Some of you who took time out of your precious schedules to read my earlier thoughts on Orange growing in Uganda must be wondering if writing and highlighting anything in Uganda matters anymore. In fact, one friend and reader asked me whether it is of any benefit to be writing when there is nobody interested in listening to what is being written about.
Well, the truth is, it hurts and disappoints but I do still think that for the sake of posterity, it is still worth writing. Because I do take every effort to do good research on whatever I share my thoughts about, I strongly believe that over time I will be vindicated.
Well, as it has been reported in the media already and quoting the Minister for Teso, the government has already secured a private investor who is willing to take over the struggling Soroti Fruit Factory.
However, what the Minister fell short of telling the wananchi is that this investor happens to be the former first lady of Ethiopia.
Also what wasn't revealed but is already known in the Ministry of Trade and Industry and that of Agriculture is that the investor is not going to be injecting in her money, but instead it is the government of Uganda required to put in the required additional investment.
What this means is that, the investor will be taking over the factory as the new owner but who won't be required to put in any capital. Is this a buy out, a donation, a lease or simply a factory offloaded?
However, when looked at closely, in essence, the investor is going to be a contract manager who will be managing her own factory in which the government of Uganda will be committing tax payers money.
Well, we can put that arrangement aside because the way things are the Factory needs an urgent bailout if the initial government investment is going to yield anything in our desire for value addition and agro processing in the country.
The big question however continues to be if there has been a proper evaluation and genuine scrutiny of the reasons why the factory has faced the problems it faces.
As I did try to submit in previous thoughts, one of the major reasons why the Soroti Fruit Factory is struggling is the fact there was no prior proper study on the correct type of oranges to be promoted to sustain the factory.
It is therefore doubtful if change of ownership or management of the factory will change the fate of the factory.
It is high time that the truth be told that there is a need to address the issue of management but even more-so the issue of the type of the oranges grown for the factory must be addressed.
It had been a very good plausible initiative by H.E, the President to put a lot of effort in promoting orange growing in the Teso and other areas of Eastern Uganda under the Zonal Homestead Income program which was implemented under the ONC and NAADS.
However, it is probably now the right time for these agencies to start the promotion of growing the correct type of oranges. By doing this, we shall not have solved the issue of supply of correct input for the factory, but we shall be able to scale higher as an orange exporting country which will enable us to tap into the present lucrative orange market in the Gulf States and in Europe.