PRIMA

As plenary resumes tomorrow, legislators from the Joint Opposition Caucus have expressed their determination to continue advocating for the rejection of the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the sitting.

This was while they held a press briefing at parliament today.

Last month, a heated debate ensued at parliament during the discussion on proceedings to have the National Coffee (Amendment) Bill, 2024 read for the second time. However, after the registration of over 115 Ayes’ against the 77 Nays’ from the MPs, the plenary was ending sine die.

Following the pronouncement of resumption of the house tomorrow with the debate on the coffee bill for the second and third readings on the order paper, a joint opposition caucus meeting was held in which the MPs got to express their resolutions in a press briefing.

Leading the team, the Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi expressed readiness to put up a spirited Defence tomorrow during the debate on the coffee bill that seeks to rationalize Uganda Coffee Development Authority-UCDA to the MAAIF.

He also mentioned their determination to defend the economic empowerment of Uganda irrespective of the intimidation they may face, discouraging the diversion of talks on the bill to partisanship.

Basing his argument on recent information that President Yoweri Museveni is pushing for all NRM MPs to support the merging of UCDA with the Agriculture Ministry, Ssenyonyi passed a warning to the Executive to stop interfering with other arms of government, emphasizing that these need to work independently.

LOP went on to challenge the president to consider minimizing the cabinet and to stop broadening administrative units.

The MPs have also appealed to Ugandans to join in the fight for coffee’s agency.