President Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni has described investors such as Enrica Pinetti of Uganda Vinci Coffee Company Limited (UVCCL) as saviors who nobody should touch.
Pinetti and UVCCL have been in the spotlight after Parliament ordered government to cancel an agreement they had signed with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED).
President Museveni has now defended Pinetti, saying those that have been attacking her are enemies of efforts aimed at adding value to Ugandan coffee. The president also vehemently explained why it does not make economic sense to keep exporting raw materials.
“Therefore, those attacking that project, are supporters of okukenenula, (ekyejwiiso) of Africa – perpetual bleeding. If they were not, they would have responded to our call of 1986 and after, to come forward and add value to coffee and seek government assistance. Instead of attacking the saviour (oyo anataasa), if you are genuine, join the liberation effort,” the president said on June 07.
“It is criminal for anybody to continue arguing for the continued export of raw-materials in Africa when there is 90% more value in that product that you are giving to outsiders.”
The president went on to argue that exportation of raw materials was a way of supporting the exploitation of Africa, and that this was responsible for poverty and low economic growth as well as underdevelopment in Africa.
“Exporters of unprocessed raw-materials, where it is economic to add value, are exploiters. When we de-hust, roast, grind and pack here, Uganda will get more dollars and we shall also pay higher prices to our farmers. The farmers are now cheated because the biggest beneficiaries from our coffee are the external roaster, grinders and packers of coffee. The story about blending etc. is nonsense. That blending etc. is nonsense. That blending can be done here. We have both Robusta and Arabica. In any case, I hear that our good robusta is used to blend inferior coffees from other areas, but in Europe,” argued Museveni.
“It is this centuries-old haemorrhage that the Hon. Abed Bwanika was so passionately supporting here some weeks ago. It is this haemorrhage that the NRM opposed from the beginning in the point 5 of the NRM’s 10 points programme already referred to. We oppose this haemorrhage in all the raw-materials: milk, cotton, skins and hides, timber, iron ore (obutare), copper (ekikomo), gold, tin, lithium, wolfram, petroleum, etc. It is this haemorrhage that is responsible for the stagnation of Africa.”
Meanwhile, Museveni has also made a shocking revelation about the powerful person behind Enrica Pinetti, the controversial Italian coffee investor who knew nothing about coffee but signed a multi-billion deal with government to add value to coffee. (Read Story Here).
READ: Deputy Speaker Confirms Trashed Coffee Deal Going Nowhere; Museveni to Make A Few Changes
