Museveni: I feel embarrassed to discuss ‘UCDA nonsense’

The President says those opposed to rationalising UCDA are a disgrace to the country because it was a parasitic agency.

President Museveni has said he is very embarrassed over a section of people who were opposing the abolition of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).

During a televised national address last evening, Mr Museveni, who lined up some people who criticised UCDA, said it was too embarrassing for almost the entire country to concentrate on discussing the agency, which discussions he termed as nonsense.

“The groups that have been misinforming the public recently about the parasitic agencies that we are rationalising are a disgrace to the country,” he said.

Parliament on Wednesday passed the National Coffee Amendment Bill, 2024, after a morning scuffle that forced members opposed to the Bill led by the Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi to storm out of the House chambers.

Coffee Bill

The Bill dissolved UCDA and transferred its functions to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. Mr Museveni yesterday said: “I even feel embarrassed to be participating in the controversy. It’s embarrassing for people to be in nonsense and leave developmental issues.” 

“How could anybody who wants Uganda to grow spend even one week…let alone the seven years we have spent on this issue discussing an obvious issue? Supposing we had only coffee with our wonderful UCDA, how would our country survive? Because you hear coffee, coffee, coffee,” the President added. 

Mr Museveni also urged the public to think of how to make ends meet minus focusing on coffee. “With the population of 46 million, each person needs two calories per day, we would need 550,000 metric tonnes of wheat to feed ourselves, this would cost $380m per year. How about clothing, cement? Moreover Uganda is not like Japan, South Korea who use their skilled labour to manufacture cars,” he added. 

President Museveni said agencies like UCDA were formed to ensure implementation of specific projects as a temporary solution. 

“We had bigger problems at the time...These said agencies, Unra (Uganda National Roads Authority), UCDA, DDA (Dairy Development Authority), etc, were temporary measures that I accepted at the beginning of our government mainly because of the low pay for our public servants and their low enthusiasm and motivation for work,” he said. 

Farmers and coffee stakeholders Mr Museveni brought to State House castigated UCDA for doing nothing but harm to coffee farmers in the country from the time they were created.