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The standoff between Kakira Sugar Works and its displeased sugarcane suppliers seems to be nearing an end, Daily Monitor has learnt. This follows last week’s resumption of cane supply to the company by the growers.
The cane outgrowers on Tuesday last week cut off supply of the crop to the sugar company, following reports that Madhvani Group of Companies, to claim over 500 acres of and surrounding its sugar plant in Jinja.
Madhvani owns Kakira Sugar Works (KSW).
“The growers have resumed supply of sugarcane. At least we have received 3,000 of the 4,000 tonnes of sugarcane we get from the outgrowers on a daily-basis,” the sugar plant’s Company Secretary, Mr Krishna Iyengar said over the weekend.
KSW, the biggest sugar producer in the country, crashes at least 7,000 tonnes of cane daily, 3,000 of which from its plantations and the remaining 4,000 from the outgrowers.
“For the past few days, we have been meeting
groups of outgrowers together with some local leaders and MPs to inform them that we have no intentions to grab anyone’s land. I believe they have understood that we are not displacing anyone as rumours have been going round,” Mr Iyengar said.
Meet MPs
The Madhvani officials on Thursday held a meeting with three legislators of the affected areas : Daudi Migereko (Butembe County), Fred Mbagadhi Nkaayi (Kagoma) and Meddie Mulumba (Luuka) to resolve the matter.
Mr Migereko, who is also the Government Chief Whip, said the misconception has been cleared.
“Rumours that land is to be grabbed are not true. We have discovered that Madhvani is only trying to open boundaries of the 500-acre piece of land at Kamigo, which he says he bought in 1938. We have asked him to negotiate with the people on his land if he wants to use it,” he said.
Misunderstandings between Madhvani and the growers came following media reports that the company was about to evict them from the land in Buyengo Sub-county, Jinja District. Mr Iyengar said the company has been opening its land boundaries in Nakalama in Iganga and Butamira among other areas in order to ascertain and negotiate with the bona fide tenants.