Kadaga promises expeditious Sugar Act implementation

Oct 18, 2020

Kadaga said a board of directors ought to be appointed, as per the law, which, among other items in the new Act, will require funding for adequate implementation.

PARLIAMENT|SUGAR ACT|KADAGA

MASINDI - The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has committed to follow up funding for the implementation of the Sugar Act 2020, which President Yoweri Museveni assented into law in April.

According to the Speaker, a board of directors ought to be appointed, as per the law, which, among other items in the new Act, will require funding for adequate implementation.

"We are going to ensure that during this budget cycle, we make a provision for money to appoint a board and also start other activities," Kadaga said.

She made the remarks this week, during a visit to Smart Start Industries (EA) Ltd in Masindi district, which processes sugarcane to make spirit related products.

Kadaga was accompanied by the Kyabazinga, William Wilberforce Kadhumbula Gabula Nadiope IV, in a bid to bolster trade relations between Busoga and Bunyoro sub-region.

She also highlighted the need to widen the market for Uganda's sugarcane and sugar products outside the East African region and also remove tariff barriers to tap into, among other markets, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Value addition 

"We need to promote value-addition to our sugarcane and also look into other by-products so that we can enter the market without raw products, but rather processed goods," Kadaga added.

She expressed optimism with the new opportunity presented by the relations between Bunyoro and Busoga in regard to trade in the sugarcane industry, alluding to the removal of zoning by the new Sugar Act 2020.

The Speaker added that Parliament would support the energy ministry to come up with regulations to promote the use of bio-fuel in Uganda, which would in turn promote environmental conservation.

Sugar Cane-Bill 

Masindi Woman MP Jalia Bintu commended the Speaker for advocating for sugarcane farmers through parliamentary legislation, especially through the new Sugar law. She also called for further legislation to promote the crop.

"Madam Speaker, we need a Sugarcane Bill that will regulate the crop, just like we have the Coffee Act and the Tea Act. The seed for sugarcane is brought in from countries such as Tanzania and this needs to change," Jalia Bintu said.

The proprietors of Smart Start Industries (EA) Ltd, David Byensi and his wife, commended Parliament, through the leadership of the Speaker, for removing zoning through the Sugar Act, which has enabled sugarcane farmers to sell their crop across the country.

He observed that his factory can adequately add value to sugarcane through processing it to manufacture other by-products, such as spirits for commercial and industrial use.

"We intend to produce ethanol to power Uganda's engines, given that it is also used in manufacturing fuel. We have a spirit plant and we plan to procure a processor to be used in biofuel manufacture," Byensi said.

He also urged the Government to support the Uganda Development Bank (UDB), which would provide affordable loans to local investors to boost the industrial sector.

At the event, the Speaker and the Kyabazinga planted trees at the industrial property to promote the national call for environmental conservation.

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