or none remains a problem,” he said.
He re-emphasized the need to sensitize people to engage in enterprises that will give one money.
“You of 4acres don’t go for maize. Let the one with big land go in for maize after all we need it for food,” he noted hastening to add, “yes we need cotton to get clothes but how will you get out of poverty with sh1million got from cotton per year?”
He expressed his disappointment with people stressing that, “some of my messages fall on ‘barren soils while some fall on fertile grounds’. Some people fail to listen to our advice.”
He recalled that at some point while on a visit in Kigezi region he cautioned leaders not to involve his small land holders in tea growing but to leave tea to people with big chunks of land and with capacity.
“From the beginning, tea was seen as a low cash enterprise. Tea should have been grown by medium or large scale farmers,” he reiterated.
He also explained that one of the reasons why tea has been affected is because its demand globally is low compared to coffee which he said is highly needed internationally. “Globally, the production of tea is bigger than the demand,” Museveni said.
On the delays of payments, Museveni said part of the cause has been that money was injected in the Parish Development Model (PDM) whose intention is to have more Ugandans join the money economy. “We couldn’t leave the 68% of our population to remain outside and unattended to,” he explained. He said PDM has put a number of things like distribution of free coffee and tea seedlings to farmers on halt but said they will soon resume the programme.
Minister responds
The Minister for agriculture Frank Tumwebaze said they have already started on the process of drafting the tea policy and regulations saying it’s before the attorney general. He said it will be rolled out before the year ends. End.
