East African Gazette
Kampala
Banks and money lenders have sent notices to attach properties of Nursery Coffee farmers with arrears of over sh2.7bn.
According to Ugandan coffee farmers they are demanding sh 42b from the government in unpaid seedlings’ arrears, which they said is threatening their livelihoods and the coffee industry in general.
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Out of the 1,675 certified coffee nursery farmers, Banks and money lenders are demanding shs 2.7bn from a section of them.
The revelation is contained in a two paged petition attached with letters from the Banks and money lenders was addressed to the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among on Wednesday at Parliament.
Shortly after petitioning the Speaker, the farmers addressed the press in Nakasero, a city suburb.
Rungomu,Tindihunga and Ntare are some of the coffee farmers whom banks and loan shacks have notified to attach their properties to recover the monies.
Bank notifies Nursery Coffee farmers
In letters seen by The New Vision dated January 2nd 2024 signed by Centenary Bank, Bwaise branch addressed to Edward Rungomu a coffee nursery operator
A letter reads in parts, “We write to you in respect of the credit facility of sh 30m extended to you by the bank under the agreement dated 16th November,2022.
The letter reads “Take a notice unless you pay the said installments of sh 2,015m together with interests and late payment charges accrued within seven days, the bank will be constrained to recall the facility and recover the outstanding money by selling off your security tendered for facility comprised in Rubirizi cell Makenke division Mbarara city.”
Centenary Bank has also sent a notice to attach the property of another Nursery Coffee farmer Aggrey Tindihunga who borrowed sh30m on February 2nd 2022.
A letter addressed to Tindihunga reads, “Take a notice unless you pay the said installments of sh8.5m together with interests and late payment charges accrued within seven days, the bank will be constrained to recall the facility and recover the outstanding money by selling off your security tendered for facility comprised in Kibanja at Kacence West cell Kakiika ward Mbarara north division Mbarara city
Jamil Ntare another nursery Coffee farmer borrowed sh100m from money lenders to develop and grow coffee seedlings which he supplied to farmers in 2021.
Ntare who operates from Njeru division Buikwe district says undisclosed money lenders have sent a notice to attach my land and house in Buikwe district, the government has failed to pay me sh 150m in arrears owed to me by the government.
The petitioners under their umbrella body Devoted Coffee Farmers Initiative Uganda were led by Annet Kiiza a nursery operator in Kagadi district, who said the affected nurseries and suppliers delivered the seedlings worth sh15.97b between 2017 and 2021, and another batch of seedlings worth sh 26.03b in 2022.
Kiiza said the Ugandan coffee farmers are demanding sh 42b from the Government in unpaid seedlings’ arrears, which they said is threatening their livelihoods and the coffee industry in general.
According to Kiiza, some of the coffee seedlings distributed between 2017 and 2021 have remained unpaid for to date, which has resulted in untold suffering for 1,675 certified coffee nursery bed owners
William Kasibante, a coffee farmer said the delayed payment of arrears, has constrained the operations of the nursery bed owners.
“Our children and dependents are not going to school due to the inability to raise school fees. Bank loans have accumulated very high interest amounts as a result of default penalties and it
has become impossible to restructure them despite UCDA’s commitment to paying when funds become available,” he said.
The petition is copied to prime minister Robinah Nabbanja, minister of Finance Matia Kasaija, Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze and Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye Managing Director at Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
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(UCDA) responds
Laura Walusimbi UCDA corporate Communication Manager. Said, “We acknowledge that several coffee nursery operators are yet to receive payment for seedlings they supplied and we empathize with their situation.
Walusimbi said: “The total outstanding arrears amount to sh 49bn. She added as UCDA we are committed to prioritizing the payments as soon as funds are released by the government to settle domestic arrears.
Back ground
According to Kiiza the coffee seedling farmers also petitioned
the Speaker of Parliament on February 23, 2023, and their matter was referred to the House committee in charge of agriculture which had a meeting with the nursery bed owners from April 4 to 12, 2023.
The committee report recommended that the finance minister prioritizes the payment of sh 15.97b arrears to those who grow the coffee seedlings in the fourth quarter of financial year 2022/2023.
When the House debated and adopted the committee report on August 15, 2023, the Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development Henry
Musasizi, committed the Finance ministry to paying them using the domestic arrears vote.
However, to their dismay, in the supplementary expenditure request that Musasizi presented to Parliament in December 2023, the arrears were still not given priority, this confused the coffee Farmers.