Wild Fire Rages in Queen Elizabeth and Mt. Rwenzori National Park

The months of December, January and now February have traditionally been very hot in Uganda. As a result there have been a lot of bush fires in many of the upcountry areas in the Country. The national parks have not been spared either.

Queen Elizabeth national park and Mountain Rwenzori national park in Kasese are two of the game reserves in Uganda that have suffered wildfires in the recent weeks.

The situation is being exacerbated by the climate change as well as the activities of poachers in the national parks. Official from the Uganda Wildlife Authority – UWA as well as the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces – UPDF fought the fires for about week and managed to bring it down in Mount Rwenzori national park.

A group of about 30 tourists were doing hiking mount Rwenzori when the fire broke out on Monday. The tourist were at a height of about 4,600m above sea level when this occurred. According to the senior warden who is in-charge of Mountain Rwenzori national park the fires blazed for almost a week.

Mr. Kiiza further said that, “It has always been wet up there during dry season but this time climate change has taken an extra toll to deprive Uganda of its pride as global warming takes its toll on the tourism industry,”

He said that, “Our team has worked round the clock since the fire was reported”. In addition he said that many birds and wildlife were killed by the fires negatively affecting the ecosystem and Uganda’s tourism at large.

The fires have destroyed several properties in the area. The director of Rwenzori Trekking Services, Mr. Hunwick John said his property was virtually destroyed and when the fire broke out he had about 20 clients who were doing mountain climbing in the Rwenzoris. However, his clients were safely evacuated from the mountains.

The fire break out has made the authorities close Mountain Rwenzori hiking through the Kilembe trails.
Queen Elizabeth National Park

In Queen Elizabeth national park the fires blazed through several acres of land destroying plants and wildlife. It also destroyed several tourist facilities including many Kyambura Safari Lodge cottages.

The inferno destroyed several cotton fields in the communities neighboring Queen Elizabeth national park plus 30 goats in the area of Mubuku.

According to Mr. Guma Nelson, the area conservation manager of Queen Elizabeth national park, the fires have been hard to fight during the day due to the wind gusts which easily spread the fires to the different parts of the park.

Kyambura Safari lodges is a relatively new establishment with good cottages and facilities. It is pity that the fires destroyed half of its Cottages.

Stakeholders Demand for a Functional Ministry of Tourism

Uganda’s tourism sector has been allocated an entire Ministry of its own having been separated from the Trade and Tourism ministry. However since its creation the Ministry has not been functional and now Uganda tour operators are demanding to meet the Minister of Tourism as well the committee of Parliament responsible for Tourism deliberations so as to forge a way forward and help the industry overcome the various challenges it is facing.

The President of the Uganda Tourism Association during a press conference last week the main issues that the stakeholders would like to address include the fact that the tourism ministry is not really functional as well as the other agencies associated with the travel industry in Uganda.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority – UWA, the body mandated to conserve the Country’s wildlife does not also have a functioning executive since the inquiry into the miss-use of the PAMSU – Protected Areas Management for Sustainable Use investigations began headed by the retired Justice George Kanyeihamba. All this has hinder decision making in the tourism sector in the Country. The Uganda Travel agencies and other stakeholders would like to have all these issues addressed.

Uganda Tourism Board – UTB has the mandate to sell the Country as a tourism destination to different markets but it too has been incapacitated by among many things a measly budget (approx. $300,000 – $900,000 a year).

Stakeholders in the industry are demanding that the commission into the inquiry of how about $38m was miss-used during the Protected Areas Management for Sustainable Use – PAMSU should be expedite investigations so that the disbanded executive members of the Uganda Wildlife Authority can resume work as the acting directors don’t really have the mandate to make important decisions.

Uganda’s major tour attraction is the gorilla safari packages that it has to offer. Mountain gorilla tours can be done in bwindi impenetrable forest national park as well as Mgahinga gorilla national park found in the South West of the Country.

UWA PAMSU Project Commission Stopped

The Commission of Inquiry into the misuse of $33m that was meant for the Protected Areas Management for Sustainable Use (PAMSU) has been brought to a grinding halt by the Minister for Tourism, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu.

However, Prof. Justice George Kanyeihamba the head of the Inquiry has vowed to continue with the investigations which the Minister says has overstayed its mandate. The commission was initially given three months to carry out its investigations and make a report into the misuse of the funds which was mainly donor money from the World Bank. However due to delays the inquiry was given an additional one and half months to finalize its investigations into the project which was under the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Justice George Kanyeihamba however says it is only the president who can stop him and has vowed to carry on with the investigations. He further says it is the corrupt officials who are trying to protect one another and stall the investigations.

According to the constitution the Minister can only play an advisory role to the president and it is thus the president who can stop him from carrying out investigations. The inquiry which has been running for some time now has unearthed a lot of rot within the Ministry of Tourism and Uganda Wildlife Authority.

The head of the Commission of Inquiry at the time of writing this article is conducting a press conference at the Uganda Wildlife Authority headquarters on Kitante Road and will reveal most their findings thus far.

According to the Minister during a cabinet meeting in which there was a unanimous decision to stop the inquiry, the Commission had failed to deliver a comprehensive report on their findings, it had also failed to meet the timeline set out for its investigations and had even after consultations failed to give a definite timeline for finishing its investigations.

Uganda’s tourism unlike that of its counterparts is lagging behind due to lack of proper management and failure to market and sell Uganda so as to make it the destination of choice. Uganda has plenty of tour attractions that have been left to run down.

The Wamala tombs which is cultural heritage site is a case in point. The tombs have been neglected by the body responsible for marketing tourism and the marketing has been left to individuals and the Buganda Kingdom. Even the repairs is done by volunteers in the local community.

Another tourist site the Nyero rock paintings is an area that has no protection whatsoever and is managed by locals. The guides are mainly children with little knowledge about the value of the area. Archeologists and some curious tourists are the only people who visit these ancient paintings.

Bugala Island on Lake Victoria has appeared on the tourism products from Uganda Tourism Board and it is a shame there’s no mention of Speke’s Fort which was built in 1862 in it. These are historical sites and has a lot of tourism potential.

Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the World and contributes 12% to the global GDP, but Uganda has placed little emphasis on the industry which is mainly being marketed by individuals and local tour operators.

Rwanda for instances puts $5m in marketing and showcasing its tourism potential and despite the fact the half the World’s mountain gorillas can only be found in Uganda. Rwanda gorilla trekking is current doing better than mountain gorillas in Uganda. Kenya spends $23m and Tanzania $10m in marketing Kenya safaris and Tanzania safaris respectively compared to Uganda’s $330,00.

Tourists Shun Mount Elgon over Bududa Landslides

TOURISTS have shunned Mt. Elgon Forest National Park over the March 1 landslides that ravaged Bududa. The park indicated in a report that out of 410 tourists that visited Mt. Elgon from January to May, only 144 were registered in March.

Of the 144 visitors, 122 were local students. This was a drop from the 152 tourists that were registered during the same period last year.

The figure dipped further to only 40 tourists in April although it rose to 92 in May. But this was still lower than the 98 to 190 tourists who visited the park during the same period last year.

The report noted that most of the foreign tourists who comprise nearly 90% of the park’s visitors, kept away. Regular foreign tourists at the park include Britons, Germans, Americans, Dutch, Israelis and Canadians.

March and April each registered only 27 foreign tourists. However, the figure slightly rose to 37 in May. Save for the 13 German tourists, one Dutch and an American who visited the park in March, the Israelis, British, and Canadian visitors kept away during the tragic month.

Similarly, no tourists from the neighbouring Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania of Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya visited the park in March. “Heavy rains characterised with landslides were occurring on various parts of the mountain. The Bududa landslide scared away many tourists,” Stephen Nyadros, the Budadiri entry point information officer, said.

“About 15 foreign tourists expected to hike on Mt. Elgon through the Budadiri trail cancelled their bookings with us in March. “Fortunately, the trend is steadily picking up again,” Nyadros pointed out.

He disclosed that most of the cancelled bookings had been rescheduled for May to September. The park experiences peak periods from June to September, and December to March, statistics show.

Other prominent visitors to the park comprise scouts and students on holiday from Europe and North America. A total of 2,903 tourists visited the park in 2009, down from 3,844 the previous year.

The main tourist attractions for hikers on the mountain include the wildlife, hotsprings, caves, waterfalls and the Wagagai peak that stands at 4,321 metres above sea level. However, after the Bududa tragedy that claimed over 350 people at the Nametsi trading centre, the Government declared Mt. Elgon prone to more landslides and warned residents to evacuate to the temporal camp at Bulucheke.

To allay fears among tourists, a 16-member-team from The Uganda Tourism Board took a four-day hike on Mt. Elgon through the Budadiri trail in Sironko district from June 15 to 18. Molly Mpiriirwe, the board’s senior information officer, narrated that there was no imminent danger to tourists on the mountain.

“We had a thrilling experience on the mountain. “Throughout our journey, we neither saw cracks nor mini-landslides. “We call on more people to come and tour the park to explore its beauty,” Mpiriirwe said.

Tourism, agriculture and forestry are top on the list of the national primary growth areas of the newly-released National Development Plan. In 2008, tourism contributed 9.2% or $1.2b to the gross domestic product (GDP), while in Kenya, it brought in $3.5b or 10.8% to GDP according to the World tourism and Travel Council.

This variation maybe directly linked to the massive investment that Kenya puts into the sector. According to the draft corporate strategy plan 2009-2012, Kenya spends sh27b in marketing.

Tourism arrivals surged from 512,000 in 2004 to 844,000 in 2008; an increase of 65% boosted by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2007.

IGG Cancels Gorilla Park Contracts

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.

Kasubi Tombs Burning!

It appears the Kasubi Tombs, over a hundred years old, are up in flames right now.

Okay, the Kasubi Tombs, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are burning up.

Usually it is arson when a place like that burns down. They are made of grass thatch, the tombs, so the fire will be absolutely devastating.

Already, some fuckwits around me are saying “Government!” I’d be more-likely to say “Opposition!” But I guess it is more-likely some staffer who was careless with fire. Let us wait for news.

Namugongo ‘Cure Tree’ is Endangered

Countless pilgrims flocked Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine on June 3, to celebrate the Uganda Martyrs Day. Believers from many countries on the continent, some of whom walked for days, weeks or months, convened to celebrate the commemoration of the 19th century men that were martyred because of their faith.
Guides explain to pilgrims, through the historical significance of the tree froMukajjanga’s command post.

Many Christians visit the Martyrs’ Shrine because they believe that the place is a sort of “God’s miraculous healing referral hospital” where all kinds of diseases can be healed.

This is why many believers and traditional healers carry “holy” water from Namugongo Martyrs’ Lake and tree barks to their homes to get blessings and heal diseases.

However, one of the things that attract people on this day is the Ndazabazadde tree, which intertwined with the original tree on which martyrs were tied and tortured to renounce their faith.
Ndazabazadde is a Luganda word literally meaning “wombs that give birth”.

The tree, standing fifty metres away from the main road and near to what is said to be the compound of Mukajanga, the martyrs chief executioner, has in the past years been visited by pilgrims from all walks of life.

However, the rate at which the tree is being ripped of its bark is worrying church authorities, tourists and environmentalists. They fear that it (new Ndazabazadde) will soon disappear just as the original tree.

The danger is that the tree is being raided and almost phasing out before the authorities plant a similar species to hold the stump that remains peeping. The old tree has been in existence for over 120 years.

“Ndazabazadde faces a lot of environmental degradation whenever we celebrate the Martyrs day on June 3,” Rev. Francis Kajura says.
“We have to employ personnel to keep guard of this place otherwise the tree could be no more as traditional healers disguising as pilgrims come and peel off the bark,” Rev Kajura says.

He says that the surrounding communities and pilgrims struggle to get the bark from the tree assuming it cures a number of illnesses.
According to people who claim to have used the bark to heal sickness, there is no single disease on earth that it cannot cure. Mr Sunday Kakooza says the tree cures demonic related attacks, all types of cancer and brings fortune once water from its bark is drunk or bathed with.

Christians who visited Namugongo Anglican Mukajjanga Shrine on June 3 cutting off the stem cover from the Ndazabazadde tree.

“A piece of the bark attracts good pay from traditional healers and a person in possession of it receives maiden local treatment,” Mr Kakooza says.

Though Rev. Kajura spent most of his time sensitising and denying pilgrims a chance to peel the tree bark during this year’s celebrations, all his efforts were falling on deaf ears.

“It’s your faith that can eliminate disease from your body not this tree bark that you are struggling for,” Rev Kajuura kept on telling the pilgrims.

George William Kyeyune, a student at Namugongo seminary attributes the raid on the species as ignorance for a host of reasons.
“Our people are still primitive to assume that healing power has been passed on to the new tree which has twinned the original stump of Ndazabazade,” he said.

Several attempts have been made by church officials to replant the tree seeds but they do not germinate. Although the Anglican Church raises income from the species, the tree does not have a potential environment security.

Damage caused on the tree stem in the recent past has left it with no healed scars and it may take almost two years for the species to be regained.

Rev. Kajura says the only thing that can save the tree is to fight primitive ideologies engulfing surrounding communities. He suggested that caging Ndazabazadde in the future could prevent people from accessing it.

Ugandan Parliament Approves New Tourism Law

The Ugandan Parliament approved a new tourism law, which is seen by the tourism industry observers as an important breakthrough following years of waiting for the to be passed.
The new law is hoped to overhaul the country’s tourism industry and promote the tourism sector’s security and standards among others. The Uganda Tourism Bill 2007 was passed by an undivided vote by Parliament on Tuesday February 19 after a short debate.

The state minister for tourism Mr. Sarapio Rukundo told the Parliament that when the law comes into power, it will help reform, consolidate and streamline the laws related to tourism and provide for licensing, regulating and control of the sector.

The new tourism act brought together three laws in a major reform aimed at boosting and developing the tourism industry in the country, says the minister. The previous laws amalgamated into the new Act include the hotels laws, the tourists’ agents licensing law, and the Uganda tourism board.These laws are geared towards improving Uganda’s hotel sector, tour operation businesses as well as the tourism industry itself which is gaining prominence from gorilla tourism.

According to the Parliament committee on tourism, trade and industry chairman, Mr. Pereza Ahabwe the major reforms in the new law includes the introduction of a tourism development tax and tourism development fund. He said the tax would be obligatory on both the visitors making trips to Uganda and operators while the development fund will be established by the ministry and other sources yet to be identified by the ministry of tourism to further develop the sector.
These two are going to boost the sector in form of promoting it, gazetting areas for tourism sites and undertake educational programmes. Ways of monitoring tourism standards, registration, licensing and classifying of tourist facilities and services in Uganda’s national parks as well as major tourism destinations, among others have all been streamlined in the new law.
The commissioner for tourism Ms. Grace Mbabazi Aulo said that the money got from the tourism development tax would be used for training, research and tourism promotion. She said that government is yet to make a master plan on how these funds would be well utilized in revamping the tourism industry.

The new law makes it an offense to operate an accommodation facility for tourists without a license. The major introduction in the law is because some unscrupulous agents were taking tourists to low standard indecent guest houses causing embarrassment to the country.

Uganda Tourism is opening its gates to Eastern Europe

A group of ten Russians comprising eight tour operators and two journalists were scheduled to arrive in Uganda last Saturday (April 14).

The Russian tour operators, who will be here for nine days are expected to sign contracts and Memoranda of Understanding with their Ugandan counterparts on promoting Uganda as a destination of choice.

This should ultimately open the visitor floodgates of Eastern Europe to Uganda.

The visit that is expected to be an eye opener for the Russians, who have for many decades been locked out of world activities because of the seclusive communism, will be the first of its kind by Russian tour operators.

The hospitality sector has offered various concessions to the visitors’s comfortable stay in Uganda.

Kampala Serena Hotel, Mweya Safari Lodge, Paraa lodge have offered single day full board accommodation facilities, while Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has waived 50% off its gorilla tracking permits.

Officials also say Uganda Waragi, a top Ugandan gin will serve as a perfect substitute for the reknown Russian vodka for the visitors.

In September 2006, a group of Uganda tour operators visited Russia and took part in the annual Russian Tourism Exhibition.  It is at this exhibition that the tour operators courted some Russian tour operators and floated the idea of them visiting.

“We are targeting the upmarket Russian travellers not backpackers for now,” said Sylvia Kalembe, Senior Information Officer, Tourism Uganda.

Information available indicates that some tour operators have already received a host of Russian tourists.

In East Africa, Tanzania has reportedly moved fastest in tapping Russian tourists.

The country went the extra mile of translating local literature into Russian to ease communication and marketing barriers with their clientele.

But officials at Tourism Uganda say because they are initially courting the upmarket tourists, language is not an initial challenge because the wealthy speak more international languages.

Tourism Uganda is hoping that Uganda gets marketed as part of the destination Africa and not Uganda exclusively because it is easier to start broadly and use Uganda as a stopping point, cashing in on her unique niche features.

Uganda boasts of unmatched natural scenery, an uncompared number and variety of bird species and more than half of the surviving mountain gorillas live in western Uganda’s Bwindi impenetrable forests.

President Launches Tourism Documentary on Uganda

A documentary film titled “Uganda: The Presidential Tour” which is out to market Uganda’s tourism potential was today officially launched by President Yoweri Museveni.

The documentary was filmed in Uganda in July this year by the US based Discovery Channel Communications. It features President Museveni as the chief tour guide to US renowned journalist Forrest Sawyer. The 50-minute documentary depicts Uganda’s wildlife, flora and fauna traditional culture among other activities of some of the countrys population.

President Museveni told the audience at Cineplex City Garden in Kampala that the film that the fundamental requirement for Uganda’s tourism industry is ensuring security throughout the country. He expressed happiness that the donor community had accepted to contribute funds to the countrys security sector needs. He said the move had now increased tourism earnings for Uganda.

Ndere Dance Troupe : The Ndere Troupe perform traditional dance in Mbale. Founded in 1986, its goal is to conserve and promote the musical traditions of the country’s many cultures.

Mr. Museveni appealed to the United Nations to speed up the pacification of the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo border area. He said the pacification exercise will go a long way to enable Uganda exploit fully its resources such as Queen Elizabeth and Rwenzori National Parks as well as the oil deposits in the Lake Albert corridor in order to enhance further national economic development through tourism.

He commended the US based Discovery Communications for showing Uganda’s unique climate, scenery, people and soils to the rest of the world and agreed with Churchill’s description of the journey from the Indian Ocean as a grisly road to Uganda, the tropical garden of Africa. He called upon the rest of the world to come to Uganda and see the greatness of the country.

Vice President, Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, Cabinet Ministers, former US Trade Representative Ms. Rosa Whitaker, MPs, diplomats, business and tourism stakeholders in attended the show.