WHY THE NATIONAL BIOMETRIC AND BIOSAFETY BILL, 2012 (GMOs LAW) DEBATE? The National Biometric and Biosafety bill, 2012, commonly known as the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) law has for long had the parliament of the republic of Uganda on tenterhooks and still is under scrutiny, not yet passed into law. Having signed and ratified the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Government of Uganda adopted the National Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy in 2008, and it is currently in advanced stages of passing the Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill, 2012 commonly known as the GMO law. Amongst the anti GMO activists, the bill is seen as one that targets to massively promote Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Uganda whereas amongst its protagonists united under Uganda Biotechnology and Biosafety Consortium (UBBC), the Bill, if passed into law, shall provide a regulatory framework to facilitate safe development and application of biotechnology. “Uganda must domesticate the Cartagena protocol”, says Mr. Arthur Makara, the executive director Science Foundation for Livelihoods and Development. Among others, the bill provides for a Competent Authority, whose functions would include approving the development, testing and use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the country as well as updating the national focal point on matters relating to biotechnology and biosafety, one of the reasons why its supporters are hell bent on wanting to have it passed. However there are concerns that although the drafting of the Bill has taken some time, it has hurriedly been tabled before Parliament with limited public consultations and awareness about GMOs and biosafety yet Article one of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety demands that the public must debate thoroughly and agree on the introduction of GMOs in a country. It is argued that in its current form, the bill is aligned to the interests of transactional/ multinational companies and not to the interests of Ugandan farmers as the bill’s promoters have prioritized on positive impacts of GMOs without truthfully telling stakeholders of the negative implications, which is a violation of the precautionary principle, that forms the basis of the African Union’s revised African Model Law on Biodiversity. Therefore, since agriculture is a driving force of the Ugandan economy employing over 80% Ugandans in the chain of production, it is with no doubt that because of such heavily contrasting views that the parliament of Uganda is still not decided on the Biotechnology and Biosafety Bill (GMO law) with the bill still under scrutiny.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 07:49:04 +0000