The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives has held a meeting led by the State Minister of Trade with sugarcane stakeholders from Bunyoro region to mitigate a crisis following the removal of a privately owned road-side weighbridges and the rampant sugarcane theft in the in Masindi district.
In the implementation of a directive given by the Minister of Internal Affairs Kahinda Otafiire, police removed all the roadside weighbridges in Masindi, following a complaint from Kinyara Sugar Works that these weighbridges facilitated sugarcane theft and poaching. Kinyara wanted only the weighbridges at the sugarcane factories maintained.
However, the operators of the roadside weigbridges – mainly the private sugarcane farmers raised a complaint saying these weighbridges facilitated transparency, enabling farmers to weigh their cane before delivering it to the factories for crashing.
In his remarks, the State Minister of Trade Wilson Mbadi cautioned the sugar industry players , ” Please desist from the bickering and quarrelling but instead work towards harmonious co-existence in the sugarcane business and put in place systems for managing the weighbridges., said Wilson Mbadi.
The meeting was attended by Kinyara Sugar Works and Victoria Sugar based in Luwero but buys cane from Masindi, the two sugarcane farmers Cooperatives – Bunyoro Sugarcane Farmers Cooperative Union and Masindi Sugarcane Growers Cooperative, the leadership of Masindi District led by the District Chairperson Cosmas Byaruhanga, the RDC Masindi, Darius Nandinda, and the RCC of Hoima City, Baru Mugabi. In attendance was the Chairperson of the National Sugarcane Stakeholders Council and Executive Director of Kinyara Sugar Works Rajbir Singh Rai, and officials of the Ministry of Trade.
The meeting resolved that the privately owned weighbridges will be reinstated to facilitate non contracted farmers to get market for their sugarcane, stakeholders agreed will operate strictly as weighing points with no buying or selling of Sugarcane allowed at sites, stakeholders agreed to introduce traceability measures across the value chain including branding and identification of trucks transporting sugarcane. The facilities will also be relocated away from active sugarcane trading stores to reduce opportunity of theft and illegal transaction and new locations will be identified through a consultative process involving all stakeholders led by Masindi Resident District Commissioner, Darius Nandinda.
“We welcome the dialogue chaired by the Trade Minister to resolve the controversy of rampant sugarcane theft that has been fueled by Weighbridges, said Francis Mugerwa the Public Relations Officer of Kinyara Sugar.
Gen. Mbadi tasked the stakeholders in Masindi to agree amongst themselves on the suitable locations of the privately owned weighbridges, preferably away from the nucleus estates of Kinyara Sugar Works and their outgrowers, before they are reinstated.
Authorities said the outcome of engagement between the Ministry of Trade and Sugarcane stakeholders will make it easier to track the origin of consignments and detect suspicious deliveries.