Hoima tobacco farmers protest delay in payment

Oct 19, 2009

More than 5,000 farmers in Hoima district have protested the delay by a local firm, Continental Tobacco Uganda, to pay them. Sedrak Mwijakubi, the Bunyoro Tobacco Growers chairperson, said they were demanding over sh3b in debts from August.

By Pascal Kwesiga

More than 5,000 farmers in Hoima district have protested the delay by a local firm, Continental Tobacco Uganda, to pay them. Sedrak Mwijakubi, the Bunyoro Tobacco Growers chairperson, said they were demanding over sh3b in debts from August.

Continental Uganda and British American Tobacco get tobacco from farmers in the district on credit and pay them after selling the crop. Mwijakubi expressed fear that the firm could fail to pay them.

“We are worried because this has never happened. You cannot withhold poor farmers’ money for all this time.”

Mwijakubi noted that some of the farmer’s children had been sent away from school due to lack of fees. “I know of some children who are not going to write their final examinations because their parents have not cleared their fees,” he said.

“We do not have money to buy food for our families because we have not been paid.” Mwijakubi said they had petitioned the district leaders over their pay in vain.

He added that they would soon convene a meeting and ask President Yoweri Museveni to intervene in the matter. The Continental Uganda manager, Samuel Sumuni, said the farmers produced four million kilogrammes of tobacco contrary to the two million kilogrammes that the company had planned to buy.

“We are going to pay them and are not going to run away as has been claimed,” he said.

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