Published on : Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Kasese town is peaceful and the tourism industry there is recovering, but some sections of the population there are demanding the return of their cultural leader, Omusinga Charles Wesley Mumbere. They believe that this will attract more tourists to the region.
This was said during the celebration of World Wildlife Day February 4 in Kasese.
Presided over by Prime Minister Ruhankana Rugunda on behalf of President Yoweri Museveni, the event had Kasese local leaders host the day with emphasis on upgrading animal populations, after their plunge between 1972 and 1986.
Rugunda said, “Tourism is one of the biggest income-earners. The Government has developed the infrastructure which the populace ought to exploit to improve their standards of living. As numbers of tourists increase identify ways through which you can benefit.”
Tourists eat, stay in hotels, and are entertained and pay entry fee to access attractions like QENP or climb Mount Rwenzori.
“About 30% of the revenue is remitted to the local government,” added Ruganda. “It may appear small but if you guard the peace and the number of tourists increase, you stand to gain a lot more.”
The celebrations of World Wildlife Day had eminent personalities and organizations, which have made important contributions to Uganda’s wildlife conservation. They were awarded for their efforts.
“Tourism is sensitive to security,” said the Kasese LC5 chairman, Kasese Geofrey Bigogo.
“There is no total peace in the absence of our king. We had a section of the tourists who loved to visit the palace after climbing Mount Rwenzori or visited Queen Elizabeth National Park,” Bigogo said.
“Residents’ values are key to sustaining the eco-system,” stressed Bigogo. “Anti-poaching, poverty, literacy, tree planting and development in the Rwenzori region can be speeded up through our traditional leadership institution.”
Bigogo also spoke for compensation of people, whose crops were destroyed by straying animals from the national game parks.
“Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) should speed up compensation of those people whose crops are damaged by wild animals. This is the peasant’s welfare,” he said.
During the occasion, a UN co-ordinator, Rosa Amalango, expressed her concern about the declining populations of the Big Cats (lions, leopards and cheetahs) that once roamed the bushes.
Tags: Kasese town