Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi during the plenary session at Parliament on October 23, 2024. PHOTO/DAVID LUBOWA
Drama unfolded in Parliament yesterday as Speaker Anita Among was forced to suspend the debate on the National Coffee Amendment Bill, 2024, following strong objections from Opposition lawmakers.
The Opposition, led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Joel Ssenyonyi challenged the Speaker’s decision to push forward with the Bill’s debate.
Tensions rose after Government Chief Whip Hamson Dennis Obua moved a motion compelling the House to debate three reports regarding the Bill. Speaker Among posed the question and ruled in favour of the debate proceeding, sparking protests from Opposition members.
"I just want to bring it to your attention [that] more than 40 of us have stood to challenge your decision. It is provided for in the rules that your decision is actually challengeable," Mr Ssenyonyi told Ms Among.
His plea yielded nothing, as Ms Among insisted that the Bill be debated. "Let's exhaust the debate on this report. Let's have a debate, then we come back and then conclude everything tomorrow," she said.
In objection, LoP Ssenyonyi and his team stood their ground and declined to sit as Speaker Among requested.
"Just to give you assurance, these members are not standing up because they are defying you. We are standing up in pursuit of the [Parliament] rules [of procedure] which provide for a modus operandi on how a decision or ruling of the Speaker can be challenged. So it is not indiscipline for members to stand," Mr Ssenyonyi told Ms Among.
Without responding to Mr Ssenyonyi's plea, Ms Among said "I want to tell you that we will have the second reading tomorrow, first thing in the morning."
Mr Ssenyonyi and his colleagues remained standing and demanding for audience from Speaker Among. She eventually pushed the consideration of the Bill to today at 10am.
As a result, she called for the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Local Government Gilbert Olanya to table his committee report of the auditor general 2022/2023 on 37 district local governments, three cities, six divisions and 10 municipal councils.
Inside UCDA committee report
The dispute came after three reports from the House Committee on Agriculture were tabled for consideration. The first, a majority report presented by committee chairperson Linda Agnes Auma, recommended that the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) be transitioned back under the Ministry of Agriculture over a three-year period to allow the ministry to build capacity.
“The Committee is of the view that the mandate of UCDA, being a growing concern is better served by the agency model in the interim as the ministry builds capacity to seamlessly take over the mandate of UCDA,” Ms Auma told Parliament.
However, two minority reports fiercely opposed the government’s plan to merge the UCDA with the Ministry of Agriculture.
They were presented by Mr Abed Bwanika and Hoima City Woman MP Asinansi Nyakato. Ms Nyakato argued that merging the UCDA with the ministry would harm Uganda’s coffee sector, emphasising the need for a specialised coffee agency.
She pointed out that successful coffee nations like Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia have retained independent coffee agencies.
“Certification and accreditation requires a very rigorous process of building systems, personnel and continuous inspections by the accrediting bodies. And because the markets have become more selective with the requirement of traceability, UCDA is a recognised body that can implement this commitment,” Ms Nyakato said.
Her position was supported by Ms Stalla Isodo (Ngora Woman MP), Mr Charles Matovu (Busiro South), Ms Betty Aol (Gulu Woman MP) and Ms Florence Kabugho (Kasese Woman MP).
In the second minority report, the Kimanya-Kabonera legislator rejected the plan to abolish UCDA and only conditioned that if the plan is to be effected, a five-year transition be allowed for UCDA to be absorbed into Ministry of Agriculture.
“It takes five to10 years, for any system to be accredited internationally and accreditation involves pre-accreditation, desk review, on-site survey, and accreditation decisions. The moment we tamper with UCDA, we are going to lose this accreditation,” Mr Bwanika told Parliament.
Mr Bwanika stated that ministry is choked by inefficiencies that would hurt the country's coffee business.
“The Ministry of Agriculture in its current form lacks capabilities, systems and structure to handle coffee quality regulations and the stringent trade requirements for the markets in the coffee trade. Ministry doesn’t have that capacity now,” Mr Bwanika said.
