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@observer Tue, 21 May 2024 06:37:58
Museveni to inspect Inspire Africa coffee park in Ntungamo
President Yoweri Museveni is today Tuesday, May 21 set to visit and check on the progress of a modern industrial coffee park in Rwashamaire town council, Ntungamo district where the government has already injected over Shs 37 billion.
The funds were allocated in FY 2023/24 through the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) secretariat after leaders from the African coffee-producing countries met in Kampala in August 2023 for the G-25 African Coffee Summit. Here, they agreed to push the value-addition agenda and end the export of raw coffee beans.
Since 2023, government has been investing in the coffee value addition chain through the Coffee Investment Consortium Uganda (CICU), to increase export revenue from coffee, create employment opportunities and increase the farm gate prices.
CICU is a pool that unites coffee stakeholders in Uganda to add value to coffee and to promote the export of value-added coffee from Uganda as a single source origin.
Construction works which started in October 2023 currently at 60 per cent and completion is set for December 2024. Constructions and installations of components for additional products like instant soluble coffee, ready-to-drink cold brew and cosmetics are being undertaken by local and international contractors under the supervision of government engineers led by the State House Engineering Unit.
Coffee is currently Uganda’s second-highest export earner after gold. Between May 2023 and April 2024, Uganda’s coffee exports fetched $1.02 billion, a seven per cent increase from the previous financial year.
CICU previously faced several challenges including lack of coordination, heavy indebtedness, and limited technical and financial support among others but according to the minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Monica Musenero Masanza, these challenges were successfully mitigated.
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observer.ug
@observer Mon, 20 May 2024 16:54:12
Masaka journalists file assault, damage claims against Bobi Wine bodyguards
Two female journalists from the greater Masaka sub-region have filed complaints of assault and damage to equipment against the bodyguards of National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine.
Zainabu Namusaazi, a reporter for Next Media Group, and Margret Kayondo, a correspondent for Radio Ssimba, have accused Kyagulanyi’s bodyguards of physically assaulting them and damaging their equipment while they were on duty in Mmanja village, Kisekka sub-county, Lwengo district, on Saturday.
The incident occurred during the burial of UK-based businessman Pascal Ssekasamba, where tensions flared between NUP leaders and supporters. Namusaazi reported that the guards, led by Achilles Kivumbi, attacked them and destroyed a video camera and a cell phone.
She stated that the guards instructed journalists not to document a confrontation where Kimanya-Kabonera MP Abed Bwanika criticized Kyagulanyi for allegedly sponsoring attacks against party members who disagreed with his leadership.
Namusaazi recounted that Kivumbi ordered his colleagues to seize Bwanika’s microphone, sparking a scuffle that journalists aimed to capture. The guards, some disguised in black masks, then pursued and assaulted the journalists, damaging their equipment. Namusaazi has filed a case against Kivumbi, seeking accountability for the attack.
Margret Kayondo detailed how she was beaten by a group of NUP bouncers clad in red overalls, who accused her of filming the events without an invitation.
She sustained physical injuries, and her smartphone was smashed in the scuffle. Onlookers who recognized her as a journalist intervened to save her. Both journalists recorded their statements at Kiwangala Police Station to initiate an investigation.
Twaha Kasirye, the Greater Masaka Regional police spokesperson, confirmed that the cases had been registered and that investigation teams would summon the suspects for questioning. The police will formally request the NUP leadership to present the suspects to ensure they are held accountable for their actions.
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