What does Uganda gain?
he government initiates a policy which usually by the political leadership have competent advice and information regarding the matter. The government goes ahead and awards the contract or prepares to launch the project. The public, these days is suspicious of everything the government comes up with, raises
the alarm and protests the announcement.
The political opposition, the media and civil society weigh in on the matter, criticise the government and join the public in opposing the proposed project or investment. The government, usually led by the president, brushes aside the political and public outcry and goes ahead to award the contract, further reinforcing suspicions that there is something shady behind the proposed project. In all this, the facts never come to light and so the project goes down in history clouded forever with a tone of suspicion and bitterness. Sometimes, the government is right in its stance and sometimes the public is right.
The coffee contract is the latest episode of this. The government announced that a contract to process and market Uganda’s coffee internationally had been given to an Italian company, the Vinci Uganda Coffee Company. Parliament, alarmed at this and angry at not having been consulted, rejected the contract. Some high-ranking government officials, including some cabinet ministers, distanced themselves from it or expressed the fact that they had not been informed or consulted ahead of the awarding of the contract. Inevitably, it became an emotional topic and soon the facts got lost amid the bickering and posturing.
THE FACTS TO BEGIN WITH:
Coffee being Uganda’s most important export revenue earner is a fact that all sides would agree with. Uganda’s coffee should be processed and marketed internationally is also a fact beyond dispute. The government’s role to initiate or take the lead in matters of public policy or investment is also a fact.
