The Masindi District Council has resolved to relocate roadside sugarcane weighbridges from farming communities to designated points along major highways, in a bid to curb cane theft and streamline the sugar supply chain.
The decision was reached during a council sitting chaired by District Speaker Moses Kiirya on Tuesday, following weeks of consultations involving government officials, security agencies and sugar industry stakeholders.
The resolution follows a February crackdown in which authorities shut down four roadside weighbridges — Katuugo, Rukondwa, Kihande and Mirya — in an operation backed by Police.
Investigations had linked some weighbridge operations to escalating cases of sugarcane theft in Masindi and neighbouring districts.
District Secretary for Production and Trade Geoffrey Bigabwa initially tabled a proposal to relocate the weighbridges to highway points leading to licensed sugar factories.
He argued that the move would align weighbridge operations with existing legal provisions governing the sugar industry.
During debate, workers’ representative Denis Tumwine introduced an amendment requiring that any relocation strictly comply with national sugar regulations and the Sugar Act.
“Honourable Speaker, let us move an amendment that the location of the weighbridges be in line with the Sugar Regulations and the Sugar Act,” Tumwine told councilors. “Our recommendations shouldn’t contravene them.”
Masindi District Chairperson Cosmas Byaruhanga backed the amendment, citing Section 26(2) of the Sugar Regulations, which provides that the weighing of sugarcane must be conducted at the licensed premises of a licensed operator.
“We don’t want someone to buy cane through a middle person and again sell it to the sugar company because a farmer loses a lot of money along this process,” Byaruhanga said. “Sugarcane should be sold directly to the miller from the farmer’s garden.”
Local leaders argued that the spread of roadside weighbridges had created opportunities for intermediaries to purchase cane cheaply from farmers and resell it to factories, often denying growers annual top-up payments paid by millers to contracted farmers.
John Kisarach, the Kyatiri Town Council representative, said removing middlemen was essential if farmers were to fully benefit from their produce.
“If a farmer is to benefit from sugarcane growing, middlemen at the weighbridges should be completely eliminated,” he said.
In addition to relocation, council approved a raft of measures aimed at tightening oversight of the sector. These include requiring vehicles transporting cane to clearly display the names of sugar companies, banning the use of motorcycles, three-wheelers and pickup trucks to transport sugarcane, and prohibiting the loading or offloading of cane along major roads.
The district also plans to establish a comprehensive database of sugarcane farmers and acreage, while mandating that cane from non-contracted farmers be accompanied by a letter from the Local Council I chairperson confirming its source.
The measures were prompted by mounting complaints from growers about theft. Zam Nsubuga, the district councilor representing Labongo Sub-county, told council she had personally lost harvested cane to thieves.
Government intervention intensified after police investigations pointed to possible links between certain weighbridge operations and illegal cane trade.
Earlier, State Minister for Trade Wilson Mbadi convened consultations with sugar millers and leaders of the Bunyoro Sugarcane Farmers Cooperative Union on February 17, but stakeholders failed to agree on suitable weighbridge locations.
The minister subsequently directed the Masindi Resident District Commissioner to convene district security meetings with millers and farmer representatives. Meetings held on February 24 and 26 recommended relocating weighbridges to Mijeera and Nakitoma in Nakasongola District or Kafu in Kimengo Sub-county in Masindi.
Council’s resolutions, together with the proposed sites, will now be submitted to the Ministry of Trade for guidance.
Speaker Kiirya said the district also intends to require sugar companies operating in Masindi to formally register with local authorities and disclose their farmer networks, plantation acreage and corporate social responsibility activities.
“We have resolved that all millers should have a working framework with the district,” Kiirya said. “Some companies simply come to collect raw materials and leave the district to deal with the consequences of the sugarcane business.”
He added that weighbridges should be established and operated strictly by licensed sugar companies in order to restore order and accountability in the sector.