A man shows a branch of a coffee tree at the coffee cultivation field in Mbale, Uganda. While countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya stand out with their coffee production in eastern Africa, the contribution of Ugandan coffee, known as "natural coffee", to the country's economy has been increasing in recent years. (Photo by Gokhan Kavak/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Kickboxing, karate, punches left, right and centre in the Temple of Democracy and the Rule of Law.
The parliament of Uganda passed the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill 2024 but the government’s rationalisation programme simply exposed lost public trust in the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government even when it meant well.
This was most vividly evident during the attempt to merge the National Forestry Authority and the Uganda Coffee Development Authority.
Ugandans across the spectrum have, for a long time, been accusing the government of wasteful expenditures, duplication of work, impunity and lack of coordination.
It eventually succumbed to constructive criticism and dissenting voices and thus introduced government rationalisation, with the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) becoming a statistic.
The Ugandan government has decided to transfer UCDA duties to the ministry of agriculture, animal industry and fisheries, sparking nationwide reactions from different sections of society.
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority’s role included regulation, quality control and pricing policies, thus making it Uganda’s largest coffee exporter in Africa behind Ethiopia, earning Uganda $819 million and employing close to five million Ugandans in the coffee value chain with about 1.8 million households growing the crop.
The contributions of the coffee value chain to Uganda’s economic growth are equally shared with the National Coffee Research Institute in Kituuza in the Mukono district and the National Agriculture Research Organisation under the agriculture ministry.
My attention has been grabbed by the level of mistrust and distrust in the government by its own citizens, including parliamentarians, cultural leaders, elites and the people in the coffee growing region of Mount Elgon.
Despite the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill attracting the media’s attention and citizen’s interest, the most heated debate was during the attempt to merge the National Forestry Authority with the Uganda Coffee Development Authority.
Legislators across the spectrum unanimously agreed that they “cannot trust a monkey with sweet bananas” (the national forest reserves) and thus refused to transfer the roles of the National Forestry Authority to the ministry of water and environment.
These Ugandan MPs and citizens forgot that they were playing in the backyard of the NRM government — the National Forestry Authority is still part of the ministry of water and environment, with a budget allocation, board and executive director coming from the same water and environment ministerial administration.
According to Global Forest Watch, from 2002 to 2023 Uganda has lost 77.1kha of humid primary forest still under the supervision of National Forestry Authority, therefore deforestation is still continuing.
Massive encroachment on forest reserves has happened under the watch of the National Forestry Authority.
Whether we trust the National Forestry Authority and distrust the ministry of water and environment, deforestation is still continuing because Uganda is still under the Kyankwanzi patronage ideology.
The National Forestry Authority, unlike the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, survived the rationalisation exercise despite all efforts from economists such as Professor Ezra Suruma, a former minister of finance, planning and economic growth, and Buganda Kingdom officials to save it from being merged into the parent ministry of agriculture.
But the glaring distrust in the NRM government can’t be swept under the carpet.
The rationalisation comes against the backdrop of privatisation that left regrettable errors and economic setbacks.
For example, President Yoweri Museveni himself has publicly said he regretted the privatisation of the Uganda Commercial Bank, which happened despite him being advised against this by Suruma.
Such history and regrettable past has, over time, led to mistrust in the rationalisation exercise and other good interventions by the government.
Fortunately, unlike the Uganda Commercial Bank’s services being given to a private multinational company, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority’s services are still retained by the government.
The undertone and public statements by Buganda Kingdom officials, televised political talk shows, religious leaders, radio and print media reflect distrust in the government with the coffee income-generating commodity, but the truth is the Uganda Coffee Development Authority has been delivering for this same government.
The NRA 1986 Establishment — Museveni’s regime — is deeply entrenched in each and every cell of society and beyond borders.
The NRM government invests billions in religious leaders, sport, music and art to try to earn public trust.
The NRM government has made strides in some areas such as healthier bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relations, digitising some government services, holding regular elections, women empowerment, agriculture markets, improved road networks and hospital infrastructure.
But gross inequalities — the unfair distribution of government top jobs and opportunities, health care disparities, repression of political opponents and dissenting voices, unemployment and underemployment, militarising the elections and, most critically, the North Korea style of life presidency — have all contributed to loss of public trust.
A humble Ugandan can’t receive justice over the rich under the current judicial system, no matter the amount of credible evidence presented.
Parliament, the legislative arm of government, has deteriorated into a place of dubious deals that doesn’t care about the interests of Ugandans.
The executive continues to abuse the doctrine of separation of powers.
The industrial-scale corruption and gross impunity in government offices has skyrocketed the mistrust and distrust in the NRM government.
Social uplifting programmes such as Emyooga, a presidential on wealth and job creation, and the Parish Development Model, which was intended to increase household incomes and improve Ugandans’ quality of life, have been polarised into NRM political campaigning tools.
A government guided by the constitution is meant to serve all its citizens regardless of their political shades, gender, race, tribes, social status and religion and sexual orientation.
The reactions to the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill should mitigate and minimise distrust and mistrust in the government.
Sorting out the underlying causes of mistrust has the potential to unite the country and improve economic growth.
The effectiveness of government ombuds and tribunals in addressing grievances is equally paramount to lessen distrust and mistrust.
Transparency, accountability, equality and political tolerance are critical to minimising distrust.
Failure to serve all citizens equally destroys trust and may lead to disunity and civil unrest, ultimately escalating into political instability and further economic decline.
Robert Kigongo is a sustainable development analyst.