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 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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Uganda to inject cash in Faith Tourism
The Uganda Tourism Industry is positioning itself to aggressively market its faith-based Tourism as it looks to diversify its products.
The initiative is backed by the increased arrivals for the annual Martyrs’ Day celebrations held at the Uganda Martyrs Shrines at Namugongo.
It is believed that around 997 Tanzanians came for the national Martyrs’ Day celebrations, over 200 from Kenya, while 32 came from Arizona, USA for the single-day event as disclosed by the state minister for tourism, Serapio Rukundo.
“There is a future for faith-based Tourism. Like we used to go to Rome, Israel and Mecca, I think people will be coming here more,” said Rukundo while briefing an Austrian investment firm, A-TEC Industries, recently.
Thirty-one Christian prisoners were burnt in the holocaust at Namugongo on June 3, 1886. Every year 3 June is honored as a public holiday in Uganda. It is also marked worldwide on the church calendar in honor of the Uganda Martyrs.
But what has made this an emerging hot tourism event on the annual calendar is that outside the main celebrations, the village of Namugongo, about 12 kilometers from Kampala city, explodes in a carnivore atmosphere.
Traders and transporters using the opportunity make a kill by selling all kinds of merchandise from souvenirs, refreshments and “simply celebrating life.”
It is this that Uganda Tourism Board (UTB), wants to act as a stepping stone since the martyrs trail was fast catching on in prominence and interest.
Meanwhile, A-TEC is looking at venturing into Uganda’s tourism sector, mining and energy markets.
Bernhard Rippel, A-TEC Industries director of corporate affairs says the firm will consider building a tourism school on the model of a public-private partnership.
Rippel said A-ITEC operates similar models in Oman and Kabul where the company funds the development of the curriculum, training and implementation, while the government pays tuition for the students.
He promised that the dean of the tourism school in Oman will visit Uganda at a yet unconfirmed date to explore on what basis a tourism school will be established.
Serapio outlined Uganda’s attractive tourism diversity of 10 national parks, 12 wildlife reserves and home to more than half of the surviving mountain gorillas, saying the sector still has room for new investments.
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Uganda Tourism news
America gives Shs12b to Uganda Tourism
Uganda has announced plans to introduce “marine tourism” to its list of core sightseeing marvels after the US government offered $6 million (Shs12b) to support the thriving sector over the next five years.
Mr Muzahura Edwin, Uganda Tourism Board’s public relations officer, said that they intend to start with purpose-tailored marketing of tourism treasures on Lake Victoria - the world’s second largest freshwater body.
“We have rapid waterfalls and sites for water-rafting. That’s why we want to introduce marine tourism which the Americans suggested and are willing to support,” he said after a meeting on Thursday with US Ambassador Jerry Lanier.
The meeting was at Mweya Safari Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park to launch United States Agency for International Development’s Shs12 billion domestic tourism campaigns, the US Mission in Kampala announced.
The campaign will raise awareness among Ugandans about the importance of their nation’s natural heritage and the need to improve conservation efforts.
It will also encourage tour operators, hotel owners, and others in the tourism value chain to promote reasonably priced facilities to tourists in Uganda as a means to ensure long-term economic growth in Uganda’s tourism industry.
From the Tourism Industry, last year Uganda got $746m (Shs1.5 trillion) from 842, 000 tourists, most of them foreigners, and the sector is the fastest growing at 8 per cent this year.
The USAID programmer will focus on the Albertine region and promote conservation and increase shared profits with rural Ugandans who shoulder conservation costs, the embassy said. “Sharing these benefits is the best way to build a local constituency to support wildlife conservation, which is the tourism resource base for Uganda’s future generations.”
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Tourists and workers would need 1 visa for 5 East African countries
The Five East African nations want to collapse their borders so that foreigners will need only one visa to travel to any of the five nations.
The proposal is part of an effort to forge Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania into a single market and increase investment in the region said the Kenya Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang.
Negotiations are at an advanced stage, he added. The European Union's 25-nation zone of open frontiers is being used as a model, and negotiations will conclude soon.
Citizens of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda do not need visas to travel within their economic bloc, the East African Community, which on Thursday officially began operating as a single market with one set of regulations. Each country, however, still has to change a wide range of laws including labor, taxation and immigration to conform to the protocol.
On Friday, Kenya waived all work permit requirements for East Africans, who will only need to register with the immigration department as a formality, Kajwang said.
"We want to show by example that what we have agreed on we are implementing, and this will create a lot of goodwill," Kajwang said. He noted that Rwanda in late 2007 eliminated work permit requirements for all citizens of the community.
He cautioned, however, that there are still difficulties ahead in fully implementing the East African Community's Common Market Protocol, such as resistance from bureaucrats. It took five years to negotiate the protocol and at times talks stalled because of fears that individual countries would lose their sovereignty or that Kenya's better established businesses would dominate the region.
If all goes as planed, there will be easy movement of Tourists with in the East Africa Region, leading to the development of the Tourism Industry in the Region.
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You must take a Safari in Uganda
Uganda is a small, land-locked country in Eastern Africa. It borders Kenya, Sudan, DR Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania and is home to one of the most diverse landscapes in all of Africa. Within Uganda's borders lie lush mountains, vast lakes and dry grasslands that teem with all sorts of wildlife, making it a wonderful safari destination.
Of recent, Uganda was not as popular a tourist destination as it neighboring countries. This means that adventurous visitors here can enjoy a type of authentic African landscape and culture that is less available in the better trodden countries such as Kenya and Tanzania.
One of Uganda's most famous and unique aspects are its abundance of Endangered Mountain wild gorillas, many of which are accessible on Ugandan safaris that take visitors into the national parks where they live. It is only because of Uganda's uniquely lush environments that gorillas can be observed up close here.
Chimpanzees come second to Uganda's unusual wildlife staying in their natural habitat. Typical Ugandan safaris also incorporate a chimp element, in addition to gorilla treks.
The River Nile is a very different setting on a safari through Murchison Falls National Park. Here, the massive river plunges down 45 meters into an amazing waterfall and wild hippos and crocodiles roam the waters.
Despite the rocky reputations of several of its neighbors, Uganda is one of the safer countries for tourists to visit in the entire Eastern African region. The nation boasts a stable government and lacks the insurgents and war that characterize many African nations, making it the perfect place to experience an Excellent African safari.
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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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Ugandan Lions to get Extinct
The Research projects done on<a href="http://katonatours.com/aboutuganda.html"> lions in Uganda </a>indicate that almost two males, and three females, are killed every year. This, therefore, implies that this year's share of lion death has been fulfilled already by those unscrupulous people in Kasenyi who poisoned the 5<a href="http://katonatours.com/safaris/uganda/3days-queen-elizabeth-safari.html"> lions in Queen Elizabeth National Park</a>. And if the trend increases along with other occurrences, the annual death rate is likely to double resulting into extinction of lions.
This implies at that rate, Uganda is bound to have no lions to show to the tourists that flock the country for a unique wildlife experience. Worse still, there is cause for worry, as the children of tomorrow might not get to see lions.
According to the <a href="http://katonatours.com/safaris/uganda/7days-cultural-wildlife-safari-uganda.html">Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), </a>the total lion population in Uganda could be slightly over 750. They live isolated in groups in only three of Uganda's 10 national parks. The deteriorating population of lions faces lots of challenges. Human population outbursts have led to human and livestock encroachment on wildlife habitats, leading to predator-livestock or wildlife-human conflicts. The end result has been; livestock losses due to lion predation, killing of lions for medicinal or cultural practices, death of lions by hit and run vehicles, loss of prey animals as they are poached by people or killed by diseases.
UWA indicates that the greatest decline in lion populations was during the civil wars in Uganda between 1970s and the early 1980s, due to lawlessness. Protected areas like <a href="http://katonatours.com/safaris/uganda/3days-mburo-wildlife-safari.html">Lake Mburo National Park </a>are reported to be devoid of the lion populations that once lived there. They were all killed by the neighboring pastoral communities but a few of them have been spotted some where in the park.
The Uganda Wild life Authority has put a lot of effort in conservation of lions by making partnership with various stakeholders to uplift the cause. Through its collaboration with institutions like Makerere University, through the Lions Project, NGOs like CARE and other foreign donors, conservation efforts have been put up to improve the survival rate of lions. This they are doing through research, neighboring community involvement and donor support.
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<a href="http://katonatours.com/tours/uganda-safaris.html">Uganda Safari news</a>