sugar |
Instead, the House wants government to explain clear strategies employed to end the problem.
"I don't know
whether you know how much pleasure our people have when they take
sugar," said Rebecca Kadaga, the Speaker of Parliament in Kampala last
week.
Earlier,
government, in a statement tabled by Mr Michael Werikhe, the minister of
State for Industry, had indicated to Parliament that sugar prices would
be maintained at Shs5,000 to strike a balance between traders and
consumers' interests.
Mr Werikhe also
said sugar prices had dropped from Shs8,500 to Shs5,000, but the Speaker
said Shs5,000 is still too high for Ugandans upcountry.
She demanded that the price be revised downward to make it more affordable for ordinary Ugandans.
"We want a strategy for pulling down the prices of sugar," Ms Kadaga demanded.
Mr Werikhe
indicated in the statement that the rise in prices of sugar between
November 2016 and May 2017 had been caused by a number of factors,
mainly prolonged drought stretching for more than nine months.
The minister also said the problem was worsened by regional factors, hinged on the forces of demand and supply.
"There was
increasing demand caused by a gap of over 300,000 metric tonnes and
40,000 metric tonnes in Kenya and Rwanda, respectively," he said.
To mitigate the
situation, Mr Werikhe said government has urged the millers to ensure
that the factories maintain normal production while giving priority to
local markets for sustainable supply levels.
The minister also
said the ministry of Trade will monitor sugar supply stocks from
millers, distributors and retailers to ensure that the retail price of
sugar does not exceed the target price.
Meanwhile, Ms
Winnie Kiiza, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, questioned the
undertaking, citing the existing economic policy and trade regulations.
"How will you fix
prices in a free market economy?" She asked, adding: "As you do your
negotiations, pay attention to how you are going to do this in line with
the forces of demand and supply."
Ms Kiiza also asked
the minister to explain why sugar bought from DR Congo costs Shs3,000
yet the Congolese traders buy the sugar from Uganda.
Other lawmakers
including Cecilia Ogwal (FDC-Dokolo) and Francis Zaake (Ind-Mityana
Municipality) blamed government for watching on as traders hoard sugar.
Mr Werikhe,
however, said there were elements of traders involved in hoarding, but
promised that government would take action and curtail price
fluctuations.
Government has been
given up to Tuesday (tomorrow) to come up with a comprehensive report
on sugar, which should include a clear strategy to further trim the
prices.
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