THE Inspector General of Government Raphael Baku has directed the Uganda Wildlife Authority to cancel all the illegal and irregular contracts it made with the Nkuringo Conservation and Development Foundation and Uganda Safari Company in Kisoro district.
The contracts were monopolizing gorilla tracking in Nkuringo on the Southern periphery of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
The IGG in a report “Monopoly of sale of gorilla trekking permits by Uganda Wildlife Authority to a private company,” directed UWA to comply with all the laws and policies that govern it in executing its mandate without taking advantage of the ignorance of the communities it works with.
“The illegal and irregular contracts, namely the agreement between Uganda Wildlife Authority and Nkuringo Conservation Development Foundation of 30/8/2004 and its addendums of 23/11/2006 and 29/11/2006 and the agreement between Nkuringo Conservation and Development Foundation and the Uganda Safari Company should be revoked,” the IGG said in the report.
Tourism stakeholders in 2007 complained to the IGG of discrimination, irregularities and illegalities in the management and issuance of gorilla tracking permits by the Uganda Wildlife Authority to a few companies.
They argued that this created unfair monopoly in the tourism business.
They were concerned that Uganda as a whole had lost tourism business including all benefits accruing from the sector to only one Kisoro Hotel operator, Uganda Safari Company, who had been given exclusive rights to sell gorilla tracking permits and allegedly attract tourists to an eco-lodge.
Investigations by the IGG office indicated that UWA encouraged individuals to form a private company with which they operated private businesses in respect to gorilla permit tourism, edging out others.
The IGG in the report recommended that UWA should draw up a well- thought out framework for the development of tourism opportunities for the whole region where Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located not for particular isolated areas.
“The sub-counties of Nyabwishenya and Kirundo where Rubuguri and Nteko parishes respectively fall, should, in consultation with the district takeover the Nkuringo tourism project and improve development for the benefit of their communities after other modalities have been addressed.
“The sub-counties have the mandate and capacity to plan for their local communities, and can be held responsible for transparency, accountability and reporting because they have a planning and budgeting mandate for their parishes,” the report said.
