Sections of the media, including the Daily Monitor newspaper have quoted a letter President Yoweri Museveni wrote to the Speaker on 21st December outlining his concerns for not assenting to the Biotechnology and Bio-safety Bill Parliament passed in October this year.
According to the president, the proposed law gives the monopoly of patent rights to researchers without due regard to indigenous communities that developed the original materials. But some scientists think otherwise.
Director General of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) Dr. Ambrose Agona says president Museveni's concerns capture some of the myths opponents of the bill have fronted for many years.
Researchers at NARO were the key proponents of the bill. Another proponent of the bill, Agago North MP Prof. Ogenga Latigo who is also a scientist served on the Biotechnology and Bio-safety committee for over ten years even before he joined politics. According to Latigo, says the president has been misguided by enemies of agricultural development in Uganda.
Prof. Latigo who is an insect scientist told NTV that successes recorded in HIV/AIDS research in Uganda is largely attributed to biotechnology.
President Museveni argues that GMO seeds should not be randomly mixed with indigenous seeds in case they turn out to have a problem.
It's still unclear whether Parliament may reconsider the bill in light of the president's concerns.
Article 91 (5) of the constitution directs that, “Where the President returns the same bill twice and the bill is passed for the third time, with the support of at least two-thirds of all members of Parliament, the Speaker shall cause a copy of the bill to be laid before Parliament, and the bill shall become law without the assent of the President.” But this scenario has not happened in the recent past.