By Sophan Niwamanya
apearlnews.com
Byaruhanga Frank, the Western Uganda regional chairperson of Tea Nursery bed operators, has cautioned those in this business to stay away from politicians infiltrating their business, which causes havoc.
Addressing nursery bed operators in a meeting from the greater Mbarara and southwestern regions, Byaruhanga revealed that there are some self-seekers using the current issues affecting the operators to confuse the players in this business.
The purpose of the meeting was to give members a report on the progress of the assignments given to the leaders of this industry on the recovery of their money and get feedback from the members who never received their compensation from NAADS.
Frank expressed his dismay at members who have opted to seek public attention, accusing leaders of swindling their money and revealing that these are baseless claims because, as members, they agreed to contribute 30% of the money owed from NAADS to Pathways Advocates as legal fees to facilitate the case in court.
Speaking at the same event, Twine Deo, the chairperson of LC5 Buhweju district, asked farmers to be calm and the legal team to take its course. He said that money hates noise and asked members to sit in their respective districts, document everything, and submit it to the relevant offices. He added that people who are jeopardising their businesses are the invisibles in government. He tasked members with finding a policy that would guide their business.
The LC 5 Sheema district Jemimah Buhanda commended the Tea Nursery bed leaders for the zeal exhibited in exploiting all legal procedures to claim their money.
Col. (Rtd.) Sam Karogo, Operation Wealth Creation coordinator in Mbarara district, promised to support the farmers in claiming their money. He tasked the members to appreciate the 40% compensation as an economic loss.
He was not impressed by some government officials who worked behind the scenes to fight the coffee business.
One of the affected tea nursery bed operators, Muluri John Muyambi of Golden Empire from Mbarara, attributed the delayed compensation to the confusion between the tea nursery bed leaders and Pathways advocates lawyer Katabazi Patrick.
Turyabagyenyi Emmy Kateera, the Mbarara district resident district commissioner, asked the tea nursery operator leaders to be transparent if their business is to provide quality outputs.
