Buganda Kingdom has thrown its weight in support of the controversial proposed sugarcane growing projects in Luweero.
Kenana sugarcane Company, one of the leading Sugarcane growers in Sudan, in collaboration with Bulemeezi Sugarcane Company and Goodman International Limited, are looking for more than 50 square miles in Luweero and other parts of Buganda to establish factories and sugar cane factories.
The companies plan to inject 300 million dollars.
In an extra-ordinary meeting with councilors and district leaders in Luweero on Monday, the acting lands minister in Buganda Kingdom, Israel Mayengo, said that the Mengo establishment and the Kabaka of Buganda Ronald Muwenda 11 support the sugarcane growing projects.
Minister Mayengo, explained that the Sudanese investors were lobbied by the Kingdom to invest in Buganda and they will work jointly with residents and Mengo. He asked the leaders of Luweero to identify and surrender more pieces of land to the initiative. He said more than 10,000 people will be employed directly or as out growers.
// Cue in; because it was response to Kabaka offer...
// Cue out: …. take us out of hell’’//
But some councilors and residents have rejected the sugarcane growing in Luweero for fear of evictions.
More than 500 Residents living on the 120.9 Hectares of land in Buntumula and Luweero Sub County have staged protests.
The residents have uprooted some of the markstones protesting the move to survey their land for sugarcane growing without consultation.
Hassan Ssegawa, the chairman of aggrieved residents says that the company has never entered into talks with residents about the proposed sugarcane growing project. He said the residents are not interested in project because it would result into land grabbing.
Ssegawa added that the residents are willing to shed blood for their land and they have resolved to stage massive protests and block any other person from surveying thier land for sugarcane growing. He added that they have petitioned President Yoweri Museveni to either block the project or transfer the project to another area.
Samuel Mulwana, a youth councilor says that he will not pen his signature in support of the project, because councilors dont have a clue of the the key people behind the project.
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