RUNGWE MOUNTAIN FOREST RESERVE UPGRADES STATUS

Tanzania's Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has now acted to tighten the status of this prized forest reserve and designate it a nature forest, which will in the future rule out human activity other than eco friendly tourism and research. Only last year was a primate species discovered in the forest and the reclassification of the forest will undoubtedly strengthen the Southern safari circuit. Residents of neighbouring villages to the forest appear to have been consulted in length over the status change and agreed to the new measures to protect their environment and profit in the future from tourism activities.

RUAHA TO MERGE WITH USANGU GAME RESERVE

A proposed merger of the two adjoining wildlife parks is likely to create the biggest national park in the region. Usangu is thought to be in the 15.000 square kilometre region, while Ruaha itself expands over nearly 13.000 square kilometres, which would push the combined size to nearly 28.000 sq km. The move is considered as a major component to make the 'Southern' safari circuit more attractive to visitors, as the more famous 'Northern' safari circuit &endash; which includes such parks as Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro and Serengeti &endash; is gradually reaching saturation point. Yet, with increasing visitors numbers for Tanzania, and their main tourism product still being wildlife safaris, the need increases to offer additional attractions and open new areas to the many repeat visitors coming to Tanzania. Ruaha incidentally is home to the largest elephant population in Eastern Africa, numbering according to tourism sources in Dar es Salaam to about 10.000 strong.

TANZANIAN MEDIA WARM UP OLD DIVISIVE SENTIMENTS

A recent editorial in Tanzania's Daily News once again played up divisive sentiments over the location of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which lies undisputedly inside Tanzanian territory. Marketing language used in Kenya had in the past attracted visitors to Kenya to then climb Kilimanjaro, something Tanzanian tourism operators had taken exception to, although it is undisputed that views towards the mountain from Kenya's Amboseli National Park are arguably amongst the best from anywhere. The mountain, beyond the lower foot hills, is however across the frontier and anyone climbing must do so from Tanzania and pay for permits and park entry fees there, leaving the financial benefits with the Tanzanian operators.

The underlying tenor of the message however is much more sinister, as it again brings to the forefront substantive, and according to this correspondent misguided opposition towards making tourism a regional force, benefitting from synergy effects and being able to effectively tap into new and emerging markets by pooling resources.

The editorial is also a vote against opening up the region under the auspices of the new East African Community, which in time to come will allow for freedom of movement of labour and capital and allow for equality amongst businesses from anywhere in the region. The aviation sector is one of those suffering from antiquated regulatory regimes (as is incidentally also the safari operations sector), often forcing aircraft to fly first and at substantial extra expense, into one of the few 'international' airports or aerodromes, before being able to proceed into the national parks, if that is at all being permitted by Tanzanian aviation authorities and travellers are not compelled to change aircraft before reaching their intended destination.

After hosting the just ended Africa Travel Association 33rd annual congress in Arusha and professing to Africanism, brotherly unity and regional integration, the time is ripe to throw out such inflammatory sentiments and move closer together, not further apart and break the vicious circle started by the founding fathers of the old EAC and their subsequent acrimonious break up of the first really functioning regional integrated economic entity.

This sentiment was also voiced by Zanzibari President Abeid Karume, who in closing the 33rd ATA Congress in Arusha called for regional cooperation and joint regional tourism development and marketing.

RWANDAIR SEEKS STRATEGIC PLAN CONSULTANTS

In further news from Rwanda's national airline, the carrier is now seeking consultancy services for the development of a 10 year strategic plan and a 5 year business plan. This is the clearest indication yet that earlier intentions to seek a strategic partner may have been put 'on ice' or even shelved altogether. Rwandair had with the help of the IFC, the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, advertised two years ago for partial privatisation, but this process has never been concluded nor any explanation offered by the airline as to the delay of selecting a suitable partner. One of the remaining two 'bidders' was Brussels Airlines, a company of real substance with extensive experience in aviation, having emerged from the former Sabena and the SN Brussels / Virgin Europe merger, which has the most extensive network from Brussels to Africa and currently also serves Kigali several times a week. However, SN's attempt to introduce BAe 146 aircraft, presently being phased out from their European fleet, has not helped their bid, as these aircraft are thought to be unsuitable for the routes and type of operation Rwandair conducts across their network. In contrast the other bidding company was considered by industry analysts, and individuals closely connected to Rwandair, to be of even less consequence in the process. That company is operating a relatively aged and outdated fleet in Italy, was trying to pass on such aircraft fossils to Rwandair and is anyway said to be financially struggling with their two airline adventures in West Africa. Interested consulting firms and suitably qualified individual consultants are invited to contact the airline's head office in Kigali via gerald.zirimwabagabo@rwandair.com or obtain further details through www.rwandair.com

RWANDA TO CONSTRUCT NEW ROAD TO BURUNDI

After both countries joined the East African Community last year, a major infrastructural development is to go underway soon, with a new state of the art highway being built to connect the two nations better and facilitate easier movement of passenger and cargo traffic.

Some 355 million US Dollars have been secured for the project which is supported by the African Development Bank and other multilateral lenders and agencies. The new highway will follow existing routes, which along several sections will see the rehabilitation and improvement / enlargement while in some sections an entirely new road will be constructed.

Rwanda has embarked on a major infrastructural development programme since the country rose from the ashes of the 1994 genocide and has become a model country in Africa and a 'darling' of Western development partners. Burundi in contrast will have a way to go to achieve similar stages of modernization and rebuilding, although the last active rebel group has now reportedly agreed to a negotiated settlement with the government in Bujumbura.

And now once again some tourism news from Gill Staden, Livingstone / Zambia:

Lots of pictures this week. The header is a picture of the Victoria Falls through the Knife Edge Bridge. The Falls are still full and pumping with water.

Looking down from the bridge, the rainbows were bright over the boiling pot. In the morning, as we walked across, the Falls could not be seen because there was so much spray, but in the afternoon we could just make out the Falls between the clouds of spray.

Much to my delight, and the delight of the tourists, is the new regime at the border for trucks. The drivers have to clear their trucks before they go into no-mans-land and onto the bridge. The bridge was virtually clear of trucks. The destruction of the roads and pathways between the borders, though, is horrific and the repair cost will be hefty.

Meanwhile, on the road from the border there are trucks backed up along the road, although they did seem to be queuing in an orderly manner.

The Zim-Zam Border. Left &endash; from the bridge to the Zambian side; Middle &endash; from the Zim border to the bridge; Right &endash; the trucks on the road along the road on the Zambian side.

The Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) is the local association which represents the private tourism industry in Livingstone and its environs. One of the objectives of the LTA is to promote tourism in the region.

Livingstone Lodges and Guest Houses Association (LILOHA) is a member of the LTA. As I have written previously, LILOHA is an association which was set up to help the Guest Houses and Lodges to promote themselves, to learn from each other and to work together.

In a series of articles for the Livingstone Weekly I am finding out all about the 'smaller' side of tourism in Livingstone. We all know about the big companies like Sun International, Bushtracks and Safari Par Excellence. But what of the other businesses which are so dependent on tourism for their livelihood but are not so 'in your face' … In fact the whole of Livingstone town needs tourism. I cannot think of one business in the town which does not derive some benefit from the tourist industry here - from the taxi driver, to the curio seller, to the fast-food outlet, to the grocery shops, to the markets, to the furniture manufacturers, to hotels and guesthouses, to activity providers.

Finally, of course, the Government is the largest to benefit from the tourist industry. They gain from tax paid by all businesses in Livingstone &endash; VAT, PAYE, Corporate Tax and Turnover Tax. They gain from Import Duty from all the imports brought into the country &endash; imports which are required to provide the necessary service to overseas guests. They gain from all the licences which are required to run a tourism enterprise &endash; licences which we know are many and expensive. They gain from Work Permits from all the non-Zambians which are required, at present, to assist in the tourism industry. Government has also recently introduced visa fees for tourists &endash; a very contentious issue which has been highlighted in previous articles. These are all direct payments to Government to the Ministry of Finance.

Indirectly, the Government earns income from the Musi-O-Tunya National Park from Park Entrance Fees (Zambia's smallest park but its biggest earner). Likewise, income is derived for National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC) from entrance fees to the Victoria Falls.

And, finally on my list of benefits for Livingstone, is the amount of employment that tourism provides &endash; directly and indirectly &endash; which provides an income for many, many people &endash; people who provide for many dependents in terms of food, clothing, school fees, hospital bills, etc.

In recent articles we had a tour of Limbo Lodge and last week I toured the new Protea Hotel and the Falls Park curio sellers. This week I took myself off to Stone Guest House …

Stone Guest House

Stone Guest House is tucked away along Kombe Drive &endash; the road which junctions with Airport Road near Wasawange Lodge. The owner of Stone Guest House is Alex Mutali. Alex worked for several years in Mozambique and with the money from his work there he bought a house … which ended up becoming a guest house in 2003.

The guesthouse has 11 rooms &endash; 2 executive rooms, 8 double rooms and 1 twin room. The rooms are all en-suite with air conditioning, DSTV and tea/coffee facilities. The price of K250,000 (about US$75) for a double room, for bed and breakfast, is quite reasonable. The guesthouse is set in pretty gardens, with a swimming pool and outside sitting area and bar.

I asked Alex how the business was going. He told me that he still works as an Agricultural Officer in Livingstone but will be retiring in a couple of years and needs the guest house to earn more money. He hopes that Government will listen to stakeholders in the tourism industry - the Government and the industry need to work more closely together. The introduction of the new visa fees has been bad for his business and he feels that, had Government consulted with stakeholders before making the decision, they would not have changed the visa waiver system which really helped his business.

He also feels that Zambia needs to market the country more. The Zambia National Tourism Board (ZNTB) which was set up to help market the country, he feels, could do more. He markets Stone Guest House mainly on the internet. Alex showed me his advert on the SafariNow website, which, although he does not pay for, he pays commission on every booking which comes through the site.

Alex has 7 staff at the guesthouse. He says that he finds it difficult to get trained staff and tends to take on trainees, who, after a while, leave for bigger establishments. He says that this is just the way it goes … there is not a lot he can do about it.

Alex also has the idea that tourism in Zambia should start in Livingstone; that the Government should prioritise tourism infrastructure in Livingstone. He felt that if Zambia concentrated development more in Livingstone, the industry would spread from here.

Meanwhile, outside his guesthouse the road had been turned into a sandpit by diggers and graders as the road was being resurfaced … This repair work is the long overdue SEED project … But maybe it is a sign of better days …

Having said that Government could improve in certain areas, Alex was grateful to them for the loan that he managed to acquire through the Tourism Development Fund which allowed him to complete the renovations. He said that this was a welcome initiative and hoped that this and more help for the tourism industry would be forthcoming.

To contact Stone Guest House:

Tel: 0213 320985

Cell: 0977 859852

Email: manager@stoneguesthouse.com

Web: www.stoneguesthouse.com

Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Zimbabwe

I went over to Vic Falls Town with Errol Tarr, the landscaper for the David Livingstone Safari Lodge. Errol was off to have a look at the gardens at Victoria Falls Safari Lodge - the gardens that he laid out over 10 years ago. And I went for the ride … or should I say walk …

The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is probably the most loved lodge in Victoria Falls. It is set high on a ridge overlooking the National Park with the Zambezi River in the distance.

Errol and I walked all around the extensive gardens as he marvelled over the growth of the trees on what was once a very rocky site above a quarry. He talked about 'his' trees and how the site had matured over the years. He told me the story of the baobab tree &endash; 17 metres high &endash; which they transported from Hwange on a truck and then took three days with all sorts of mechanical devices to get the baobab into its new home in front of the main entrance.

After our walk, we returned to the lodge for a coke. It was around lunchtime, not only for the guests, but also for the vultures. The vultures were circling overhead and, as we sat down, we saw the vultures all swoop down to an area just below the lodge. The kitchen meat-scraps are taken out and left in an open area for the vultures to eat every day at this time. The visitors loved the spectacle and I was among many taking photos.

The swimming pool, designed by the architect and Errol, is on two layers, surrounded by rocks and stones. It is beautifully done and is in the style of the safari lodge. I said to Errol &endash; I want a pool like that!

Errol used to live in Zimbabwe but when his plant nursery and home were taken by the "war vets", he trans-located with his family to South Africa. Having lost everything he had worked for all his life, he started again … He lives in Johannesburg now and has set up a business designing town gardens, … much to his distress, as his passion is indigenous gardens in more tropical climes.

Errol will be in Livingstone, I hope, from time to time, to work on gardens here and Victoria Falls Town. If you would like to contact him: erroltarr@mweb.co.za

From the Zambian Ornithological Society ( ZOS)

The Birds of Zambia (Bird Atlas) has finally been published, but just because we now have an atlas, this is no time for complacency.  Bird distributions and timing of migrations are changing radically due to climate change, and species distributions are also changing due to habitat

destruction.  It is important that we record all of this in Zambia.  One of the shortcomings of the atlas is that the data were not sufficient to analyse in any way, for example to check for seasonal patterns.  The atlas was based on about 81 000 records collected by volunteers over the years, an amazing effort!  However, I think we can do better in the age of e-mail, cell phones and GPSs.  I am inspired by our Tanzanian neighbours, who are already on over 800 000 records.

I have started a yahoo mailing group, for anyone interested in Zambian birds, not just for atlasing but as a way to keep in touch with regard to bird-related issues in Zambia.  I will also set up a database to keep track of records, so any sightings data are welcome, will be kept and eventually

put to good use.  More about this on the mailing list.  Anyone who is interested in this project, or who would just like to be part of the mailing group please send me an email.  The numbers of emails exchanged should be low, so no fear of clogging up your mailbox.  Alternatively, if you would like to subscribe directly to the mailing group, please go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zambiabirds/

PARK EVICTIONS START IN EARNEST

Following the recent directive by President Museveni, that park encroachers and pastoralists with their herds must leave national parks and other protected areas, selected army units were now deployed in the areas surrounding parts of Murchisons Falls National Park. This move is aimed to strengthen the UWA game rangers and enforcement units permanently stationed at this park, which will be supplemented by extra manpower, once the exercise goes operationally into high gear. It is the clearest indication yet, that government this time means business and is set to begin the long awaited evictions from the parks across the country, which were in the past encroached on by land seekers, profiteers and cattle herders looking for free pasture.

Only recently did this column report, that visiting wildlife experts with a long standing knowledge of and a close relationship with Uganda have decried the presence of cattle herds in several parks visited, in some cases outnumbering the wildlife found in those locations. Conservationists and tourism leaders too have long demanded action from government over park encroachment, which affected tourism development in Queen Elizabeth, Lake Mburo, Murchisons, Kidepo Valley and Mt. Elgon national parks besides a number of other game, forest and nature reserves.

Press reports spoke of up to 300.000 encroachers across the various protected areas, which is possibly a speculative figure and not presently backed up by official government releases. This however, notwithstanding the actual number of encroachers, will constitute a major challenge for the security organs to remove them and then for government to settle them somewhere else or take them back to their original home areas.

It was confirmed during the week, that evictions have actually started at the Bugungu Forest Reserve, which adjoins the Murchisons Falls National Park, and that a number of herdsmen were arrested and hundreds of livestock confiscated already. Several of those detained were already charged at the Masindi Magistrate's Court for their illegal presence in the national park. Operations are said to be ongoing.

SHERATON RECERTIFIES ISO 9001-2000

The Bureau Veritas global quality assurance organization has recently re-certified the Kampala Sheraton Hotel with its quality approval seal ISO 9001-2000, following a thorough audit on the hotel's operation. It is understood that the hotel passed the inspection with flying colours, having only 6 months ago completed a full refurbishment and modernization programme in most areas of the hotel. A vigorous in house training programme has also contributed very much to improved service standards and local food critics have of late reported positively on the quality of the cuisine in the hotel, after a change in menus and the introduction of new culinary ideas.

The Kampala Sheraton Hotel is the only hotel in Uganda which is certified by ISO and this is a credit and example to the rest of the hospitality industry in the country. However, few other hospitality businesses are presently considering to undergo the stringent ISO audit, raising questions what the owners are trying to hide or why they are afraid to seek certification.

It has also emerged, that on the occasion of CHOGM's catering requirements and in particular the main state banquet at the newly opened State House in Entebbe, the Sheraton Kampala Hotel seconded several of their leading chefs to the State House kitchen staff, a clear vote of confidence in the Sheraton's ability to deliver the very best culinary services available in the country today.

GOVERNMENT GIVES CITY COUNCIL 10 MIO US DOLLARS FOR ROADS

Following angry public outbursts from citizens in Kampala over the state of the roads in the city, barely 6 months after the Commonwealth Summit when billions of Shillings had been spent on road repairs, central government has now allotted the council some 10 million Dollars worth of funding for road maintenance equipment. The shoddy works on public roads is now also a hot topic in the relevant parliamentary committees, and in other public forae, as people want to know exactly what has been going on over these 'repairs' and who is responsible for the mess. Watch this space.

MINOR TREMOR RATTLES SOUTH WESTERN UGANDA

Parts of the Ugandan South West, in particular the districts of Kisoro, Kabale, Kanungu, Rukungiri and Bushenyi experienced slight earth tremors last weekend, but neither damages nor injuries were reported since then. A series of noticeable but far from serious earthquakes hit the region in 2006 and 2007, until the volcanic outbreak of Mt. Ol Donyo Lengai in Northern Tanzania brought some apparent relief to the troubled underground.

NO CHANGE YET ALONG CONGO BORDER

Inspite of the commitments made by Congo's regime leader Kabila at a recent summit meeting in Dar es Salaam, no changes were reported yet along the border, where Congolese troops are still camping out literally in front of the Ugandan border point, miles into the so called 'no man's land' and way beyond the natural border formed by the river Ofu. President Museveni has earlier this week demanded a swift implementation by the Congolese of the accord, before leaving for Arusha to attend an African Union meeting, where undoubtedly the roguish behaviour of Congo will once again be put on the agenda.

GERMAN PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE VISITS

The Development Cooperation Committee of the German Parliament visited Uganda during the week to assess the impact of past German funded support and development programmes and discuss with government, opposition leaders and the business community areas of future potential development aid areas. Vocational training assistance, amongst other key issues, was put forward to the German parliamentarians for their consideration by members of the German Business Association in Uganda during a meeting at the German Ambassador's residence. In particular the German 'dual' system of vocational training is considered relevant for Uganda, where formal company training schemes for apprentices are still largely absent, yet urgently required to improve the skills of the workforce.

While in Uganda the group also visited Jinja, East Africa's adventure capital at the source of the river Nile and Arua in the West Nile area of the country.

EXEMPLARY COOPERATION OVER ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

The Uganda Wildlife Authority, the National Forest Authority, the National Environmental Management Authority and a department from the Ministry of Energy have now formed a committee to draft contingency and action plans for oil spills, in view of the ongoing exploration for oil along the Albertine Rift. The oil exploration companies, Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil, are also part of the group and fully support the efforts to prepare for the unlikely event of an oil spill developing in the exploration and production areas in coming months and years.

ASSAULTS ON ENVIRONMENT CONTINUE UNABATED

The attempts to 'industrialise' key wilderness areas in Uganda and turn them into 'productive' sites for the country are becoming legion. Conservationists and members of the tourism fraternity keep pointing out to government the opportunities to globally exploit the 'green' potential, through tourism, carbon offset trading and in particular intensified research into the medicinal use of the flora found in such pristine areas, many of which remain largely unexplored. Uganda's Maramagambo Forest, extending into portions of Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of several such medium altitude rain forests, where yet undiscovered bird species beckon to be found and identified, and where plants of immense value to human medicine can be researched, bringing in a constant stream of revenue into the country. Yet, only miles away from Maramagambo, at the opposite end of the park &endash; where incidentally the French global industrial conglomerate Lafarge's local cement company Hima is set to dig their way into the immediate neighbourhood of a globally recognised Ramsar wetland site for open quarrying of lime stone &endash; another key area is now in the cross hairs of developers. The Mpanga river gorge, coming from the Kibale Forest National Park and extending into the Queen Elizabeth National Park before reaching Lake George, has been set aside for a hydro electric power plant development, although the national park boundary is clearly above the waterfalls, which puts the development either inside a protected area or at the very least at the immediate outside of the park, something unacceptable for conservationists. The make matters worse (see following article by Achilles Byaruhanga) the gorge is home to a rare species of cycad trees, arguably the largest such concentration globally. Reportedly an American based company is now in the process of eliminating the entire forest, which a renowned environmental journalist has called a 'crime against our environment'.

In a noticeable development Uganda Wildlife Authority has invited leading business, academic and scientific opinion leaders for a breakfast meeting in early June under the heading of 'Leadership for Conservation in Africa'. This meeting is to advance discussions over planned UWA investments in and around protected areas to make wildlife and nature based tourism a yet bigger economic force in the country, while in the meantime corporate greed, i.e. France's Lafarge / Hima, Mehta's Sugar Corporation of Uganda and now a power developer gobble up priceless natural resources with ever increasing speed, which the country will well rue in years to come.

In a related development, Costa Rica has just been reported to becoming a global show case for going green and not only protecting natural resources but commercially and sustainably using them for revenue purposes in favour over short sighted and short lived industrial projects, an avenue still open for Uganda too. Watch this space.

NATURE UGANDA'S ACHILLES BYARUHANGA SPEAKS OUT:

Mpanga Gorge: Uganda's ecological gem is going

By Achilles Byaruhanga, Executive Director, Nature Uganda

Mpanga Falls is located in western Uganda on the eastern edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park and at the north-eastern corner of Lake George. This area contains the largest cycad forest population in the world. However, an American-based company, South Asia Energy Management Systems, is in the process of bulldozing the cycad plants, the national treasure, for a paltry 18 Mega Watt hydro electric power dam.

Mpanga River originates upstream from Kibaale National Park and flows through a cleft over the 50 metre Mpanga Falls. The river then flows gently along the boundary of Queen Elizabeth National Park into Lake George Ramsar site. From 100 yards above the falls down to Lake George is part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The escarpments of the gorge before and after Mpanga falls lies one of the most ecologically important areas in the world for the precious and priceless cycads, Encephalartos whitelockii.

Cycads are an ancient plant believed to have survived over 200-300 million years. In his book, Uganda's Great Rift Valley, Andy Roberts describes the cycads as a "living fossil". It is probably the only Uganda's surviving 'dinosaur'. Environmental changes have reduced the range of the cycads around the world and they survive in small pockets wherever they exist. In some countries, these cycads may be represented by a single plant.

Uganda is blessed with the largest surviving cycad forest in the world. This plant is described as critically-endangered according to the international union for the conservation of nature and natural resources (IUCN) with a very small area of occupancy less than five sqkm. Uganda is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity (focal point for convention is the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and as a party to this convention, we have a responsibility and obligation to protect such a national and global ecological treasures. The combination of Mpanga Falls, the cycad population and the vicinity to the eastern part of the Queen Elizabeth National Park, as well as Kibaale National Park, makes this area an immense tourist spinner. The first alert to the destruction of the cycads was made by tourists and now there is a big alarm all over the world about the survival of the "Ugandan dinosaur".

The attraction and the interest that Mpanga area exudes to researchers, tourists and private collectors make this spot an area to be strictly guarded. But Uganda has chosen the path of destruction rather than the conservation of its uniqueness. Roads and other infrastructure are crisscrossing the cycad contour zone and hundreds of the trees have already been destroyed.

The environment impact assessment report produced for the proposed development was highly lacking and in some sections and barely talked about the significance of the cycads. One of the recommendations in this report was that communities should be encouraged to grow the cycads in order for the plants to survive. Thus, according to the environment impact assessment report, the cycads were condemned already from their natural habitat. This was not the purpose of the study. How can communities start propagating plants that take hundreds of years to grow when you are destroying the natural habitat?

Local community activities are also a big threat to the cycads. It was evident that communities are cutting down and burning large areas for cultivation or grazing. There were reports of harvesting seeds for food and sale. This problem needs to be urgently addressed.

Furthermore, NEMA approved the environment impact assessment report on May 31, 2007. Ironically, the approval certificate does not mention the word cycads or endemic plants or ecological sensitive area. This was an oversight on the part of NEMA.

The Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) expressed concerns about the environment impact assessment report and "requested NEMA to halt the on-going works at Mpanga falls". UWA?recommended a fresh submission of the environment impact assessment statement for review.

I have talked to senior officers from both institutions and there seems to be consensus on conducting a fresh study. However the destruction of the cycad forest has commenced in disregard to the technical advice from the wildlife body.

The roads and other infrastructure developments continue to eat up the landscape. Surprisingly, these roads were not even part of the environment impact assessment study.

Damming of the river and water diversion through the canal will cause major hydrological changes in the river valley. The canal is expected to divert over eight cubic metres of water of the estimated 16 at high water level.

Besides, the Kamwenge district local government is constructing a water supply plant that will draw 10 cubic metres of water per day from the same river. This could result in little or no water over the falls. However, no hydrological report is available. The ecology of the entire area will be changed and destroyed by this development. The ecology of the site is not fully known, the environment impact assessment report did not meet the minimum requirements and the technical advice was not considered. Thus, what information did NEMA base on to approve the study and recommend the development of the dam?

Why is Uganda very insensitive to tourism sites when tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner bringing in over $450m annually? Why would we destroy the very sites that we are spending millions of dollars to advertise for tourism? Is the Mpanga Falls project a more urgent dam than one proposed for Karuma Falls? While energy development is good, we need to be more responsible in our quest for increased energy. NEMA and the UWA must reconsider this development and act quickly, otherwise it would be a shame for a country gifted by nature to destroy the largest cycad forest in the world.

Adds this correspondent: Write to achilles.byaruhanga@natureuganda.org to voice your own concerns and express your support for conserving this (and others of course) priceless natural treasure.

UGANDANS CAUGHT UP IN SOUTH AFRICAN VIOLENCE SPREE

The result of Thabo Mbeki's ostrich policy towards the events in Zimbabwe, where he continues to play a most dubious role in supporting a combined anti-constitutional and military power retention scheme by Mugabe and his goons, has now spread to the streets of South Africa. In a whirlwind of most likely politically inspired gang violence, much resembling the militias in Zimbabwe itself, refugees from that country now find themselves targeted, hunted down, beaten up and even killed in growing numbers. The perpetrators show all signs of being organised and taking 'hints' from 'above' to achieve a political agenda through violent means. Such behaviour was previously only known from repressive dictatorial regimes in Africa and the resurgence of such tactics in South Africa is ringing the alarm bells on the continent and around the globe.

Several Ugandans living in South Africa and visiting there are now also reported to have been caught up in these events, loosing property, having their businesses attacked, being beaten up and at least one case was reported about a Ugandan ending up in hospital in a coma. Media reports in Uganda expressed concern for their fellow Ugandans in South Africa, in particular those in Johannesburg, while diplomatic sources played down the situation in almost typical fashion.

These events are tragic, as much of Africa and the rest of the civilised world for long looked upon South Africa as an emerging African democratic success story and for providing continental leadership, all of which is now being despoiled. However, most disconcerting is the fact of such brutal attacks being inflicted on fellow Africans, whose own countries during the South African apartheid years gave refuge and shelter to South Africans engaged in the liberation struggle and to those who opted for exile to escape an oppressive regime. And while Thabo Mbeki was talking of setting up a commission of enquiry, his most likely successor Jacob Zuma has again spoken out candidly and condemned the violence in the strongest possible terms.

In contrast to Mbeki, Zambian President Mwanawasa has of late emerged as a champion of the suppressed people of Zimbabwe and it is hoped that more African leaders follow his lead and not only talk reality to the Zimbabwean regime leadership but follow this up with concrete action to help a population largely impoverished, starved and literally held hostage by their so called leaders.

FIFA too, as will other global sports bodies intent of handing major championships to South Africa, is showing signs of concern bordering a minor panic, ahead of the 2010 Football World Cup. Constant power interruptions, expected to get worse in the near term, combined with an already serious crime rate which in the past often also involved tourists, has cast doubts over the South African governments ability to be ready for the biggest sports event next to the Olympics, supposed to start in two years time from now. In this regard South Africa is letting down all of Africa for bringing the spotlight back on the continent once more for the wrong reasons.

KENYA AIRWAYS SETS DATE FOR PARIS FLIGHTS

As reported in this column in April already, Kenya Airways had then decided to resume their suspended flights to Paris later on. June 10th was now given by the airline as the actual date, when the flights will commence again. During June and into early July there will initially be two flights a week, from mid/late July then rising to three flights a week. All services will initially be operated with B767 equipment. The services will also boost cargo transportation, which depended on other routes since the Paris flights were halted amidst the post election violence in Kenya, boosting exports.

Meanwhile, a number of IT charters, suspended or cancelled during height of the country's post election violence, are due to resume from end June onwards to the Kenyan coast, when the main European summer holiday season starts. This will undoubtedly boost Kenya's tourism recovery even further. The flights reportedly originate from Scandinavia, Britain, Germany and Italy, bringing holiday makers to the sunny beaches of Kenya's Indian Ocean shores.

KENYA TOURISM GETS 1.5 BILLION BUDGET BOOST

The Kenyan tourism fraternity has responded with appreciation to their government's decision, to provide an additional 1.5 billion Kenya Shillings to market the country abroad. Earlier in the year Kenya suffered unprecedented set backs with tourist arrivals over post election violence, although not one visitor did actually come to any harm during the few weeks of political frenzy. Already during ITB this year one of the strongest Kenyan delegations ever visited first the trade fair and then set out to swarm into their main European producer markets with the message, that things were back to normal and 'Kenya Hakuna Matata' had indeed returned.

In comparison, this translates to nearly 40 billion Uganda Shillings, which constitutes almost the entire budget for the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry and may explain, why Uganda's neighbours are running away with the tourism market for Eastern Africa while the local tourism industry continues to struggle in Uganda inspite of being blessed with a magnitude of natural attractions unique to the region and a biodiversity second to none.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC DIALS UP KENYA PROMOTIONS

The privately owned British airline is set to spend some 250.000 UK Pounds in promoting their flights to Nairobi. Having started the daily service just about a year ago, Virgin continued their operation since the end December 2007 elections in Kenya, but suffered &endash; just like other airlines &endash; a sharp drop in occupancies and income on the route. The promotional efforts are aimed to further boost loads on the flights and will undoubtedly also help Kenya's own marketing efforts in returning the country's tourism sector to normality. Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, was in the country last week with a group of journalists and travel writers.

Kenya Tourist Board Chairman Jake Grieves-Cook said in connection with the visit and the promotional plans, that forward bookings for Kenya in the second half of the year were promising but that the challenge remained to catch up with the levels of 2007, which was the best year for Kenya tourism yet.

SOUTH AFRICAN HOTEL GIANT'S NAME RETURNS TO TANZANIA

Southern Sun Hotels, one of Southern Africa's major hotel chains, has now confirmed that the Holiday Inn in Dar es Salaam will in a short while be rebranded the 'Southern Sun Dar es Salaam'. The hotel company is one of the best recognized brands on the African continent and has been in existence for over 40 years now. Together with Protea Hotels, Sun International and Legacy Hotels they are the leading 'home grown' hotel managements companies originating in South Africa. South African owned companies are also amongst the major investors in Eastern Africa and trade and visitor numbers between the Southern and Eastern Africa have shown strong growth in past years. South African Airways now flies daily between Johannesburg and Entebbe and also serves Dar es Salaam and Nairobi at least once a day.

RWANDAIR SEEKS 'AIRLINE ADVISOR'

In the clearest indication yet that Rwandair is set to remain an independent airline, wanting to cooperate with suitable partners but without financial ties, they have now advertised the new position for an 'airline advisor', who is then due to report directly to the Executive Chairman of the company. The application deadline is the 12th of June and applications can be sent by qualified applicants (mandatory MBA and at least 10 years of relevant senior management experience) to Gerald.zirimwabagabo@rwandair.com.

FLY 540 UGANDA READIES FOR FLIGHT OPERATIONS

After the now locally incorporated low cost carrier has received an air services licence a few weeks ago, they are now processing requirements for the air operators certificate &endash; AOC, which is a prerequisite by the Uganda CAA to commence flight operations and obtain the status of a designated airline. The latter is a prerequisite to be assigned domestic, regional and international routes from Entebbe.

This requirement has come under increased scrutiny however, as it is in direct violation of the spirit of the Yamoussoukro agreement, COMESA aviation rules and most important the spirit of the East African Community. It is often said, justly or unjustly, that the 5 separate aviation authorities are loath to give up any level of oversight and delegate responsibilities to their equally competent partner authorities, which already have licensed the same airlines and subjected them to the same scrutiny and process to get certified. The five aviation regulators too have done little to dispel such murmurs, when they could in fact openly address these issues and seek the support of the private sector to help in faster and deeper integration towards a single authority once again, unless they are opposed to this concept, which they should equally state in the public arena and then risk the wrath of their political masters.

These anomalies have angered the aviation fraternity to no small extent as it prevents any airline already operating in one of the 5 memberstates to operate domestically (cabotage rights) in the other 4 memberstates of the EAC. This makes flying more expensive &endash; with a large portion of the overall ticket cost already resulting from regulatory charges and fees in any case &endash; and limits consumer friendly competition across the region. It is also thought to be designed to protect other locally incorporated and licensed airlines using aviation stone-age aircraft from being exposed to market mechanisms, again at the expense of the consumer who has to pay for it with every ticket one purchases.

It is predicted that eventually this anomaly will need to be corrected by a Head of State resolution and directive, so that the bureaucrats can fall into line with the spirit of the agreements now in place, rather than hiding behind a rigid outdated regulatory regime.

That said, Fly 540 Uganda is expected to commence operations with their own Ugandan registered fleet of up to 3 ATR turboprop aircraft within about 3 months, after they have gone through the (duplicated) AOC process and having to re-register their aircraft on the Ugandan registry, the extra cost of which will be borne ultimately by the passengers via air fares. Meanwhile, Fly 540 Kenya already operates two daily frequencies between Nairobi and Entebbe, which could in due course be expanded to three or more, following the instant success of their flights between the two countries. Once the airline begins to operate from Entebbe, other regional destinations in Tanzania, Rwanda, Eastern Congo and Southern Sudan will then also be within their reach, offering travellers better fares and greater choices. Happy Landings.

NKURINGO SILVERBACK DIES OF OLD AGE

The alpha male of the 18 member strong Nkuringo gorilla group, estimated to be around 50 years old, was at the end of last week found dead by UWA rangers inside Bwindi National Park. Gorillas have a maximum life expectancy of about 60 years, but the animal in question apparently already suffered of poor health. The animal, aptly named Nkuringo was buried in the area after veterinary tests had been carried out. Meanwhile however a new birth was reported for the group, restoring its numbers to 18.

The Nkuringo area was of late subject to a hate campaign against sections of the community and their chosen developer of a high class eco tourism lodge, when a small but vocal group from the tourism sector, overcome by greed and envy, began to argue against a contract signed by UWA some years ago with the community over the use of 6 of the overall 8 gorilla tracking permits in compensation for giving up large tracts of their communal land for the gorillas to forage for food. The same disgruntled elements also at the time attacked Asian lodge owners for allegedly 'dominating the sector' and 'managing the parks', which is of course a gross distortion of the reality and also thought to be born out of envy coupled with a splash of racism attitude. See related articles in previous editions of the column.

'THE EYE' INTRODUCES REMOVABLE KAMPALA MAP

Uganda's premier entertainment and reference guide, published every two months and distributed through travel agents, hotels and airline offices for free, has just introduced a separate map of Kampala, which can be removed from the booklet and carried as a street and location guide by visitors. Inside the publication is also a map of Uganda, as well as maps of Entebbe and Jinja municipalities, two of the most visited places in the country. For would be visitors to Uganda 'The Eye' is also available on the Internet via www.theeye.co.ug, where valuable information can be sourced ahead of an actual trip to Uganda. For more details contact theeye@theprinthouse.co.ug.

MONEY TALKS LOUDEST

French multinational Lafarge's local company Hima Cement has now managed to persuade members of the parliamentary select committee on natural resources to give them the green light for mining of lime stone inside protected areas. Environmental pressure groups without equally deep pockets to counter Lafarge's PR offensive with their own research, studies and PR activities were exasperated to learn of the decision to cut yet another piece from Uganda's protected areas. It is also feared that this success of Lafarge will set a precedent for further assaults on the environment and biodiversity in Uganda. Part of the affected area is a designated 'Ramsar' site and the consequences of this action will likely only show in time to come, when global environmental and eco bodies will put Uganda into their respective black books for failing to protect our priceless natural resources.

A reaction from the World Bank is also expected soon, as the bank had financed a nearly 40 million US Dollars programme for wildlife conservation and park protection under the PAMSU project (protected areas and sustainable use). Queen Elizabeth National Park, where the open mining for limestone is to take place, was a major beneficiary of this programme.

Meanwhile, in a twist of reality, Hima Cement &endash; according to a press report &endash; has blamed Umeme, Uganda's power distributor, for 'pollution' in the plant area near Kasese, which Hima says is due to power outages. Oooops.

CHIMP 4X4 CHALLENGE SUCCESSFUL

The fundraising activity at Ssissa Club last week, in support of the chimpanzee sanctuary on Ngamba Island, proved to be an overwhelming success. Nearly 10 million Uganda Shillings were raised through participation fees, donations and pledges, all going towards the sanctuary's kitty. Well done!

FUEL SHORTAGE PERSISTS

The previously mentioned shortage of diesel, due to a failed delivery at the Mombasa port, has intensified and prices for the commodity have now substantially exceeded the cost of petrol. Sources from fuel companies have admitted the supply problems and expect the crunch to ease within a matter of days, after another tanker carrying diesel has been landed in Mombasa and began to discharge its cargo. This is of little comfort however to owners of diesel propelled vehicles and has began to impact on both cargo and passenger traffic across the country. Diesel driven thermal electricity plants are also said to be affected and loadshedding has once more increased, as the plants are faced with the diesel shortage too.

BRIDGE REPORT SHOCKS PUBLIC

Newspaper reports have emerged that the bridge across the river Nile in Jinja, leading across the Owen Falls dam, has developed cracks and 'is surviving on borrowed time'. Before the parliamentary committee for budget, where the matter was raised, it was also mentioned that the cost of a partial rehabilitation, starting at the next financial year, would immediately require 9 billion Uganda Shillings, while the Ministry of Finance had only set aside about half of that amount. The bridge is the sole lifeline for all road traffic to the Western part of Uganda beyond the Nile but also for the hinterland countries of Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Congo and Southern Sudan, all of which depend almost entirely on import and export commodities crossing this bridge by truck. While there is a railway bridge a few hundred metres upstream from the dam, this is not a feasible alternative to bring the massive tonnages hauled by road across the river.

There is now some speculation, that the Bujagali dam, now under construction, would require to have a bridge incorporated to offer some feasible alternative way and allow for a full rehabilitation of the existing bridge to eventually have two crossing points available in case of an emergency. However, the new dam is not due to be ready before about late 2010 or early 2011, until which the country, as well as the hinterland nations, will have an anxious wait ahead of them.

Efforts are continuing in the meantime to lobby government to set aside sufficient funds for repairs and safe the nation from a possible disaster, should the bridge indeed become impassable. The private sector and business community in particular are said to be worried about the implications of the reports and are pushing for a formal statement from government and inclusion of the repair bill in the next budget.

AKON STANDS UP UGANDA

Ugandans were left furious when American music star Akon failed to show up in time for his much hyped concert, which was due to be held on the evening of 02nd May. The show had previously been postponed twice already to the disgust of Ugandan music fans, raising further suspicions about the singer's intent.

Telecom giant Celtel was subsequently at a loss to explain to the tens of thousands of people who bought tickets, why, inspite of all warnings in advance about Akon's past ehaviour in Kenya, they were so overly confident of the singer's appearance and spent billions of Shillings on preparations, a huge promotion and prepayments. Meanwhile, Akon's management tried to explain the star's failure to show up with an 'illness' which had caused him a sore throat and apparently assured the sponsors that AKON would show up a week later. The singer's manager, during a teleconference shown at the Celtel Headoffice in Kampala for the benefit of the media, however got angry and nearly out of control when pressed on the Kenya' concerts, which were repeatedly cancelled at the last moment, similar to the one in Uganda.

However, it was also learned that Celtel had immediately employed the services of high priced lawyers to either enforce contractual compliance or else get a refund for expenses so far incurred and damages to their reputation, while dispatching a delegation to the singer's home in the US. Damages could run into the 2+ million US Dollar range, taking into account the loss of reputation, the promotional expenses incurred by Celtel for special customer events building up to the concert and related costs like bringing in other bands to perform before the main act. The cost for Celtel to stage the performance at another date has also risen sharply and it is expected that the company will try to legally recover theses expenses from the singer and his management. In any case, this development is an unmitigated PR disaster for Celtel, especially when compared with the success of the MTN sponsored UB40 concert a few months ago, which took place at the same venue, the Lugogo Cricket Ground, and is bound to reflect on Celtel's market standing for some time to come.

AKON had in past months several times been mentioned to perform in Kenya, but each and every 'concert' bounced and the same now seems to have taken place here in Uganda, where the sponsors had in advance paid huge sums to prepare for the hotel stay and upkeep of AKON and his entourage and the concert and there was some glee in Kenyan circles who had sounded warnings to the Ugandan promoters.

Thousands of disappointed music fans were turned away from the venue as they had not learned of the cancellation in time, causing a potentially explosive situation for public safety. However, this was well handled by the police guarding the venue, the access roads and the parking in the area. Visitors who had come from across the region were not choosy about their language to express their anger and most comments are therefore not fit to be repeated here. Many young people from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and even Southern Sudan had spent considerable amounts of money to travel to Kampala for the event, with one of them telling this correspondent 'a con indeed', while others asked how they were to pay for their upkeep for a week to wait for the next weekend, with no guarantees at all at this moment in time that Akon would in fact turn up. It is left to be seen if the singer does finally appear for the re-scheduled show, now advertised for May 09th, or if this is just another giant con job to which Celtel and the Ugandan public have fallen.

JAKE GRIEVES-COOK GETS SECOND TERM AS KTB CHAIRMAN

News are about to break in Nairobi, that the Minister of Tourism has re-appointed Mr. Jake Grieves-Cook as Chairman of the Kenya Tourist Board for a second term of office. Jake has enjoyed a long distinguished career in the Kenyan tourism industry, spanning over 3 ? decades, during which he served in top management positions before starting his own company, Gamewatchers Kenya and Porini Safari Camps. He founded the Eco Tourism Society of Kenya in the 1990's, which he chaired for some years, before being elected as Chairman of the Kenya Tourism Federation. KTF is the Kenyan tourism private sector apex body, counterpart to the Uganda Tourism Association and the Tourism Confederation of Tanzania. Jake served as KTB chairman for three years previously and with him at the helm Kenya made substantial progress in tourism developments and visitors arrivals, which topped 2 million last year.

The post election violence however swept away much of the achievements made in recent years and Jake will need all his considerable skills and connections across the world to restore Kenya tourism to its former glory. During the months of January, February and March Jake also served as official spokesperson for KTF and personally ensured that accurate and timely reports on the real situation on the ground reached the relevant media houses in Eastern Africa and the rest of the world on a daily basis and that any misreporting was promptly responded to with correct facts.

Not one tourist did come to harm over those fateful months in Kenya which will help rebuild the tourism industry in coming months. This was largely due to the tremendous efforts of KTF's emergency response team, in conjunction with the country's security forces, which kept taps on all developments and advised tour and safari operators as well as lodges, resorts and hotels on the changing situations.

Jake wrote to this correspondent in an exchange of emails about his renewed appointment:

"It will be an honour to take on the position of KTB Chairman again and to work closely with the government and other stakeholders for the recovery of our tourism industry which was hard hit as a result of the civil unrest and violence during the recent post-election crisis.

Kenya's new Grand Coalition government has stated that its key priorities are re-housing the internally displaced Kenyans currently living in refugee camps; ensuring that the economy gets back on track to achieve the projected rates of growth and to create jobs, particularly for unemployed youth; as well as focussing attention on agriculture at a time when food prices have recently increased and there are concerns over possible short-term food shortages.

If we can achieve the recovery of tourism as soon as possible then this will greatly assist in boosting the economy and creating thousands of additional jobs and livelihoods for Kenyans. We will need to focus on an immediate intensive marketing campaign in those of our key source markets which have the capacity quickly to produce increasing tourist arrivals for our hotels in the second half of this year. This means an emphasis on advertising in the international media and joint promotions with the overseas travel trade as well as offering incentives to encourage the support of airlines and major international tour operators."

Well done Jake and all the best in coming months and years for you and the entire KTB team.

KENYA AIRWAYS PLANS TO RESTORE PARIS ROUTE

With traffic figures steadily growing once again, the Kenyan flag carrier is now considering to restore the Paris route, which was suspended earlier in the year, when passenger numbers plummeted. Airline sources preferring anonymity gave June as the month when flights to France will resume. The suspended Mombasa &endash; Johannesburg service is also due to be restored later in the year, when the tourist high season starts again. The airline has also given indication of widening their Africa network by adding Antananarivo / Madagascar later this year. Frequency increases to West Africa and China are also said to be considered by the airline as well as into the Middle East. Kenya Airways is the region's primary carrier connecting Nairobi with the entire region and the rest of Africa on a regular basis.

During a press briefing earlier in the week the airline's CEO Mr. Titus Naikuni also explained KQ's market approach and their safety measures and the airline's Technical Director added that KQ had an annual budget of nearly 200 million US Dollars for maintenance of their combined fleet.

KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICES SEEK 'NOVEL' WAY FOR FUNDING

A recent proposal by KWS, to add a levy on water and electricity bills in favour of funding KWS' operations met with cynical laughter and derision from the general public. Revenues for KWS have of course reduced sharply since the outbreak of politically inspired violence, following the end December elections in Kenya, forcing the organisation to tighten their belts. In 2007 they however recorded an all time high in gate receipts, but they were clearly ill prepared for the downturn in their earnings. Not satisfied however to wait, as the entire tourism sector is compelled to do until tourism has revived and reached its previous high occupancy levels again, the wildlife managers tried to dig the pockets of their fellow citizens with little regard of already high tax levels, leave alone sharply rising inflation rates and wide spread unemployment as a result of the post election violence. Hence, scorn was poured by the general public over KWS' attempt of persuading legislators to grant them this extra source of income. KWS is no stranger to controversy and has once again lived up to this billing.

AIR TANZANIA TAKES OVER ENTEBBE ROUTE

A belated code share agreement, likely pushed upon Ugandan upstart Air Uganda by their poor financial and load factor performance of their own flights from Entebbe via Kilimanjaro to Dar es Salaam, has now vested all the flight operations on the route to Air Tanzania. The codeshared flights will now all be operated exclusively with Air Tanzania aircraft while the Ugandan airline will be allowed to sell tickets on these flights. The Tanzanian flag carrier is presently engaged in a substantive fleet overhaul and new aircraft have started to arrive and been put into service, bringing the airline &endash; which suffered sharp losses when under South African Airways management &endash; back to financial viability. In contrast, Air Uganda is rumoured to have burned substantial money on the Tanzanian route and in order to stop the financial bleed may have been compelled to opt for a codeshare, rather than withdrawing from the route altogether, as their performance would have suggested.

Air Uganda continues to operate two daily flights to Nairobi against the four daily flights by regional giant Kenya Airways, but of late faces yet more competitive pressure since Fly540, the regions first true low cost carrier, has entered the route with two daily flights between Nairobi and Entebbe. Fly540 is now also incorporated in Uganda and was recently granted a licence by the Civil Aviation Authority. Air Uganda is expected to feel the financial heat some more in coming months in particular in view of their operating expenses, as they continue to use comparably aged and fuel inefficient aircraft versus KQ's modern jets and Fly540's fuel saving ATR turboprops. Part of Air Uganda's explanation was 'opening new services without inflating the market with unnecessary capacity', a belated recognition of what exactly they have been doing so far on the Dar es Salaam route. (Also see the first column item on Fly540's Ugandan venture.) Watch this space.

PRECISION AIR EXPANDS THEIR DAR ES SALAAM BASE

Tanzania's main privately owned airline has now invited expressions of interest towards the eventual construction of a new maintenance hangar and adjoining offices at Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International Airport. The new maintenance (MRO) facility became necessary as a result of fleet expansion and IOSA inspired safety demands. Construction is expected to commence towards the later part of 2008 and likely to be completed by late 2009.

Precision Air has a pending order for several brand new ATR aircraft worth over 100 million US Dollars and is also due to receive jet aircraft in the near future to permit for network and capacity expansion and additional frequencies on their main routes.

Major shareholder in Precision Air is Kenya Airways, holding 49 percent of the shares, while 51 percent of the shares are held by a Tanzanian citizen. This share split is living up to aviation nationality rules unlike some other airlines in the region which are totally foreign owned and yet claim to be a 'national airline'.

SOUTHERN SUDAN AIR CRASH CLAIMS PROMINENT LIVES

The 'Southern Sudan Air Connection' operated Beech 1900 aircraft crash last weekend has claimed the lives of all 19 passengers and their 3 Kenyan crew, when reportedly both engines failed during an internal flight between Wau and Southern Sudan's capital city of Juba. On board were the Minister of Defence, Government of Southern Sudan Mr. Dominic Deng and his wife, high ranking officials and a Senior Advisor to Southern Sudan's President Salva Kiir. Having known the couple for quite some time this correspondent extends condolences and sympathy to the family and the people of Southern Sudan for their untimely loss.

Information received from reliable sources at Juba airport indicates that the pilots did radio air traffic control over problems with the plane's engines not long after take off and requested for an emergency landing in near by Rumbek, before going off the radar when the plane crashed, killing all on board. The plane was apparently registered in Kenya but was leased out to a local Juba based airline for flights across the autonomous region of Southern Sudan.

Southern Sudan's liberation hero John Garang also died in an air crash in July 2005 when returning home on the Ugandan presidential helicopter, coming from a consultative visit to President Museveni's upcountry home in Rwakitura near Mbarara. That accident investigation's official report ultimately blamed pilot error for the crash, when the crew flew into one of the extreme thunderstorms this region can produce.

A full investigation has been opened by the Juba and Khartoum aviation administrations into the causes of this latest crash. The Juba government has also advised the public to desist from speculation over the crash causes until a full technical report from aviation experts, including specialists from the manufacturers and friendly aviation authorities has been submitted to GoSS. It was mentioned though that nothing would be ruled out or ruled in at this early stage of the investigation. The UN mission in Juba sent a helicopter from their Juba airbase to the accident site to assist in the recovery mission and the air accident investigation.

MORE CONGO BORDER MISCHIEF

Congolese officials and their regime soldiers last weekend intruded into the demarcated 'no man's land' along the common frontier separating Uganda's West Nile area from the DR Congo and began to erect signs, fencing and other contraptions only a few metres from the Ugandan border point installations. While diplomatic activities to resolve the matter kicked in promptly early this week from the Ugandan side the Congolese officials withdrew from the consultative mechanism without explanation, after 'receiving orders from Kinshasa'. The natural, and internationally recognised, border in the area is the River Ofu, several hundred metres behind the newly created installations, where Congo is trying to create facts on the ground as done previously, when their regime tried to claim Ugandan territory as theirs. The most ludicrous such claim was created last year, when Congo officials tried to grab the Rwenzori mountain peaks as 'theirs', followed by a dispute over an island in the oil rich waters of Lake Albert. It is these circumstances which makes for extra cautious handling from the Ugandan side, to avoid another round of armed clashes as witnessed last year on the island and on Lake Albert, when the Congolese rogues shot dead in cold blood a British member of the oil exploration team. It was later proven by GPS readings that the exploration boats were well inside Ugandan waters and a considerable distance off the maritime border. It is therefore no coincidence, that the oil concessions held so far by Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil in Eastern Congo were recently cancelled in apparent retaliation, when the regime embarked on the slippery road of 'repossessing oil and mining contracts' so that they could be re-allocated to what is generally thought to be companies from politically more friendly countries in a suspected exchange of favours for the regime.

The local and regional media promptly heaped blame on the Kinshasa regime, which increasingly now assumes the role of a destabilising rogue element in the region, much similar to the well known activities previously played out by the Khartoum regime in Southern Sudan and Northern Uganda during the height of the Kony / LRA rebellion. As the Congo regime already harbours for many years rebel groups fighting neighbouring countries it would come as no surprise, if the newly found 'friends' would not open the doors to infiltrate even more dangerous terror outfits into the largely lawless jungles of Eastern Congo, turning into a threat of more global proportions. There is in fact this growing suspicion in political circles and with political analysts that Congo is now increasingly aligning itself with the same political and commercial godfathers who sponsor the Khartoum regime which is responsible for many past crimes against humanity in Southern Sudan and now in Darfur, besides other destabilising activities.

China has generously turned two blind eyes to the activities of the Khartoum regime and continued profitable trade exchanges with them, regardless of the human rights record of their trade partners.

Watch this space.

REFLECTIONS

The recent column item 'lake stinks to heaven' has apparently triggered a swift entry of the local media into the fray, with editorials at last recognizing that there is a serious problem brewing, while our local journalists too have now started digging deeper, trying to expose the causes of the algae bloom and pin pointing the main contributors to the pollution of the lake, which has become 'visible' in recent months with little if anything being done so far. Having distributed the column item to Uganda's leading print publications and media houses, it seems to have served the purpose to train the investigative spotlight on the smelly and bad looking mess.

Across the border in Kenya a certain Mr. Odinga is ever predictable in his hunger for power and public recognition, when he first blatantly ignored protocol recently and conveniently ignored the presence of the Vice President, one of his erstwhile polls rivals. Not satisfied with this he then went on to claim that he, the Prime Minister, ranks second in protocol after President Kibaki … before the self delusion takes further hold it is worth pointing out, that Kenyan protocol clearly puts the VP directly after the President in ranking order and that for instance the German Chancellor only ranks 4th in protocol in Germany (Federal President &endash; non executive, Speaker of Parliament, Speaker of the upper House, Chancellor), although the post is at the centre of the political power in the old country. In any case, my many earlier warnings stand, that the man must be watched like a hawk unless his unabated hunger and greed for power eat up the reconciliation achieved in Kenya and bring the coalition crashing down.

PRESIDENT BLASTS ENCROACHERS

During a visit last week to the Bunyoro Kingdom as part of a national poverty alleviation tour, President Museveni once again made it clear, that human encroachment into national parks or forest reserves and grazing of cattle in protected areas will no longer be tolerated. He as much instructed the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the NFA (National Forest Authority) to evict encroachers and prosecute them, while also directing that cattle herds must move out of the parks and find pasture elsewhere.

Only recently did wildlife experts express their concern to this correspondent over their experience while visiting some of the national parks, where cattle were outnumbering game and the President's remarks are both timely as well as to the point. The President's remarks echoed the sentiments of many conservationists and much of the tourism fraternity, which for quite a while now had lobbied government for a more decisive approach to this problem in order to protect the long term future of wildlife based tourism in Uganda.

ROYAL DAISY AIRLINES MOVES TOWN OFFICES

The Kampala sales and reservation offices of this privately owned airline has now shifted to 'Daisy Arcade' along Buganda Road, next to the main Kampala Magistrate's Court, from its previous location near the Ministry of Finance on Colville Street. All P.O. Box and phone / fax contacts remain the same, according to airline sources. The fully Ugandan owned airline operates daily flights between Entebbe and Juba as well as wet lease arrangements for Nairobi's 'African' airline, and flies also regularly a coach service into Eastern Congo destinations besides charters across the region. The airline owns and operates an Embraer 120 turboprop aircraft and emerged some two years ago from the former Dairo Air.

The addition of 'Royal' incidentally arises from the airline's owner, Mrs. Daisy Roy, being of direct royal descent from the Bunyoro Kingdom in North Western Uganda.

GERMAN SPEAKING BUSINESS ASSOCIATION 'GBA' HOLDS AGM

The Austrian, German and Swiss business owners in Uganda and Ugandans holding representations and franchises from companies in those countries held their inaugural annual general meeting last week at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala and elected their association leadership. After being in the making for some two years, with ongoing support from the Austrian trade mission in Uganda, the Swiss Consulate and the German Embassy, the association is now formally incorporated and able to work with an elected board. The GBA Uganda will in the future liaise closely with the Uganda government on investment, tourism and trade issues concerning the German speaking countries (Austria, parts of Belgium, Germany, parts of Holland, parts of Luxemburg and Switzerland) in the heart of Europe, cooperate with their home governments, their home chambers of commerce and industry, as well as related bodies in those German speaking countries. GBA is also due to work in unison with their counterparts in Kenya and Tanzania, to promote improved business, trade and tourism ties between the 5 East African Community nations and the German speaking countries of Europe. This correspondent was elected as Chairperson, pledging to use his considerable connections across the region, as well as in the 'old country' to further the aims and objectives of the newly founded association.

METROPOLE HOTEL TOPS ITS MARKET SEGMENT

Just six months after opening in time for the Commonwealth Summit, the Metropole Hotel in Kololo has moved to the top of its class of newly constructed business hotels. With occupancies in average ranging in the 80 percent margin, the 60 room property has left other such hotels trailing in its wake. While all of the air-conditioned 60 rooms are of almost equal size and layout, the equipment levels vary between the three room categories. In-room computers with high speed internet connection are available in the top bracket, which goes for an internationally very affordable 120 US Dollars a night. The 'basic' room sells at 90 US Dollars a night, inclusive of free wireless internet access, daily mineral water supplies, in-room coffee/tea facilities and of course a full breakfast, all taxes and the service charge. Half of the rooms face the 18th hole and club house of the Uganda Golf Union's course in the heart of the city, while the other rooms face the fashionable Kololo suburb. Airport transfers are available for guests with the hotel's own shuttle bus. One of the hotel's popular features for Kampaleans and resident guests is 'The Oriental' which serves authentic Thai cuisine for lunch and dinner. In the business arcade of the hotel guests find a car hire and travel office, a small but well stocked boutique and a unisex beauty parlour. Visitors intending to come to Kampala should check out the hotel's website under www.metropolekampala.com for more information and bookings.

EMIRATES ADDS MORE US DESTINATIONS

The local Kampala office of Emirates, Dubai's award winning airline, has just released information that from late October onwards they will connect Ugandan passengers in Dubai also to San Francisco, after Los Angeles the second West Coast destination of the fast growing airline. The carrier intends to use B777-200LR aircraft on the route in their usual three class configuration for the daily flights.

Travel agents contacted by this correspondent confirmed, that in view of the present woes of British Airways and in particular the bodged opening of Terminal 5 in Heathrow has driven scores of passengers away from the former 'world's favourite airline' and Emirates, flying daily into Entebbe from Dubai, is benefiting from this shift of loyalty and patronage. BA, in contrast, for many years now is flying only three times a week from London to Entebbe and has obviously ignored the growing passenger and cargo potential of Uganda and hence lost market share in the overall passenger numbers travelling to and from Entebbe. Problems of obtaining transit Visa and Entry Visa for the UK, incidentally a source of constant acid commentaries and letters in the local media, have also done little to keep travellers on BA, when other transit points like Dubai do not require transit Visa as long as the final destination country has granted one. In fact, for stopovers in Dubai Emirates does process tourist visitor Visa with greater ease for passengers &endash; contrary to the UK's consular mission's rigid approach where applicants have to negotiate a proverbial minefield &endash; to encourage passengers break their journey and stop in the UAE. Only recently has the UK High Commission mooted the idea of banning applicants for up to 10 years, if they are found to use details in their documentation which do not stand further scrutiny.

Although Dubai has become more expensive in recent years it still offers an attractive range of stopover packages to sample their world renowned tourism attractions or simply enjoy an amazingly wide range of shopping options, albeit now at nearly European prices.

In a further innovation, Emirates is now also offering travel insurance, another 'must have' item besides tickets and a multitude of other criteria when Ugandans apply for Visa to Europe (Schengen area), becoming a one stop centre for would be travellers using the airline.

LION INTERNATIONAL MULTI DISTRICT MEETING IN KAMPALA

The Eastern African and Indian Ocean districts of the Lion International movement are due to hold their 5th convention from 01st to 04th of May at Kampala's fancied Commonwealth Resort and the Speke Resort and Conference Centre on the shores of Lake Victoria. President Museveni will officially open the convention on Saturday, 03rd of May. Up to a thousand 'Lions' and accompanying spouses are expected to descend on Kampala, supporting the local hospitality industry while 'doing good'. The Lions have in the past excelled to provide needy Ugandans with free treatment for eye disorders and eye diseases and have earned the admiration, thanks and respect of tens of thousands of beneficiaries from many parts of the Africa.

MEET THE MEAT

Friday and Saturday night are now meat nights at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, as the revival of its culinary fortunes continues to make inroads amongst Kampala's socialites. Barbequed meat skewers and prime steaks and ribs are on offer at the Paradise Terrace, accompanied by the sounds of the hotel's resident band. Added this correspondent after a rare evening out visit from the lake shores back into the city: 'bring your partner and your appetite, the Sheraton will do the rest'.

CITY TYRES SUPPORTS CHIMP CONSERVATION

Kampala's leading tyre centre has confirmed that on 03rd May they will sponsor a cross country challenge for 4x4's in favour of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary at Ngamba Island. The event will take place just outside Kampala, along Entebbe Road, at the Ssissa Club and interested parties can contact the coordinator of the event Dr. Lawrence Mugisha at sanctuarymanager@ngambaisland.org. The event also marks the 10th anniversary of Ngamba Island's establishment in 1998. All proceeds will go towards budgetary support of the sanctuary. Visit www.ngambaisland.org for more information on their conservation work and achievements over the past years.

Daily half day and full day trips from the Entebbe pier to Ngamba Island are organized exclusively by G&C Tours / Wild Frontiers in Entebbe. Overnight stays at the Ngamba Island tented camp, owned and operated by Wild Frontiers Uganda, can also be booked through G&C Tours via Jane Goldring at jane@wildfrontiers.co.ug.

LAKE VICTORIA HOTEL FINALLY ENDS REFURBISHMENT

The once upon a time 'grand old dame' of hospitality in Entebbe, the Lake Victoria Hotel, now owned by LAICO, the Libyan Arab Investment Company, has at last finished a near decade long exercise of refurbishing and modernizing the hotel. Locate near the Entebbe Golf Course it is just a few kilometres from the international airport and therefore conveniently located for travellers to and from Uganda as a first or last stopover.

The hotel was partly divested from the former Uganda Hotels Corporation in the mid 90's and eventually bought out completely by the new owners, who however dilly-dallied with the renovation and took overtime to finish the work. The hotel also underwent several managerial changes over the past decade but at last now seems to have gotten its act together.

The Lake Vic, as it is normally referred to by Ugandans, however now has stiff competition from the Imperial Hotel Group, which operates the Imperial Resort Beach and the Imperial Botanical Beach, both strategically located on the lake shore and adjoining to Entebbe's botanical gardens and the wildlife education centre. The Botanical Beach was incidentally twice the venue for hosting visiting American presidents Clinton and Bush, when they came to Uganda during previous African state visits. The Imperial Hotel properties in recent years dominated the upmarket in Entebbe and captured in particular the meeting and conference market very well. Watch this space.

FINANCE MINISTRY ACCUSED OF 'FRUSTRATING TOURISM'

A recent meeting between the Minister of Finance and the parliamentary sessional committee on budget brought sharply different opinions into the public domain. While over 650 billion Uganda Shillings of extra revenue seem to have been raised during the financial year, allocations to the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry were slashed from the budgeted nearly 42 billion Shillings to just under 25 billion Shillings, leaving the tourism sectors' main body, the Uganda Tourist Board, unable to fulfil its functions, leave along its home ministry able to live up to its various mandates. The chairperson of the parliamentary sessional committee on tourism, trade and industry subsequently accused unnamed officials in the Finance Ministry to 'frustrating President Museveni's industrialisation policy needed to create employment'. Tourism is indeed globally recognized to create jobs faster than other sectors of the economy and yet for years tourism has not received the financial support and economic ranking recognition it deserves. Yet, the tourism sector continued to grow in past years, but just to imagine how much further Uganda could be today, probably raking in a million visitors already now, if only government had in past years listened and acted upon proposals made by the tourism private sector as put forward to them by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda.

Presently final touches are being put towards the 2008/9 budget, expected to be read to parliament in early June this year, but from inside information it already seems clear that the trend of institutional neglect towards the tourism ministry will continue unabated.

THE LAKE STINKS TO HEAVEN

An immediate result of wet land encroachment and unabated littering, contamination, toxic illegal discharges and a catalogue of other environmental 'sins' is now emerging along some of the Lake Victoria shores. The Murchisons Bay and its funnel into the open lake, is a primary victim of a huge, ballooning algae build up, in particular on the Port Bell side of the bay (Kampala's lake harbour and link for the railway ferries to the Mwanza/Tanzania and other Lake Victoria ports), where also the notorious 'Nakivubo channel' enters the lake. This cannel is carrying run off water from across the city in a single channel towards the lake but also carries much of the city's waste, which at present cannot be fully filtered out due to the 'single outlet' channel design (World Bank funded project). Run off phosphates and nitrates from fertilisers used in agriculture but in particular in flower farms, most of which are located near the lake shores against advice from leading environmental specialists, too has contributed to the algae finding an enabling environment and growing massively in recent months. The city's water supply, coming from the Gaba water treatment plant, is now also said to be threatened and already requires more chemical inputs to keep the water quality within safe parameters. A Belgian owned leading Kampala laboratory, also used to ascertain for the EU the export quality of fish, flowers, fruits, vegetables and meat, has recently laid open their water sample findings, after the algae blooms began to threaten the livelihood of fishermen living along the lake shores and impacted on the air quality of residents living near the lake. The findings are a stern warning that the city council and central government need to act now to prevent a total ecosystem collapse in the future, safeguard the city's water supply and in particular ensure that fish caught from the affected part of the lake is safe to consume for the population depending on fish for their daily diet.

A recent flight over the affected area allowed this correspondent to see the extent of the algae infestation and the subsequent colour changes (bright green) in the water and confirm directly what the newspapers and other local media are now slowly catching on to, after long neglecting complaints from conservationists and concerned members of the public over the development.

KENYA AIRWAYS TO TAKE OVER KLM'S AMSTERDAM FLIGHTS

For the next few weeks Kenya Airways will be operating the code shared flights between Nairobi and Amsterdam exclusively with its own B777 aircraft, after KLM's B747 are undergoing heavy maintenance over the coming weeks ahead of the busy European summer season. This will be a boost in aircraft utilisation by the Kenyan flag carrier, which has suffered load factor setbacks in January and February, caused by Kenya's post election violence. Passenger and cargo performance has since however stabilised and is steadily moving upwards again. The airline is also suffering of the sharply increased fuel prices for JetA1 and has already indicated a further increase in fuel surcharges on their tickets for flights across their network from June onwards. Airline sources however confirmed that while this is a matter of concern, like for the entire global aviation industry, the fundamentals of KQ's performance are sound, especially in view of using the latest fuel saving aircraft types. The same sources confirmed that the situation will receive close monitoring in coming weeks and months but as other competitors on long haul routes too will suffer of the same risen fuel cost any further fare rises would be equitably spread across the aviation industry.

It is thought that smaller airlines in the East African region with old and ageing equipment will be the first to suffer any serious cash crunch while KQ with its financial reserves will be better equipped to weather the brewing storm. Airlines operating modern, fuel efficient turbo prop fleets, like Tanzania's Precision Air and Kenya's Fly540 too are expected to perform better than industry average.

CONGO'S REGIME LEADER 'UPSET'

Joseph Kabila, who followed in the footsteps of his assassinated father Laurent Kabila to head the Congo regime, has over the last weekend lambasted the Belgian government for questioning his human rights record and his economic activities like the &endash; what many feel illegal &endash; cancellation of long term mining and oil exploration concessions, supposedly due for 'redistribution' to Chinese companies and probably regime cronies. Strong words came out of Kinshasa, also taking a sweep at other European nations for daring to insist on the observance of human rights, portraying Belgium's and Europe's firm stand on these issues as a 'master &endash; slave relationship'.

Quickly forgotten seems the fact that Europe and Belgium made major financial contributions to the Congo in the recent past, including sending a peace keeping force to supervise the eventually stolen elections, which only left when the paymasters after all realised that Kabila would not change his ilk. Paying for his upkeep however did not stop Kabila to take one swipe after another at the Europeans, and during the week went a step further and allegedly threatened future delegations from Europe to suffer 'an incident' if they would not change their agenda and tunes. Sounds much like the old egocentric and kleptocratic mega tyrant Mobutu, doesn't it. Millions of lives were lost in a liberation struggle to get rid of one of Africa's worst despots only to see him replaced with yet another one.

MORE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UN FORCES IN EASTERN CONGO

Fresh fighting in the East of the Congo has again forced a halt to much needed food and medical aid reaching the poverty stricken people, as NGO'S were compelled to stop work, while 'government' troops and their friendly militias were rampaging through the affected areas. At the same time further allegations were made against UN forces in Eastern Congo by the BBC, something for long alleged by other usually well informed sources, that 'peace keepers' were engaged in supplying arms and ammunition to militias in league with the Kinshasa regime. This is of particular gravity, as those same militias are said to have been involved in the 1994 genocide against the Rwandese Tutsi and moderate Hutu populations and have since then engaged in a number of other terrorist activities against the new Rwanda, as well as Uganda, in cross border hit and run attacks. This column has often in the past been criticised over the forthright stand taken against the going on's in Eastern Congo but the latest allegations made by the BBC and their evidence offered as a result of their undercover investigation confirms all which has been said by this correspondent in the past. The BBC has singled out Indian UN troops for dealing and trading in gold and drugs with the Virunga based militias near the town of Goma. The 'peacekeepers' had allegedly even used UN helicopters to supply arms and ammunition to the terror militias at remote locations in exchange for illicit merchandise. The essence of the latest news reports from the BBC also largely exonerates General Nkunda, whose Tutsi self protection forces have long been a thorn in the side of the Kinshasa regime and have been subjected to harsh pursuit by the obviously biased UN forces, their genocide militia friends and the regime's own troops.

The UN cover up now suggested by the BBC reminds this correspondent very much of the situation in 1994 in Rwanda, when the UN also played a very dubious role in the build up of the genocide, which eventually cost some 800.000 lives, after its forces failed to take decisive action to prevent one of the worst mass slaughters of innocents in human history. Then, as again now, the UN was prompt to go on the defensive and denied any wrong doings and pointed out that 'new managers' were now in place! However, like in the 'food for oil' and other scandals before, it will now not be long before the truth will be established for all to see.

COMESA SUMMIT IN VICTORIA FALLS / ZIMBABWE CANCELLED

The present chairman of COMESA &endash; The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa headquartered in Zambia's capital Lusaka &endash; Kenya's president Mwai Kibaki, has now reacted to the protracted election saga in Zimbabwe, where weeks after the elections still no results for the presidential race are made public. The Kenyan president, himself of course no stranger to recent poll disputes in his own country, has now in consultations with other key leaders in the COMESA region decided, that holding the summit meeting in Zimbabwe's resort town of Victoria Falls at this time was not possible, and neither was it advisable to pass on the leadership baton to Mr. Mugabe, who against world opinion seems determined to hang on to the presidential office while seeking ways to manipulate the poll results from some weeks ago in his favour.

Government sources in Harare are trying to put a brave attitude to the development, which is a major slap in the face of Zimbabwe and its political establishment while there is growing evidence now, that African leaders are gradually putting some distance between themselves and the Mugabe regime. South African president in waiting Jacob Zuma was unusually outspoken and candid in media interviews over the situation in Zimbabwe, unlike the sitting South African president Thabo Mbeki, whose own reputation is now being dented over his 'Chamberlain' approach towards his neighbours in open disregard of the intense terror and suffering inflicted on the Zimbabwean people by its regime.

RHINO FUND UGANDA NEWS UPDATE

Uganda's sole rhino sanctuary at Ziwa Ranch has now released details on their 2007 performance. Visitor numbers sharply increased once again and the trend for the first three months of 2008 too are well ahead of the 2007 count. The increase in gate donations will undoubtedly assist in meeting a portion of the recurrent expenditure, although the sanctuary still relies heavily on donor support and income from other sources, i.e. charity events like the forthcoming 4x4 'Rhino Charge' challenge.

Sadly though, one of the three female rhinos gave birth to a still born baby rhino in February, which was considered the biggest set back yet for the RFU operation, although a second female is now thought to be pregnant too. Makerere University's vet department is presently evaluating the samples taken at the time in order to establish the exact cause of the pre-birth death, which occurred inspite of intense monitoring of the pregnant rhino by veterinary staff on the sanctuary. Major diseases have already been ruled out.

Meanwhile, the Uganda Wildlife Authority has given several more rangers to Ziwa on attachment for the time being, while 5 of Ziwa's own rangers are undergoing further training, together with 2 askaris (Kiswahili word for 'watchman' or 'security guard').

It was also learned from Heidi Cragg, Executive Director of the Rhino Fund Uganda, that a couple of overseas tour operators have now included visits to the sanctuary in their fixed itineraries for Uganda safaris, either on the way to Murchisons Falls NP or on the way back, which will boost recognition of Ziwa as a major component for any safari across the country.

Key sponsor Disney Animal Kingdom, which sent two rhinos from one of their wildlife parks in Florida to Uganda some time ago, also paid repeat visits to the sanctuary, and brought extra GPS units with them allowing the permanent monitoring of the prized animals on a 24/7 basis. More funding for operations throughout 2008 were also pledged by Disney, for which they deserve the thanks of the entire Ugandan tourism and conservation fraternity. Their second visit also coincided with an American Peace Corps outing to the sanctuary, where young volunteers working in Uganda on various projects learned more about Ziwa and the Rhino Fund and conservation in the country at large. Visit www.rhinofund.org for more information. The pictures added below show the six rhinos on the reserve and the Disney Animal Kingdom staff during their evaluation mission interacting with sanctuary staff.

PRIVATISATION GONE BONKERS

News are just coming out from Jinja that the municipality has allegedly given out the entire site of the 'Source of the River Nile' to a private investments consortium from Malaysia under a yet undisclosed deal. This will undoubtedly raise the debate heat once again over what can, what should and what should not ever be privatised and given away. The 'Source of the River Nile' is a global resource, a key segment in the treaty mechanisms for the Nile waters and a cultural and historical site of the greatest importance to the country and the region. Sites like this ought to be managed and maintained by a public museums and monuments body, aimed at preserving and promoting cultural and geographical points of interest to visitors and locals alike and any element of 'privatisation' ought to include the local community to bring employment and sustainable income to grass root levels.

NEMA, Uganda's environmental watchdog agency, has also claimed to have no knowledge of any development plans on the site, which are understood to include a luxury hotel and golf course with substantial impact on the area's environmental circumstances. Undoubtedly this column will be able to report more about this ludicrous give away in coming weeks.

The Mayor of Jinja, Mr. Mohammed Kezaala, in the meantime claimed that he and the council was following directives from President Museveni but it should be noted that the Mr. Kezaala belongs to the opposition FDC party, casting immediate doubts over the credibility of his claims. Uganda's opposition has for a while now been on the back foot, loosing one parliamentary by-election after the other and has been resorting to desperate claims while trying to win back their ebbing support base ahead of the next election campaign in early 2011.

UGANDA CAA APPROVES NEW AIRLINES

During the licensing meeting of the Civil Aviation Authority yesterday at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala, the CAA heard about a dozen applications for new licenses and renewals of existing ones. It is understood from usually reliable sources, that Fly540 has been granted an air services licence to operate as a Ugandan registered airline, besides operating already from Nairobi. The airline is likely to base at least one of their ATR aircraft in Entebbe once their air operators' certificate has been issued, bringing some movement into the aviation sector.

Martinair of Holland is reported to have been granted a cargo license to operate cargo services in and out of Entebbe, which will bring relief to importers and exporters who have struggled for capacity since the market exit of Das Air Cargo, which for over 20 years was Uganda's main cargo airline. However, local airline analysts are not too pleased over this turn of events, as they long suspected Martinair may have allegedly been in league with the Dutch aviation authority when Das Air was grounded in Amsterdam in late 2006 and subsequently banned from Europe for several months, before resuming flights again. At that time however the damage was done and Das Air never recovered from that blow which ultimately pushed it out of business. Having gotten rid of a competitor they now have easy pickings from what was Das Air's home market, much to the disgust of many patriotic Ugandans.

NO SIGHT OF KINGDOM HOTELS

Full-mouthed public statements some months ago over the public controversy, caused by Kingdom Hotels not commencing construction, have been proved wrong once again. The 17 acre prime city centre 'Shimoni' site once upon a time housed a leading city primary school and teachers training college. The premises were demolished hastily to make way for a 5 star hotel construction, when the land was given for near free to Kingdom Hotels to build in time for the Commonwealth Summit. Many children, parents and teachers suffered great hardship in finding new schools and accommodation over the sudden eviction and much public argument has arisen since then. Soon it was becoming clear however, that the company, which had caused the destruction of the school, showed no sign of the promised building activity. As public pressure grew on the supporters of the deal, some quarters eventually made public promises that construction would commence by March this year &endash; but lo and behold, the month has come and gone and the site is still a major empty space with no evidence whatsoever, that anything would happen to it soon. The company is in the meantime however spending major money in Kenya, where it had acquired Lonrho Hotels some time ago and is engaged in a massive refurbishment for the group's properties. Kingdom Hotels is said to be interested in investments in Tanzania too, while all along sitting on their hands in Kampala. Mega barbs therefore for Kingdom Hotels and their owners for continuing to take Uganda for a ride. Watch this space for more news.

UWA ADVERTISES MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

The Uganda Wildlife Authority has now invited proposals and bids for new and existing sites across the country's national parks and reserves. Amongst them is the Lake Mburo National Park for the Buffalo Tented Camp and Bandas, the Ntoroko campsite at the Semliki Game Reserve, the Gwara Fishing Concession at the Karuma Wildlife Reserve and joint collaborative management opportunities for Ajai Wildlife Reserve, Pian Upe Game Reserve and the Matheniko &endash; Bokora Wildlife Reserve. Contact uwa@uwa.or.ug for more details if interested to submit a proposal. Final deadline for submission of bids is the 04th June and bid forms are available as of April 15th at the UWA headquarters in Kampala, next to the National Museum along Kira Road at a cost of Uganda Shillings 50.000 or about 30 US Dollars.

It is also worth pointing out, that UWA has now put a limit on the number of concessions to be held by a single company. Any applicant, already holding two or more concessions at the time of application, will be ruled out of the consideration and only a maximum of two concessions can be awarded to successful applicants.

UGANDA GOVERNMENT WITHDRAWS FROM HOTEL INVESTMENT

The somewhat controversial investment undertaken by government ahead of the CHOGM summit in the Munyonyo 'Commonwealth Resort' is to be withdrawn, the Minister of Finance assured the parliamentary select committee on CHOGM during the week. Competitors in particular and the business and development partner community in general had criticised government for injecting some 7.5 million US Dollars in the venture at the time, but government defended the move as being 'of strategic importance' to create the needed hotel and conference meeting room capacity ahead of the summit meeting. Once the withdrawal of government from the joint venture is complete, the opposition dominated public accounts committee and committee on CHOGM will have one less axe to grind, having anyway been taken by surprise by the government's move to divest voluntarily from the hospitality joint venture.

EGYPT AIR SET TO JOIN STAR ALLIANCE IN JULY

The Egyptian flag carrier Egypt Air, presently serving Uganda with passenger services twice a week, plus a separate dedicated cargo service, has given out information in Kampala last week that they will join Star Alliance by mid 2008. This will bring to two the number of Star's member airlines serving Entebbe International Airport, with South African Airways being the first one. Star Alliance is arguably the world's biggest airline alliance and their global linkages will undoubtedly assist in further promoting tourism and business visits to Uganda through increased connectivity via Cairo. It was also learned that the airline will progressively replace several of its 'older' A 320 and A 321 aircraft and their B 737-500's it has been operating for some time. The airline presently uses new A 330 wide body equipment on the Entebbe route and seems set to add more flights in the future, as demand for air travel to and from Uganda continues to grow.

BA TERMINAL 5 TROUBLES ALSO AFFECT UGANDAN TRAVELLERS

Several passengers connecting via London Heathrow's terminal 5 in recent days, both coming to Uganda but mainly connecting in London to European destinations, have reported to have been caught up in the massive flight cancellations, the baggage and handling chaos at the new landmark building, which was to become the pride of Britain and of British Airways and is now a source of shame to the entire UK. Comments received here &endash; most of them not fit to be repeated in this column &endash; indicate that BA is truly no longer 'the world's favourite airline' &endash; something it has probably not been for some time now and there was overwhelming consensus about avoiding London for future transiting and not flying BA any longer. Said one 'victim' known to this correspondent: 'I arrived in this phantastic building and then the nightmare started. My onward flight to Europe was cancelled and I was told to go to Gatwick. No explanation how, no funds for the cost of going there and no assistance. Staff was tense, their language sort of terse, I could see that they were lost. And hundreds of other people around me left to our own devices. I for one will from now on travel with other airlines directly to Europe and will even save the UK transit Visa. My travel agent also agrees with this. They are trying to get something from BA for me for the transit costs and my loss of time and extra expenses. They also told me they will only sell BA if the client really insists on them.'

This will undoubtedly benefit airlines like Brussels Airlines, KLM, Emirates and even Ethiopian Airlines, when it comes to choosing a carrier to travel with from Uganda to destinations in Europe and beyond. All of them offer convenient connections from Uganda's Entebbe International Airport through their main home hubs every day (Emirates and Ethiopian daily, SN and KLM 4 times a week). This should be a cause of concern for BA, which already has a poor rapport with travel agents here in Kampala over their handling of the commission issue and their contentious office closure.

Maybe it is time for heads to roll at the helm of the airline, and at BAA for that matter, for having so badly prepared for the shift of flight operations to the new terminal, which ended up in unprecedented chaos lasting for nearly three weeks. British Airways pilots too earlier this week poured scorn over their top management, but that is of little help to those passengers who lost their baggage and missed important connections to their final destination, while having to use BA's new terminal.

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Earlier items by Prof. Thome