By John Ikani
Ugandan officials under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) have come under scrutiny as they are being tasked to provide a detailed account of how $2.6m (£2m) was allocated for training programs, including teaching youth “how to drink coffee,” among other activities.
The probe became necessary after a parliamentary watchdog raised concerns over the utilization of the funds.
NGO Parliament Watch took to Twitter, sharing a statement in which they revealed that the auditor general discovered several coffee shops listed under the campaign were non-existent.
The contract encompassed four main components, namely:
1. Training farmers in coffee production techniques.
2. Instructing youth on the art of consuming coffee.
3. Providing financial literacy and business management skills.
4. Covering general project administration costs.
Addressing the issue, Robert Limlim, the Director at OPM, defended the seemingly high costs of the campaign, emphasizing that the primary goal was to educate individuals.
Limlim clarified that the allocated funds were utilized for purchasing coffee equipment and facilitating the integration of young people into the coffee industry.
Uganda holds a prominent position as one of Africa’s major coffee-exporting nations.
Recent data from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority revealed that the country successfully exported 5.7 million bags of coffee, valued at $840m (£641m), during the 12-month period ending in June 2022.
