Africa-Press – Uganda. The establishment of Kabarole Agro-Industrial Park continues to hang in balance four years after its commissioning under the auspices of the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) programme.
Monitor has established that Kabarole District local government and the National Agricultural Research Organisation’s Rwebitaba Zonal Agricultural Research Development Institute (ZARDI) are locked in a standoff. At the centre of the dispute is the land where the industrial park is supposed to be established.
The industrial park construction was supposed to be erected on 100 acres, a stone’s throw away from Rwebitaba ZARDI headquarters.
The industrial park was to be implemented under the agri-led programme for the Rwenzori region, with the purpose of adding value to farmers’ produce such as bananas, dairy, coffee, tea, milk, cocoa, among others.
“The land here at ZARDI belongs to Naro, which it acquired in 2011, because our Director General for Naro requested for this piece of land from the Ministry of Agriculture and the minister then—Mr Tress Bucyanayandi—gave it to them on November 30, 2011,” Mr Rabooni Tumuhimbise, the director of Research at Rwebitaba ZARDI, said.
Established in the 1960s by the Indian community as East African Tea Research Institute, Rwebitaba Institute was taken over by the government following President Amin’s expulsion of Asians in 1972. While it was initially purposed for tea produce from Kyenjojo District, the institute harbours plans of expanding into different agricultural enterprises such as animals, fisheries and forestry.
READ: Farmers hopeful as Kabarole starts agro industrial park
Mr Tumuhimbise says the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro) was given the land in question on condition that it “allow[ed, among others,] Kabarole District local government to use 100 acres … for development of agriculture industrial park.”
A memorandum of understanding capturing these conditionalities was, however, never signed by Naro as per Mr Tumuhimbise. He adds that 200 of 502 acres of land in question is in wetland. To compound matters, the Rwebitaba ZARDI top official alleges that Mountains of Moon University (MMU) grabbed 200 acres of the land for establishment of dairy research.
“Kabarole District and MMU went ahead to start processing the land titles without our knowledge,” he said, adding: “When we learnt of it, we had to stop them and we took them to court last year and the two parties had never filed any defence … we are waiting for the ruling anytime.”
Mr Tumuhimbise said construction of the industrial park has been stalled by Kabarole District’s failure to sign an MoU with Naro. He revealed that they have been left with little choice but to sign an MoU with Uganda Investment Authority (UIA). This, he believes, will unlock the puzzle around establishment of the industrial park.
“We are not against the industrial park, but we are asking who owns land here. The land belongs to Naro not Kabarole and if an industrial park is to happen now, it should be between Naro and Uganda Investment Authority,” he said.
Mr Richard Rwabuhinga, the Kabarole District chairperson, however, believes that “the land at Rwebitaba belonged to Kabarole District.” He also told Monitor that the district’s leadership previously petitioned “President Museveni to intervene in the matter.”
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