ARUA – Leaders of West Nile Cooperative Union say they will petition the Office of the President over Shs 9.7 billion that government has failed to compensate them.
The tobacco farmers’ cooperative union has been struggling for close to five years to recover debt from Continental Tobacco Limited, a Kenyan company that was licenced by the government to do business in the country.
The union leaders claim that in the year 2009, they signed a 10-year contract with Continental Tobacco Limited to supply tobacco but the company only paid a small fraction of the money agreed upon, after undergoing liquidation, leaving behind a debt of Shs 9.7bln.
Now the union plans to remind Museveni about the delayed compensation during his planned regional tour of West Nile next month where he will continue to spread his gospel of wealth creation.
The union manager, Moses Etukibo is optimistic that the President’s Office will listen to their plea just as they listened to farmers in Bunyoro who were compensated Shs 11bln by the government in the financial 2020/2021 after Continental Tobacco Limited also failed to pay them.
Etukibo said, “Government is responsible for conducting due diligence. The fact that this company [Continental Tobacco Limited] was granted operation license, we were legally allowed to trade with them. So the mistake was from the government.”
He added: “Verification was done by the government for the affected farmers both in West Nile Sub-region and Bunyoro, but only farmers in Bunyoro were paid. Through our leaders, we shall petition the president’s Office seeking also to be compensated.”
The chairman board of directors for the union, Christopher Adia, said they have finished drafting the petition awaiting for the president’s visit. “We have discussed with our political leaders about the possibility of the petition and the go-ahead has been granted. Since farmers in Bunyoro succeeded after meeting the president, this can also be our time to receive the compensation,” Adia noted.
Meanwhile, the district chairman of Pakwach, Sten Omito, who is also the vice chairman of West Nile District Chairpersons Association, called upon the local leaders to speak one language if the union is to succeed in its compensation bid. He added that the problem of electricity, poor roads, Pakwach bridge, among others, should also be brought to the president’s attention.
On his side, the Member of Parliament representing Terego West Constituency, James Leku, said that as leaders, they have raised the issue of the union compensation in parliament and approached relevant government offices all in vain. MP Leku is hopeful that the planned petition by the union will attract the attention of President Museveni.
“It is a challenge for us as leaders that this Union was not compensated but Bunyoro farmers were paid. The compensation has not even been considered in budget for the next financial year,” MP Leku said.
About 9,000 tobacco farmers have been affected by the delay by government to compensate the union for the loss incurred.
https://thecooperator.news/west-nile-cooperative-union-members-to-benefit-from-housing-project/
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