UWA Gets New Board Members
The Uganda Wildlife Authority the body charged with the protection and managing of Uganda’s wildlife has been dogged by allegations of misuse of funds for different projects including such as the Protected Areas Management for Sustainable Use – PAMSU fund.
The investigations into the misuse led to the disbandment of the entire board that was replaced by acting directors. The previous board headed by Dr Boysier Oumar Muballe was dissolved by a High Court ruling after it was deemed illegal. However, there has now been a new board of trustees that have been announced. They come from different backgrounds ranging from tour operators, conservationists, hoteliers as well as honorary wildlife officers.
Mr. Ben Otto the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministries of Information and Broadcasting, Tourism and Education has been appointed the Chairman of the new Uganda Wildlife Authority Board.
Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu said the new board members have been appointed from various backgrounds basing on their expertise and competence. They took into consideration the different needs and criteria required to be on the board.
However, many stakeholders claim that the appointment of MR. Khan Mani who is a member of the Madhvani Group of Companies who have for a long time now had an interest in building a golf course in Murchison falls national park was not appropriate. Conservationists have for a long time resisted the move although it was approved by the President.
According to Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu however, everyone one has a vested interest in the conservation of wildlife. He also stated that the Wildlife Act has a clause that asks any one to declare their interest in any matter before it is discussed. The Madhivani Group of companies have several safari lodges in the different national parks notably Paraa safari lodge in Murchison falls National park and Mweya safari lodge in Queen Elizabeth national park.
Mr. Mani Khan was appointed to the board as a representative of hoteliers who are a stakeholder in the tourism industry in Uganda. According to Prof. Kamuntu, the board is full of stakeholders who all have an interest in the conservation of the country’s wildlife.
Many legal experts say that if Mr. Khan is to take up his position on the board he should resign his position with the Madhvani group.
According to Mr. Andrew Sseguya, the acting Executive Director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the body has been plagued with a shortage of staff with a shortage of over 1,000 game rangers. There has been rampart encroachment on protected areas, poor funding of Uganda’s tourism as well as massive poaching. We ran an article about the state of Uganda national parks with regard to Massive poaching. This article can be found here.
Read MoreUganda Voted Third at ITB
The different World Travel Markets offer Countries and tour operators the world over an opportunity to showcase what they have and curve out a niche in the tourism industry which is the fastest growing industry in the world.
In the recently concluded World Travel Market in Berlin – ITB, several African countries were represented.
During the Travel Markets, different countries have the opportunity to impress the judges because there’s usually a vote for the winners. Small African countries which were once little known by tourists, have used this platform to market their tourism potentials. One of the African tour destinations which has benefited significantly from these World Travel Markets is Rwanda.
For four years this country whose main attraction is the mountain gorillas emerged winner for the continent Africa. It was last year however dethroned by its equally small neighbor – Burundi. In this recently concluded International Travel Market in Berlin however, Morocco emerged as the surprise winner.
Burundi was the runner up and the Pearl of Africa – Uganda came in third. Uganda’s achievement can be attributed to the Lonely Planet which voted Uganda as the best tour destination for 2012 given its peculiarity and uniqueness. The Country boasts of the rare and endangered mountain gorillas, Murchison falls, the third highest mountain in African – Mount Rwenzori among others. The country also has about 50% of all the recorded bird species in Africa. It is truly a birder’s paradise that has been little marketed. Some of the birds found in the Country are endemic.
Rwanda that dominated the continent for the last couple of years came in fourth whereas the other East African country Kenya, came in fifth. Rwanda and Kenya in comparison to its neighbors in the region invest heavily in marketing their tourism potential. For the last couple of years Kenya has been using in the region of $10m to market its tourism industry whereas Rwanda spends close to $5m. Uganda on the other hand has been using a paltry $300,000 on average to market its tourism through the Uganda Tourist Board.
The General Manager of the Uganda Tourist Board Baguma Cuthbert was accompanied by the Minister of the newly formed of Ministry of Tourism Professor Ephraim Kamuntu. They were accompanied by a host of tour operators from the country.
Tour operators and hoteliers use this opportunity to market their safari companies as well as their hotels and safari lodges. It is a good place to network and help boost one’s business.
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