Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) Uganda has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with REHORE, a local NGO that will see over 10,000 women refugees in Bidi bidi, Kiryandongo and Nakivale camps empowered for improved livelihoods.

Through this programme, REHORE will identify women refugees in the three camps who will be beneficiaries of a skilling programme using locally available resources in addition to retailing Coca-Cola products and establishing plastic collection initiatives in the camps.

The activities will include bee keeping, backyard gardening, echo bag production, candle making,  hair and beauty skills, catering, sewing and tailoring, soap making, colouring and painting as well as art and craft.

“Women around the world are already pillars of our business system and as part of our Women Economic Empowerment Program; we shall this time round empower refugees in camps in partnership with REHORE which will be the NGO that will actually do the day to day running of the project in the camps. By doing this, we affirm our need to build both our business and the communities in which we operate,” said Conrad Van Niekerk, Managing Director, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Uganda.

This initiative is one of the several that Century Bottling Company in Uganda has embarked on under the Global 5 by 20 Coca-Cola pronouncement over the years.

5by20 is the Coca-Cola Company’s global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs across the company’s value chain by the year 2020.

“In Uganda, running successful businesses is mainly a male domain. Through 5by20, we address the most common barriers women face when doing business which include lack of basic business skills, financial services or assets, and lack of access to peer networks and mentorship,” Van Niekerk noted.

“This initiative offers women access to business skills training, linkages to financial services and connections with peers and mentors, along with the confidence that comes along with building a successful business. I am glad that we are able to support women through this initiative and our value chain,” Van Niekerk added.

On his part REHORE founder Joseph Rwamihigo, expressed optimism with the Coca Cola partnership, said it would make an important contribution towards realization of the government Vision 2020.

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The conversion of Malaba into a One Stop Border Post OSBP has resulted into substantial time saving for cargo processing from 24 hours to four hours only, leading into cost savings amounting to more than US$70m per annum.

According to a new report, the development at Malaba and other border posts that were turned into OSBPs in East Africa has been driven by improved information exchange and working environment for border officials and improved safety and security for border traffic.

Further, the report indicates that twelve out of fifteen OSBPs earmarked years ago for development in East African Community (EAC) have been completed, 10 of them operational and cutting the cost of doing business in the region.

The 12 OSBPs, representing 80 per cent completion are: Gasenyi/Nemba, Ruhwa, Rusumo, Lunga Lunga/Horohoro, Holili/Taveta, Kagitumba/Mirama Hills, Mutukula, Kabanga/Kobero and Malaba. Others are Isebania/Sirari, Busia and Namanga.

The construction for Katuna/Gatuna OSBP is ongoing, and the report further indicates that efforts are underway to embark on phase two for additional OSBPs with the EAC and with the neighbouring non-EAC regional economic blocs (RECs).

Also, the report indicates several instruments and frameworks have been prepared to support the OBSPs and that these include the East African One Stop Border Posts Act 2016; The East African One Stop Border Post Regulations 2017.

The EAC OSBP Procedures Manual, the OSBP Performance Measurement Guide; the OSBP training curriculum and OSBP Source Book are all under preparation.

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The Auditor General John Muwanga has said that about Shs100 billion could be lost through a tea seed distribution exercise carried out in the financial year 2013-2014.

In an audit that focused on the preparation and distribution of tea seedlings and farm management practices of farmers in the five districts of Kisoro, Kanungu, Kabale, Buhweju and Kabarole, the AG, among other anomalies, said the land topography was inappropriate for tea growing and would lead to the multi-billion loss.

‘According to best agronomical practices, the recommended slope should range between 10 to 20% and slope below 10% risks heavy water logging while any slope above 20% risks severe loss of soil by erosion which is detrimental to the proper growth of tea seedlings,’ the AG wrote in his audit report of 2017.

He said that the issue of topography was not considered at all in selecting sites for tea growing, adding that at the 94 farms visited in the five districts, it was established that the gradient was too steep in some areas whereas some farms were located in deep swamps that were prone to water logging.

‘There appears not to have taken technical consideration in the growing of tea in the region which is likely to affect the success of the programme which could lead to a substantial loss of investment in excess of UGX.100Bn so far invested into the programme since 2013/14 to-date,’ the AG notes.

He added: ‘It was as well noted that the gradient slope of the sampled farms ranged from 2.53% to 78.38% which indicated that some farms had a gradient exceeding 20% which in this case was not suitable for tea growing.’

Further, according to the AG: ‘Out of a sample of 94 farms, 53 farms (representing 56%) exceed 20% acceptable gradient while 19 farms (representing 20%) were located in low lying areas that were prone to water logging (below 10% gradient). 22 farms (representing 24%) were in the acceptable range’.

In the report the AG recommends that there should be training and supervision of the new extension workers to ensure that in future the tea seedlings are planted on suitable slopes and terrain for proper growth.

The AG also discovered that there was unaccounted for acreage and seedlings, after reviewing the supply of tea seedlings vis-a-vis the acreage planted.

It was discovered, he said, that a total estimated acreage of the 64 farms sampled was 937.517 acres in the five districts although the measured acreage of these farms was 473.581acres, resulting into additional acreage of 463.936 acres that could not be traced.

Further, he noted that 4,440,507 seedlings were supplied instead of the recommended 2,369,333 seedlings resulting into excess supply of 2,071,174 seedlings valued at Shs932 million at a market rate of Shs450 per seedling.

The AG further noted that 27,000 seedlings supplied to Bukinda Seminary and Bukinda Parish, could not be traced to particular tea farmers in Kabale District.

“There was no proper mechanism to verify the acreage prior to supply of seedlings which is a risk that seedlings were supplied to non-existent farms,” he noted.

“Management is advised establish a mechanism of verifying actual acreage of land prior to distribution of the tea seedlings, he says.

According to the report, this should be a basis for determination of number of seedlings supplied to the farmers and paid to the suppliers.

Meanwhile, it was noted that NAADS paid UGX.1, 402,483,859 to two lead agencies in the Districts of Kisoro and Kanungu to provide extension services to farmers, including among others land preparation, planting of tea seedlings, weeding and pruning and water control, harvesting and transporting tea leaves.

However, the AG’s report indicates that all the farmers interviewed indicated that no extension services were provided during the planning period.

The report noted that because of inadequate extension services, the quality of planting materials greatly deteriorated at the time of planting due to poor handling and long distances of transportation of tea seedlings in Buwheju, Kanungu and Kabale Districts.

In most cases the nurseries were very far from the farms where the materials were to be planted leading to delays in delivery of seeds.

‘There is need for the programme to review its approach to providing extension services with a view to targeting the single spine programme under MAAIF which is aimed at providing extension services to the country,’ the AG noted.

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