UWA graft probe-team named
The Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry Mr. Kahinda Otafiire has appointed Col. Stephen Kwiringira to head the committee to investigate allegations of corruption against two suspended top Uganda Wildlife Authority officials.
Other members on the committee include Mr Amos Wekesa, the chairman Uganda Tourism Association, Dr John Bosco Nizeye from Makerere University and Mr Denis Bireije. Col. Kwiringira is a former director of operations at the Internal Security Organisation.
The Uganda Wild life Authority, (UWA) executive director Moses Wafula Mapesa and Sam Mwandha, the director of conservation, are currently on forced leave.
Mr Joseph Tibeijuka, the director for finance, has been appointed acting executive director.
The team, according to a source, will investigate alleged mismanagement of money from gorilla permits and Zziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola District.
Gen. Otafiire said yesterday that the officials will have an opportunity to clear themselves on the allegations contained in the IGG’s report.
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Uganda’s King of the Jungle on the Brink of Extinction
In Queen Elizabeth National Park, the King of the Jungle living between Kasenyi and Hamukungu and another living near River Nyamugasani in the north western part of the park are in danger of being poisoned.
"Poisoning of the lion is becoming a regular feature," says Siefert, "it is only a question of when, but two more prides are exposed to poisoning because UWA can not eliminate intrusion of the cattle grazers in the park."
The Lion may be the king of the jungle but in Uganda he is losing the battle to his would-be prey.
Armed with poison, Basongora herdsmen might drive lions and hyenas out of Queen Elizabeth National Park as they try to stop them from killing their cattle.
Wilson Okaali, the leader of the Basongora, says his tribesmen have no problems with wild animals, not even the lions. The Basongora, according to him, are like someone who is trapped between a rock and hard place. He says keeping wild animals is part of the heritage of the Basongora.
"It is not the intention of the Basongora to go against their heritage. It is the way the park is managed that has caused the local people to become hostile to the wild animals," Okaali explains.
"We have been staying with wildlife for centuries because unlike many tribes we do not eat wild animals," he adds.
Okaali noted that when the park was created in 1952, the Basongora were disregarded as "owners" of the land. He also states that despite changes in management of wildlife in Queen Elizabeth National Park, compensation is not provided for those who lose their cattle.
"We do not earn anything from wildlife yet the lions sometimes eat our cattle," says Okaali. "Those accusing the Basongora are park managers who are employed and paid money for managing the park, but they do not want to listen to the victims of the raids by lions."
According to local residents, park authorities did not respond to repeated warnings that a pride of lions was moving deeper into the park and approaching Hamukungu, a human enclave within the park. Previously, Basongora herdsmen had strayed into the national park to graze and ended up luring the pride.
The Uganda Wild life Authority executive director Moses Mapesa says lions are wild animals and that it is difficult to restrict them to the park. But it is possible to restrict livestock to the villages without moving into the park.
"The problem is that livestock is all over space. The cattle come to the park and go back to the villages. What happens is that the lions follow," he says.
The lions, a critically endangered species, are hanging on by a thread. Biologists like Siefert estimate that there are less than 60 lions in Queen Elizabeth national Park as opposed to 100 a decade ago.
The big cats which are African kings, they never die alone. The poison set for lions also kills hyenas because they eat the leftovers from the lions' meal.
Unlike the lions, the whole population of hyenas can get poisoned, according to Siefert.
He says accurate census for the hyenas in the whole park has not been undertaken, but the population could be declining.
For instance, he says, the hyenas that used to have dens around Mweya and Kabatoro have reduced from 54 to only five within the last two years.
"Though they gave birth recently only two of them are visible," says Siefert. "They could have been killed by the Basongora's poison."
While the lion is one of the big five, which many tourists crave for, the sad reality is that it is disappearing from the landscape, according to Siefert.
"Tourists going out at night complain bitterly that although they see lions and leopards, they rarely get to see a hyena," he says.
"Night Cultural wildlife tourism is under threat because you can't take visitors out in the night when the nocturnal animals are not there.
When hyenas become excited they make a howling and clucking noise that sounds very similar to the laughter of an insane person.
However, when a hyena 'laughs' it doesn't necessarily mean that it is happy. The hyena also makes this noise when it is feeling anxious or fearful, for example, when it is being chased by a lion.
The hyena knows that it can't take on a lion and so the lion gets first choice as to what he eats for dinner. So, the hyena has to wait until the lion has finished and then he is allowed to eat as much as is left over.
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9 Baffalos and more hippos die from Anthrax in Queen Elizabeth Park
An anthrax outbreak in Queen Elizabeth National Park has killed 82 hippos and nine buffaloes since June 2010.
The chairman of the National Anthrax Task Force Dr Nicholas Kauta told journalists on Thursday that the most affected areas are those surrounding Kazinga Channel and lakes Edward and George.
As a national response, he said, the task force is implementing a multi-pronged response which includes undertaking a base line study to determine the extent of the outbreak and affected species through carrying out carcass management, marine and terrestrial patrols and sample analysis.
He warned people around the area not to graze animals in the park, report all sicknesses and deaths in wild and domestic animals to authorities and not to consume meat from sick and dead animals.
He said there will be a ring vaccination of livestock in the national park and all health centres have been put on high alert.
Anthrax is caused by bacteria (bacillus anthracis) in the atmosphere. Animals mainly herbivores get it through contaminated grass, soil and water.
Humans can acquire it through eating contaminated meat and animal products from infected animals.
The park has often experienced attacks in 1954 and in 1994 and 2004. In 2004, about 300 hippos died.
The Uganda Wild Life Authority says there is no cause of alarm that all animals in the park might die because the beasts have natural immunity to the disease.
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Uganda Tour Operators urge Government to construct Roads
The Uganda Tour Operators have asked the Government to construct roads leading to major tourist destinations to ease the transportation of tourists.
The president of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators, Boniface Byamukama noted that bad roads had been a major hindrance in the transportation of tourists to national parks.
“When it rains, it’s almost impossible to take any tourist to these destinations,” said Byamukama who was speaking at the official opening of the association’s new offices in Kololo, last week.
Byamukama pointed out the Kagadi-Wima road, Kihihi-Kitunguru road in Kanungu district, Kabale-Kisoro-Bwindi road and Rukungiri-Bwindi road as the worst roads that hinder the Business.
Julius Onen, the permanent secretary at the tourism and trade ministry, urged tour firms to keep the dynamism to take tourism ahead.
He said construction of the roads would soon be done by the Uganda Wildlife Road Network Company.
Onen was also happy that the Tourism sector was slowly recovering from the effects of the recent Kampala bomb attacks that had got Tourists worried for their lives.
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Black back attack kills an Infant
The absentee of the dominant silverback Isabukuru in a gorilla group, gave a chance to black back Kubaha to attack the group members in which a seven-month-old infant Agatako was killed, while his mother Bukima, who was carrying him. Kubaha was aggressive all morning towards all the females in his group.
“Most of the time, Kubaha displayed with chest beats and plant smashing and was tight-lipped and strut-standing towards group members. He was obviously nervous and uptight,” said Joel Glick, the Karisoke Research Center’s interim Gorilla Program coordinator, who was collecting data in Isabukuru’s group at the time.
It is unclear whether Kubaha, who is 11 years old and has not yet reached sexual maturity, was nervous about having to lead the females, or whether he was trying to attract their attention by showing off his strength, or both.
With tension mounting and females occasionally responding to his aggressions with gestures of appeasement or aggression, Kubaha launched a fierce attack against Bukima, who was behind a thick bush on the edge of the mountain. Her loud screams alerted the other females, who ran towards Kubaha. It was then, at noon, that Agatako, who was clinging to his mother, lost his life. However, the view was obscured for observers, so they could not establish beyond any doubt whether Kubaha directly targeted him, or whether he died in the interaction between the aggressor and his mother. Neither Bukima nor the other females sustained any injuries.
By the time Glick reached the group at the bottom of the mountain, just four minutes after Kubaha’s attack, Bukima was carrying her dead infant away from the other gorillas. His tiny body was covered in blood. When she finally laid him on the ground, every individual in the group approached him with curiosity. Bukima paced nervously, as though trying to decide whether to look for Isabukuru’s trail or watch over her dead infant.
This would not, however, be the end of the drama for the day. Kubaha next approached the dead body and started to display with it, as some of the females screamed.
“It was absolutely horrible,” said Glick, visibly shaken. “Kubaha flung the body in the air several times, let it drop to the ground, and then dragged it all over the place. He even chest-beat while holding the body in one hand. There was blood everywhere.”
This lasted for 15 minutes, after which Kubaha finally set down Agatako’s body. It was later recovered by the veterinarians, whose preliminary report indicated “deep puncture wounds,” most likely from canine teeth. This would indicate that Kubaha indeed bit Agatako.
A short while afterward, silverback Isabukuru returned to the gorilla group, unaware of what had happened in his absence. He had spent the morning some 600 meters away, trailing another gorilla group in the vicinity, according to the trackers who followed him. He stared in the direction he had come from and displayed three times, and then all was quiet, with no further aggressions.
Isabukuru himself was responsible for the only other case of presumed intra-group infanticide ever recorded when he was still a black back in Pablo’s group, in December 2006. Soon after he killed one Infant there, he left together with a few females and started the new group that is named after him.
Agatako was born on January 26. He was healthy, and Bukima was taking good care of him. He received his name - which means “ornament” in the local Kinyarwandan language - during the Kwita Izina ceremony last month. He was Bukima’s third offspring. Her previous infants all died as well.
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Uganda Tourism Vibrant Despite Bomb Blasts
The Uganda Tourists and tour operators earlier have been weary of the situation and its impact on the tourism sector. However, players in the field say apart from inquiries, there are no tourists canceling their booking and safaris that characterize the season will go as planned.
Hundreds of tourists book vocations in Uganda during this period to visit parks and especially to trek gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Concerns whether they would cancel their trips or change their itinerary have been quelled by further bookings, according the Mr Moses Mapesa, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority, a body that is charged with keeping the national parks, among other tourism attractions
Assuring Tourists, Mr Mapesa said he has not received any cancellation, something that reassures the sector that the bombs scare will not seriously affect the business. On Wednesday morning, tour operators held a meeting at the Uganda Tourism Board offices in Kampala at the meeting, they resolved on safety measures of tourists in the country and those about to arrive.
Though the primary aim of the meeting the upcoming World Travel Market (WTM) fair in London due in November, tour operators addressed matters regarding the bombs scare because they could be damaging to their business.
Miss Najjuka, the manager of Katona tours and travel said that though some tourists who booked with her company are concerned and have been inquiring whether it is safe to visit the country, she is glad that none of them has cancelled and have sent 6 groups of Tourists to National parks this week. Three Tourists are hiking Rwenzori, One couple is on 21 days Vacation to celebrate their marriage , a group of 5 has gone for a grand safari and the rest of the groups are tracking gorillas.
Mr Baluku, a secretary general of the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO) said,, "No park has been far closed, so as long as visitors observe safety precautions, the situation is very normal."
Uganda Tourism Board's Edwin Muzahura added, "I have met the private sector in tourism and we have agreed on updating our clients on the situation back home." He said providing factual updates on the website, twitter and face book helps tourists understand the situation as it is, and not to scare them away.
"These scares happen anywhere and tourists cannot stop to come because two bombs are detonated in some parts of Kampala. For example, South Africa was on high alert before and during the World Cup, but millions of football fans watched the games peacefully. The situation in Kampala is very controllable and every other places tourists visit, are more security conscious than possibly they have been."
Mr Mapesa adds, "People out there understand that there are security concerns in America, Europe, Asia and everywhere." He said there are reasonable security measures in place to protect the tourists from harm, adding, UWA has enough security on its own in all national parks.
"The safaris are done in the total guidance of our staff. We tell our visitors to travel during the day and to be inside by 7p.m.," he says, adding, "And even when a tourist asked for a self guided tour, we advise them on routes and give them a map."
Mr Muzahura told Saturday Monitor, the situation is under control and that is why the government has not issued any travel advisories. Mr Baluku adds, the coming months are high season for safaris and if the government serves advisory notices, it would heavily impact on the tourism industry.
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Tourists at Lubiri get excited by a Lioness
Ugandans have been urged to conserve the environment and protect wild life because they are a source of income through tourism.
In his speech, Dr.Seguya Andrew, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Education Centre said Uganda has a comparative advantage over the rest of the world. Uganda has more animals and plants species compared to Europe and Asia.
Dr Seguya who was speaking at the ongoing cultural exhibition at Lubiri in Mengo said Uganda has a big tourism potential. “This is why we should keep this sector jealously to stop people from killing wild animals and encroaching on wetlands and forests,” he added.
The major attraction of the center’s stall at Lubiri was a lioness. Other animals that were exhibited include pythons, an ostrich, the red-tailed monkey and the African fish eagle, among others.
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Tanzania Tourist Board gets new Managing Director
Dr. Aloyce K. Nzuki has been appointed as the new Managing Director of the Tanzania Tourist Board
Dr. Nzuki brings years of experience in the tourism industry to the position. He previously worked with Tanzania’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism as an Assistant Director in Tourism Development and Tourism Research, Training and Statistics.
He was appointed by H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania
Under Dr. Nzuki’s direction, the Tanzania Tourist Board will continue to promote sustainable tourism domestically and internationally.
“As Tanzania’s tourism industry, which accounts for 17.2 percent of the country’s GNP, keeps growing, we will remain focused on high quality, low impact tourism to ensure the sustainability of the tourism product. We look forward to continuing the momentum started in the United States, which remains our number-one market,” said Dr. Nzuki.
Dr. Nzuki studied Statistics at Makerere University in Uganda and completed a master’s degree in Tourism Marketing at University of Surrey in England. He holds a doctorate
Degree in Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management from Clemson University of South Carolina.
Until last month, Dr. Nzuki was an Assistant Professor of International Business Administration at the College of Applied Sciences in Salalah, Oman. He has also worked as a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s World Committee on Tourism Ethics, the body responsible for interpreting, applying and evaluating the provisions of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.
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Uganda’s Tourism potential not well tapped
The Tourism sector of Uganda sparks debate on the approaches that the sector should take to finance its growth. Having shaken off most of the negative perceptions that derailed its growth until the late 1990s, the sector has recovered considerably. According to figures from the ministry of Trade and Tourism, revenue from tourism was $350 million in 2006, $450 million in 2007 and $600 million in 2008.
Moses Mapesa, the executive director of Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), notes that encroachment and illegal access have often posed challenges to the management of such protected areas.
Between 2007 and 2008, the government allowed oil companies to carry out exploration activities in both Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks, while Hima Cement was granted a licence to mine cement at Dura in Queen Elizabeth National Park.Although these companies are compelled to ensure that they do not extensively damage the parks, the intrusion of humans and machinery often destabilizes the animals’ habitats eternally.
Mapesa argues that such challenges facing conservation have compelled them to strike a balance between development and conservation –an activity that was often carried out with the help of donor funding. “The pressures exerted on conservation in Uganda generally call for a paradigm shift from conservation just for the sake of it and using conservation to promote development and poverty alleviation,” explains Mr Mapesa.
Recently, UWA got semi-autonomous status from the Tourism ministry, started the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Trust. It is expected to generate funds locally for conservation activities, especially as donor funding reduces. According to Imelda Bacudo, a conservation finance advisor at UWA, the Trust will have a rigorous business plan for each national park and wildlife reserve aimed at ensuring they operate at optimal performance. “Once you put the money in a Trust fund then it becomes independent and transparent and it is managed by very technical financial managers.
UWA Spokesperson, Lillian Nsubuga, says while tourism revenue has gone up, most of it is from one activity; gorilla tracking. “Most of our parks bring in more than we put in,” she said. “The gorillas are actually helping to save other wildlife like hippos, elephants, impalas, zebras, gazelles, jaguars, cheetahs, etc.
Income from gorillas support conservation of other species but we are moving towards a period of more equitable distribution.” While a semi-autonomous status has given UWA the room to try out new conservation and fund-generating ideas, other sub-sectors that are funded solely by the government seem bereft of creativity. According to the Commissioner for museums and monuments in the ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry, Ms Rose Nkaale Mwanje, more than 500 cultural and natural tourist sites are endangered.
Unfortunate sites like Wamala Tombs, Ntutsi Mounds and Nyero Rock Paintings are among those being destroyed due to lack of funds to maintain them, lack of appropriate laws, ignorance of locals neighboring the sites and land encroachment.
Yet the rhetoric from the government does not promise much for sub-sectors still funded largely from state coffers, with the minister for Tourism, Trade and Industry, Mr Kahinda Otafiire, saying, “Government is committed to giving financial support to the tourism industry but the bread bake is still
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Uganda safari news
Uganda Tourism Board launches Martyrs trail
The Uganda Tourism Board has launched a new tourism product following the burning of the Kasubi tombs.THE MATRYRS TRAIL.
Cuthbert Baguma the company boss, announced the launch of “the Martyrs Trail” at the Media Centre in Kampala yesterday.
The Martyrs Trail traces areas where the Uganda Martyrs were tortured and killed by King Mwanga (Buganda’s Kabaka) in the 1880s for their strong faith in Christ.
The areas include Munyonyo, Ndeba, Nakivubo, Old Kampala, Busega, Naalya and Namugongo. A brochure has been made to guide tourists on the trail.
Every June 3, the 22 Catholic and 23 Anglican martyrs, are honoured by both catholics and Anglican believers and cerebrations are made at Namugongo shrines.
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