SOROTI: Following the recent pronouncement by the head of state President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to Privatize the Teso Fruit Processing plant based in Soroti City has sparked reactions from various people of Teso including a section of legislators hailing from the region.
In September 2023, government started sourcing for a private entity that will take over the operations of Soroti Fruit Factory which produces Teso Juice (Teju) products.
It is noted that the decision to have the entity privatized was after a frustrating spell, which saw the factory failing to make profits despite continued investment through Uganda Development Cooperation (UDC).
The Soroti City Woman Member of Parliament Joan Alobo Acom and Soroti City West Division Mp Jonathan Ebwalu have tagged the decision as unfair failure of the NRM government.
The two Members of parliament have vowed to conduct a massive demonstration to protest the decision by the state to hand over the entity into private hands.
Speaking during the public consultative dialogue (Baraza) at Soroti independence grounds where thousands of people attended, the tough speaking Alobo said that Parliament had never discussed matters to do with privatizing of the Fruit Factory instead they are equally shocked with the state house decision.
Alobo questioned the decision by the executive noting that there will be no liberty for the Fruit farmers in the region whom government lowered to grow fruits.
“As members of the national assembly, we didn’t even in a single day discuss on any privatization plans for the fruit Factory, we were only bitter with the money that government officials embezzled from the factory right from its construction”, she said.
Adding, “That Factory is the only hope remaining for the people of Teso, and this we feel we needed government to release more funding to expand the factory and install machines that can absorb the Teso Oranges”.
However, the Mp Jonathan Ebwalu said that they are taking the issue to Parliament and want the Trade and Investment Minister to explain to the house how such a decision was arrived at with exclusion of Parliament.
“President Museveni should stop playing games with Iteso, he came here and pushed people to grow oranges because of that factory then later after his politics, he now wants to sell the factory”, he said.
Adding, “Museveni should be reminded that that factory is not his, but for the people of Uganda who are paying a huge loan after government borrowed money from the Japanese government”.
Soroti Fruit Factory is 80 percent owned by the government through UDC while the 20 percent shares are owned by the farmers through the Teso Tropical Fruit Growers Cooperative Union (TTFGCU)