Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Manufacture & Marketing of Sugar |
Founded | 2016 |
Headquarters | Kiswaza, Hoima District, Uganda |
Key people | Sarbhjit Singh Rajima Executive Director |
Products | Sugar |
Number of employees | 5,000+ (2016) |
Hoima Sugar Limited (HSL), also Hoima Sugar is a sugar manufacturer in Uganda, the third-largest economy in the East African Community and responsible for massive deforestation. [1]
The company headquarters and factory are located on an 8,000 acres (32 km2) estate in Kiswaza Village, Kiziranfumbi sub-county, Hoima District, [2] approximately 31 kilometres (19 mi) southwest of Hoima, the nearest large city and location of the district headquarters. [3] The sugar plantation was partially established on a large section of the Bugoma Forest, a critical habitat for the Uganda mangabey and home to an estimated 550 chimpanzees. [1] The coordinates of the factory are 1°15'09.0"N, 31°11'36.0"E (Latitude:1.252490; Longitude:31.193326). [4]
In 2013, Hoima Sugar Limited forcibly evicted approximately 6,000 individuals from 1,300 acres in Kijayo, Buhaguzi County, Kikuube District, to establish a sugar plantation. These evictions displaced indigenous communities, including the Bakiga, Banyoro, and some Alur people, leaving them without compensation and forcing them into internally displaced persons' camps. [5]
Despite legal actions taken by the affected individuals seeking compensation for lost property and human rights violations, many continue to live in poor conditions without adequate support. As of 2019, reports indicated that some residents received as little as 30,000 Ugandan Shillings (approximately USD 8) per acre as compensation, which is insufficient for resettlement. [5]
The evictions have led to significant humanitarian challenges, including lack of access to clean water, healthcare, and education. The displaced families reside in makeshift shelters with inadequate sanitation, contributing to health issues such as malnutrition and disease outbreaks. [6]
In 2017, allegations emerged that local police forces were complicit in the forced evictions. Hoima District Police Commander Bernard Akankwasa was accused of deploying officers to assist Hoima Sugar Limited in expelling families from their land, despite a 2014 court order prohibiting such actions. Reports indicate that during these evictions, an infant died due to excessive use of force by the police. [7]
These events have drawn criticism from human rights organizations, highlighting the ongoing struggles of displaced communities in Uganda due to large-scale agribusiness operations. [8]
Between 2020 and 2023, approximately 57 km2 (14% of its original area) of the Bugoma Forest was degazetted by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and cleared for sugarcane plantations by Hoima Sugar Limited. [9] [10]
In August 2020, NEMA granted an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) certificate to Hoima Sugar Limited for a project that included a sugarcane plantation, an eco-tourism site, and an urban center. [11] However, subsequent inspections revealed that the company had violated the approval conditions by deforesting protected areas and sites designated for eco-tourism. In September 2022, NEMA ordered Hoima Sugar Limited to halt further deforestation in these areas and to restore the degraded sections of Bugoma Forest. [12]
The deforestation of Bugoma Forest has had significant environmental impacts, including the loss of habitat for approximately 500 chimpanzees and other endangered species. Additionally, it has disrupted the livelihoods of local communities that rely on the forest for resources. [13]
Environmental organizations and civil society groups have condemned NEMA's decision and Hoima Sugar Limited's activities, arguing that the destruction of Bugoma Forest for sugarcane cultivation poses serious threats to biodiversity and contributes to climate change. [14]
The company is a medium-sized sugar manufacturer, established in 2016, with production capacity of 1,500 metric tonnes daily. The factory had signed up 450 out-growers as at May 2016, with that number expected to grow to 2,000 by 2017. The total work force at the company is projected to grow to 5,000, once all systems are operational. A thermal power co-generation facility is planned. The total investment is calculated at US$42 million. [15]
The business is owned by Rai Holdings. [16] The family-owned group has a 70 percent shareholding in Kinyara Sugar Works in neighboring Masindi District and also owns West Kenya Sugar Limited, and Sukari Industries both in Kenya. [17]
The Mabira Forest is a rainforest area covering about 300 square kilometres (120 sq mi) in Uganda, located in Buikwe District, between Lugazi and Jinja. It has been protected as Mabira Forest Reserve since 1932. It is home for many endangered species like the primate Lophocebus ugandae.
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The Budongo Forest in Uganda is northwest of the capital city Kampala on the way to Murchison Falls National Park and is located on the escarpment northeast of Lake Albert. It covers parts of Hoima and Kikuube. It is known for its former abundance of East African mahogany trees as well as being home to a population of chimpanzees. An exceptionally large mahogany tree is still found here and is more than 80 meters tall and some 20 meters in circumference. The forest covers 82,530 hectares and is a catchment for Lake Albert. It is managed by National Forestry Authority (NFA).
The Bugoma Forest is a protected tropical forest that is situated southwest of Hoima and northeast of Kyenjojo towns, and east of Lake Albert, in the Hoima district of western Uganda. It was gazetted in the 1932 and came under the mandate of the National Forestry Authority in 2003. But it was expanded in 1965, 1968 and 1998. Its surface area is given as between 41,144 hectares (411.44 km2) and 65,000 hectares (650 km2).
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The Hoima–Kampala Petroleum Products Pipeline (HKPPP) is a proposed pipeline to transport refined oil products from the Uganda Oil Refinery in Hoima to a distribution terminal near Buloba in Wakiso District, approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi), by road, west of Kampala's central business district.
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Kampala–Busunju Expressway is a planned road in the Central Region of Uganda. The road would connect the county's capital city, Kampala, to the town of Busunju in Mityana District.
The Kampala–Hoima Road is a road in the Central and Western regions of Uganda, connecting the cities of Kampala and Hoima. A section of this road, between Namungoona and Busunju, is being developed into the Kampala–Busunju Expressway.
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Kikuube District is a district in the Western Region of Uganda. It is named after its main municipal centre, Kikuube.
Kikuube is a town in the Western Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Kikuube District and the site of the district headquarters.
Guramwa Central Forest Reserve is a protected area located in Western Uganda's Kibaale district. It is managed by the National Forestry Authority and was first gazetted in 1932 under the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003 with an area of 230 ha (0.9 sq mi), and was later re-gazetted in 1968 with an area of 1,550 ha.
Wambabya Central Forest Reserve is located in both Hoima District and Kikuube district in Western Uganda near the north-eastern border of Bugoma Central Forest Reserve. It was demarcated in 1932. It is operated by the National Forest Authority (NFA). It covers an area of 3,429 ha (13.24 sq mi).
Kagombe Central Forest Reserve is a 301-square-kilometre (74,000-acre) forest reserve located in Western Uganda's district of Kagadi and Nyamarundu sub county. It is also located in Uganda's Albertine Rift ecoregion area renowned for its rich biodiversity.
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