In a bid to revamp Uganda’s sugar industry regulation, Parliament witnessed the introduction of the Sugar (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The proposed legislation sets the stage for the establishment of the Uganda Sugar Industry Stakeholder Council, aiming to replace and inherit the responsibilities of the Sugar Board created by the Sugar Act 2020.
The proposed Amendment seeks to rectify what he described as “erroneous” decisions, marking a pivotal moment in reshaping the governance framework of Uganda’s sugar industry
Minister of State for Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives (Industry), Hon. David Bahati, presented the bill for its first reading during the plenary sitting on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. The move comes after challenges in establishing the Sugar Board due to government policies on statutory bodies’ rationalization.
The Bill seeks to amend the Act by creating the sugar industry stakeholder council, composed of representatives from various stakeholders in the sugar industry. The council’s funding is proposed to come from a sugar levy imposed on millers.
Key features of the proposed council include a Chairperson, four representatives of sugar cane growers, four representatives of sugar cane millers, and representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture, Finance, and Trade. Notably, government representatives will not possess voting rights, according to the Bill.
“The government will only provide regulatory oversight over the activities of the Council through a few representatives on the Council and technical officers at the secretariat of the Council,” reads the Bill.
Additionally, the Bill aims to modify the formula for determining sugar cane prices sold to millers, aligning it with international norms. Speaker Anita Among referred the Bill to the Committee on Tourism, Trade, and Industry for further scrutiny.
This legislative move coincides with the House Committee on Tourism’s consideration of a petition from the Uganda Sugar Manufacturers Association, challenging the licensing of new millers and the legality of such licenses. The Ministry of Trade had issued licenses to five new millers across sugar cane-growing areas in the country despite the absence of the Sugar Board.
In a meeting with the Committee of Tourism on November 30, 2023, Deputy Attorney General Hon. Jackson Kafuuzi confirmed that licenses issued after the enactment of the Sugar Act were void.