PM Nabbanja Sets CN Sugar Factory Commissioning Date Amidst Unresolved Licensing

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja has set a firm date of September 4 for the commissioning of the CN Sugar factory in Namayingo District. This move comes at a time when the company’s application for a new sugar mill license is still under regulatory review, raising questions about the independence of the licensing process.

CN Sugar has faced previous regulatory and legal challenges. In January 2025, the High Court questioned how the company was allowed to establish mills without proper licensing, highlighting a legal vacuum created by the Ministry of Trade’s failure to establish the Uganda Sugar Board. The court found that ministry permissions were used unlawfully in place of licenses and that the Namayingo Resident District Commissioner had provided support to the project.

The company also faced issues with zoning regulations, with its mills reportedly located closer than the mandated 25 or 50 kilometers between sugar factories, a policy designed to prevent competition for sugarcane. The High Court ultimately canceled CN’s Letters of No Objection and ordered a halt to operations until proper licensing was obtained.

Further complications arose in 2024 when a government verification found CN had only planted 121 hectares of sugarcane, far short of the required 500 hectares for a nucleus estate before erecting a mill. This led the Trade Minister to halt the project and revoke its certificate of no objection, allowing only development of the estate and prohibiting factory operations until the company could supply at least 50% of its needs.

Despite these ongoing issues and the substantive statutory tests CN faces under the Sugar Regulations, 2025, which could prevent licensing, Prime Minister Nabbanja has intervened. Her August 12 letter to the Trade Minister states her intention to commission the factory on September 4 and instructs the ministry to complete all necessary processes by that date.

This directive puts pressure on the licensing bodies, such as the Sugar Industry Stakeholders Council, to finalize CN’s application. The Prime Minister’s action appears to pre-empt the independent assessment required by law, prioritizing a fixed opening date over the completion of the licensing procedure. This situation tests whether regulatory institutions can operate freely when political power dictates timelines.

Source: Nile Post