Parliament has deferred debate on sugarcane weighbridge regulation to April 15, directing state minister for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (Industry) David Bahati to return with a detailed ministerial statement, as scrutiny intensifies over weighbridges linked to sugarcane theft and unregulated trade.
The decision pauses any immediate policy action following recent closures of roadside weighbridges in key sugarcane-growing areas. Addressing the House, Bahati said weighbridges remain essential to the sector but acknowledged regulatory weaknesses.
“Rt. Hon. Speaker, weighbridges are critical instruments of measurement in the sugarcane sector,” he said.
“They enable farmers to ascertain the weight of their cane prior to sale, thereby promoting fairness and transparency in transactions.” He added that consultations exposed gaps in oversight.
“The meeting noted a regulatory gap in weighbridge operations,” Bahati said. “Without proper licensing, inspection and calibration, these instruments can distort transactions and create disputes within the value chain.” Bahati noted that most weighbridges are owned by millers to support cane supply and processing.
Background: closures linked to theft
The deferral comes amid enforcement actions in Masindi District, where authorities shut down several roadside weighbridges—including Katuugo, Rukondwa, Kihande and Mirya—after investigations linked some operations to sugarcane theft and illegal trade.
Local leaders said unregulated weighbridges had enabled intermediaries to channel stolen or unverified cane into the supply chain, prompting calls for tighter controls and relocation to designated areas.
“We don’t want someone to buy cane through a middle person and again sell it to the sugar company because a farmer loses a lot of money along this process,” Masindi district chairperson Cosmas Byaruhanga said.
“If a farmer is to benefit from sugarcane growing, middlemen at the weighbridges should be completely eliminated,” added Kyatiri Town Council representative John Kisarach.
Authorities have since approved relocating weighbridges from farming zones to controlled locations along highways and limiting operations to licensed entities, mainly millers, to improve traceability and compliance with the Sugar Act.
Officials say the previously removed weighbridge at Kihande had become a key trading point where farmers accessed buyers and immediate payments, but was also flagged by authorities as part of informal trading networks linked to theft.
