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Excerpts
from Uganda Tourism Board Press Releases 'COMMONWEALTH ROAD' TO CONNECT AIRPORT TO
RESORTS Ahead of the Commonwealth Head of
State/Government Summit in 2007 a long demanded
road connection, opening up a direct road link from
the airport in Entebbe to the main lakeside resort
area in Munyonyo, has now been approved and tenders
are underway. The new road will allow visitors to
bypass the present bottleneck entrance into the
city proper by branching off way ahead of the
congested areas, allowing visitors scenic views
over Lake Victoria on their way to the hotels. In a related development, the landmark
'Clocktower' &endash; donated in the 50's by the
Kassim-Lakha family to commemorated the coronation
of Queen Elizabeth at the time, will remain a
traffic island in the new road pattern leading into
the city. The former roundabout with palms trees
and ornamental shrubs had to give way for a
complete re-development of the roads leading into
the city, as this particular area was a constant
source of long traffic jams in the past. The
reconstruction will cover all major roundabouts
leading into the city and the commercial district
of Kampala, in order to improve traffic flow ahead
of next year's Commonwealth Summit. ENTEBBE ROAD TO BECOME DUAL CARRIAGE Also ahead of the Commonwealth Summit the main
road connecting Kampala with the International
Airport in Entebbe, a stretch of some 42
Kilometres, is due to be upgrade from its present
'wide' status into a dual carriage way to ease
traffic flow. This will also serve to improve
traffic when the State House in Entebbe will be
re-opened ahead of the Summit. State House Entebbe,
formerly seat of the colonial Governors and then
occupied by the sitting Head of State of Uganda,
has been closed for some years to allow for a
complete reconstruction and modernization and
President Museveni is expected to return to the
State House after the process in completed in
2007. FINAL PHONE NUMBER CHANGE DELAYED April 15th was set to see the fixed landline
network in Uganda also add a digit, as was done
earlier in the year for the mobile networks. While
the Uganda Communications Commission did advertise
the date once again the main landline operator
Uganda Telecom reacted the following day announcing
a delay of the transition. Watch this column to get
the information when the change is finally going
underway, which will bring Uganda into line with
international telecoms conventions in regard of
numbering sequences. UWA SHOWS LEADERSHIP ABOUT THE ALBERTINE RIFT
ECOSYSTEM Further to a report filed recently in this
column, Uganda Wildlife Authority has now published
their own details of border transcending
cooperation with Rwanda and Congo (DR) over
national parks and game reserves straddling
international borders along the Albertine Graben.
This follows broad agreement between the three
national bodies looking after wildlife conservation
in October last year in Goma, where a tripartite
agreement was signed. A senior UWA official also
mentioned to this correspondent that matters of
policy are entirely in their own domain and while
they appreciate development partners supporting
their initiatives such action must be coordinated
with UWA and approved in advance by them, as
otherwise such exercises end up tainted and
generally useless. KENYA AIRWAYS IN FURTHER EXPANSION
DRIVE East Africa's leading carrier has just signed a
code share agreement with Korean Air which is aimed
to open the lucrative South Korean market for the
East African countries. Flight connections will be
via KQ's three weekly flights to Bangkok, from
where Korean Air will provide onward connections to
Seoul and beyond. Korean Air is a member of Sky
Team, a global airline alliance led by KLM/Air
France, which Kenya Airways has joined as the first
African airline member. In time for the summer schedule Kenya Airways
has also added a third daily flight between Nairobi
and Amsterdam, a route operated in conjunction with
KLM. AIR SERVICE REGULATION CONSULTATIONS NOW FOR
NEXT WEEK The consultative exercise for the new proposed
East Africa wide air service regulations has now
been re-convened for next week in Arusha at the EAC
headquarters after being delayed to make way for
the Head of State Summit and Ministerial Summits
which took precedence. Regulations and aviation
policies need to be harmonized across East Africa
before political resolutions towards a single sky
can be fully implemented. Uganda stakeholders will
be represented through Uganda Tourism Association
on behalf of BARiU (Board of Airline
Representatives in Uganda) and UAAO (Uganda
Association of Air Operators) and the East African
Aviation Academy in Soroti. GARANG AIR CRASH REPORT RELEASED The long awaited official report on the enquiry
into the crash last year of South Sudan SPLM/SPLA
leader Dr. Garang was released in Kampala and
Khartoum simultaneously during the week. As was
widely expected the report concluded primary pilot
error and specifically mentioned 'the captain's
failure to maintain horizontal and vertical
situational awareness of the helicopter's proximity
to the surrounding terrain, resulting in inadequate
clearance and controlled flight into terrain'. It also cited the 'captain's decision to
continue visual flight into deteriorating weather
conditions and the inadequacies in operational
systems.' The helicopter, which was until the crash
used by the Uganda President, was otherwise found
safe and sound, having only a few weeks earlier
been serviced and overhauled at the manufacturer's
base in the Ukraine. The probe team consisted of
aviation experts from Uganda and the Sudan,
supported by officials from Kenya and the USA.
Internal investigations will continue in Uganda to
try and establish why the pilot maintained 5.5oo ft
altitude while the surrounding mountains were at
least 6.000 ft high. The report also firmly ruled
out any other causes but being an accident. PEMBA CHANNEL NOW A MARINE CONSERVATION
AREA Following enabling legislation last year
Tanzania's government has now established a marine
conservation area for the Pemba Channel with the
ultimate aim to have it declared a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. The conservation areas will cover an
area of about 42 nautical miles in length.
Additional patrol vessels are being procured in
order to effectively guard the channel area.
Zanzibar and Pemba's main source of income is from
tourism and this further measure is expected to
yield positive results in the future, protecting
the marine resources more effectively and
conserving the ecosystem for future
generations. Previous Edition PRESIDENTIAL WIN NOW COURT SANCTIONED The win in February's presidential elections for
President Museveni is now full and final. The
petition to the country's Supreme Court by the
looser Dr. Kiiza Besigye has been dismissed, as it
was incidentally in 2001 when the same theatrics
took place. Swearing in of President Museveni for
the new term will be on May 12th at the very
latest, at which time he will commence his third
term in office. There was general joy and relief
amongst the business community, specially the
tourism fraternity, as the predictable policies of
the NRM government are now to continue for the next
5 years. The President in particular has taken
increasing interest in conservation issues and the
tourism industry over the past years and with what
is expected to be a strong team at the Ministry of
Tourism the outlook is bright for the further
growth of the sector. EAC PROGRESS TO TAKE TIME A report in eTN last Thursday, about the opening
of the internal borders for free movement of people
and labour, seems to have overjoyed too soon.
Analysis of the proceedings of the Head of State
Summit last week in Arusha now confirm, that the
envisaged date for this development is set for
2010. Yet, the business community across East
Africa has already responded to this time frame by
demanding a fast tracking of bringing the internal
borders down. It was sadly also noted that
Tanzanian tour operators are lobbying their
government in Dar es Salaam to continue keeping non
tariff barriers by compelling Kenyan tour and
safari operators to switch their passengers on
entry to Tanzania, a position which may not be
compatible with the ideals and objectives of the
revitalized East African Community. Such operations
between Uganda and Kenya enjoy already a great deal
of freedom and no 'market flooding' by Kenyan firms
has been observed but rather increased cooperation
and bilateral agreements between leading safari
operators. RAILWAY CONCESSIONER TO TAKE OVER ON JULY
01 The Rift Valley Railway Consortium, which has
taken over the concession to run both Kenya and
Uganda Railways, will formally take over management
of the two former parastatals on July 01st this
year but has already moved manpower into the two
corporations to allow for a smooth transition. It
was also learned that the proposed extension of the
Uganda Railway into South Sudan has made progress
and substantive announcements are expected soon in
this regard. Watch this column for more news on
this particular story. RWANDA COMMEMORATES 12TH GENOCIDE
ANNIVERSARY The tiny East/Central African nation was in a
sombre mood when it commemorated the 12th
anniversary of the infamous genocide in 1994, which
cost over 800.000 lives from the Tutsi and moderate
Hutu community. During his address to the nation
President Kagame soundly rejected criticism of him
ruling with a firm hand, saying those who
criticized him now stood by silently when the mass
murders were committed 12 years ago. Rwanda has undergone a total transformation
since the present government took power and marched
into Kigali to end the killings, and tourism in
particular has been on the upswing, with gorilla
tracking one of the most popular activities. The
country was also put on the map by the two Nile
expeditions, one downstream and one upstream, both
of which also navigated the River Kagera, generally
considered as the most distant source of waters
feeding into the River Nile. ALICIA VISITS UGANDA Grammy award winner Alicia Keys has concluded a
4 day visit to Uganda, during which she visited
HIV/AIDS centres to lend her support to the global
fight on the disease. The visiting programme saw
her tour such centres in both Kampala and upcountry
locations, where she acquainted herself with the
circumstances of HIV/AIDS on community level.
Alicia Keys has been a prominent voice in the
global fight against HIV/AIDS and will continue her
ambassadorial work in the future knowing better how
the disease impacts in particular on African
society. GOLF COURSE IN THE PARK ?!? Controversy has once again arisen over a renewed
proposal, this time on the back of the preparations
for the Commonwealth Summit, to construct a golf
course in the heart of the Queen Elizabeth National
Park. Outraged conservationists, some of whom
called this correspondent over press reports in the
New Vision of 12th April (www.newvision.co.ug),
pointed accusing fingers at the Director Tourism
Operations of MARASA, the holding company owning
and operating the Mweya Safari Lodge, to hide
behind the Commonwealth Summit preparations to
bring up a defeated proposal of some years ago,
when sharp controversy had arisen in the public
over an attempt to convert prime park land into a
golf course, while Uganda Wildlife Authority had
offered an alternative site at the edge of the
park. Former UWA Chairman and Senior Presidential
Advisor on the Media Mr. John Nagenda also once
again went on public record to express his outrage
with the proposal and offered detailed insight into
the previous process of forcing the issue through
political influence peddling. Some concerned members of the tourism fraternity
were also quick to point out, that the current
Chairman of the Uganda Tourist Board Mr. Roni
Madhvani, who is also the Managing Director of
MARASA, may be in a difficult position to explain
why his company was re-floating the proposal which
may impact on Uganda's standing vis-à-vis
her conservation commitment and impact on visitor
numbers as well as on conservation support by the
international community. The world Bank has a 37
Million US Dollar programme underway in support of
Uganda's national parks and game reserves and may
also not be too pleased seeing a key area of the
most visited park converted into a concessionaire
golf course. POWER CUTS IMPACT ON INFLATION The ongoing power cuts affecting the country,
with power to designated areas being cut for 24
hours in a go, and often more than that for the
flimsiest of reasons given by Umeme's (electricity
distribution company) customer service staff, has
now shown an affect in the inflationary trends in
the country. Operators of generators in excess of
100 KVA power output have been waiting for several
month now to have government implement a tax rebate
scheme for the purchase of diesel and the sharply
risen production cost have now translated in
inflation reaching nearly 8 percent, up from 5
percent last year. Financial analysts have
expressed fears that continued high fuel prices
coupled with the shortage of electricity supply may
catapult inflation rates into the double digit
figures. KENYAN SAFARI CAMP GETS GLOBAL AWARD 'Campi ya Kanzi' &endash; a community rooted
safari camp development in the Kyulu Hills outside
Tsavo West National Park, in which the Masai
communities are directly involved, has been
globally recognized by the WTTC summit in
Washington as the winners of the global
conservation award. The panel of distinguished
judges picked the Kenyan safari property over a
large number of others, recognizing the outstanding
work done by the proprietors of the camp. KQ ADDS MORE AFRICAN DESTINATIONS True to their bid to become Africa's leading
airline, Kenya Airways has now added Asmara /
Eritrea and Freetown / Sierra Leone to their
expanding African network. The inaugural Freetown
flight was on April 06th while the Asmara flights
will commence on May 03rd. On the international scene Paris will be added
to the list of European destinations with the
expanded summer schedule from June onwards. All
flights have connections from Entebbe although the
Uganda Government still has not allowed KQ to
restore their 4th work daily flight on the route,
which was taken a year ago amidst sharp
controversy, to allow a now defunct Ugandan airline
on the route. This decision has cost Uganda some
40.000 seats on the route, led to regular 'full
house' situation, kept fares high and cost Kenya
Airways dearly having to keep an aircraft on the
ground in Entebbe for 6 hours instead of carrying
visitors to and from the country. COMMUNITY TOURISM CREATES HOMESTAY
STANDARDS The Uganda Community Tourism Association has now
created a sample home-stay product to assist
Ugandans in areas conducive to tourism developments
meet the expectations of potential guests.
Enquiries for home-stay visits have grown sharply
over the past 2 years and the introduction of
guidelines and standards will assist in a proper
product development to the benefit of visitors as
well as the hosts. HOTEL OWNERS EARN BARBS The assertion of the hotel owners association,
generally considered as a mere lobby group rather
than a sectoral trade association, that they have
the capacity to take over the management of the
national hotel and tourism training institute, has
caused both consternation as well as some well
deserved barbs from industry analysts. The
contention by their chairman that they are to train
35.000 staff ahead of the commonwealth summit in
particular exposed the vanity of their proposal, as
the entire country does not employ such a number of
staff in the hotel and hospitality sector. In turn
industry observers have voiced their concern over
some hotel owners openly flouting building
regulations, encroaching on wetlands and devoting
little if any resources to their own internal human
resource development while trying to 'grab' a
national institution which has in recent years
undergone a complete transformation to a
professionally managed facility. In any case, the
Institute is earmarked as a constituent college of
the new public University of Eastern Uganda and to
become the core of the proposed Faculty of Tourism
and Hospitality Management, towards which end a new
curriculum has already been developed and is
presently undergoing stakeholder consultations. OLDONYO LENGAI ERUPTS A volcano, overlooking the plains of the lower
Serengeti, which has long been a simmering hotspot,
where tourists could get a glimpse of an active
volcano in relative safety, has now reportedly
erupted. Across East Africa volcanic activity has
been recorded in the past with the most substantial
such eruption a few years ago near Goma /
Democratic Republic of Congo, where sections of the
town and of the airport ended up covered roof high
in lava flows. The Masai tribesmen of old believed
that the top of the mountain was the seat of their
deity although many of them have in recent decades
converted to Christianity. ALBERTINE GRABEN ECOSYSTEM GETS
'ATTENTION' A 'development partner' of Uganda's conservation
efforts has now held a workshop in which they
discussed with selected stakeholders the future of
this important border transcending ecosystem, which
includes the Rwenzori Mountains but also the
Semliki river basin and Lake Albert and its
environs. Surprisingly however, Uganda Wildlife
Authority does not seem to have been fully involved
from the onset of the exercise and senior officials
expressed some consternation that they should not
have been at the very core of the activity, holding
the mandate to manage the country's protected
areas. This is not the first time that this
'development partner' has caused uproar through
their activities, which are not always felt to be
for the best of the affected parties. RHINO FUND UGANDA EDUCATION PROGRAMMES REPORT
SUCCESS Since the opening of the rhino sanctuary at Ziwa
Ranch in October last year almost 5.000 school
children have already visited the sanctuary under
the RFU's education programmes, which are funded
largely through donor support and donations. A
separate visitor reception and education centre has
been built to support the activities and
introducing conservation awareness amongst children
is felt to be the best course of action to promote
long term sustainability for the Rhino Fund, the
sanctuary and similar upcoming initiatives. More
information from yverkaik@rhinofund.org AIR SERVICE REGULATION CONSULTATIONS
DEFERRED The consultative exercise to harmonize air
service regulation across the region, had to make
way for a Head of State Summit of the East African
Community in Arusha as well as ministerial summits.
A new Secretary General, Tanzanian diplomat Mr.
Juma Mwapachu, was installed at the meeting after
outgoing Hon. Amanya Mushega from Uganda has
completed his 5 year term of office. The ascension
of Rwanda and Burundi to the EAC was also subjected
to further negotiations, for which no time frame
was given yet. New dates for the regional aviation
consultations will be advised UGANDA WILDLIFE GETS GLOBAL
KUDOS Uganda's persistent gorilla
policy and conservation measures over the past 15
years have yielded international recognition. A
recent UN report mentions that the 'Great Apes
Survival Project - GASP' has singled out Uganda as
the sole country with a constant growth of gorilla
number. 'GASP noted that Uganda is the only country
in which gorillas have been consistently on the
rise and where the population is part of effective
legislation that recognizes its habitats within the
gazetted national park system of protected areas',
say sections of the report. UWA has been benefiting
from the PAMSU (protected areas management and
sustainable use) project of the World Bank over the
past decade, but concerns are growing that with the
end of the project Uganda will have difficulties to
raise the necessary funding from its own limited
and small resource base. An accord was entered in
Goma / DRC in October last year, where the three
signature countries Congo, Rwanda and Uganda agreed
formally on the conservation of the gorilla habitat
and their border transcending conservation in the
Virunga range. Numbers of gorillas in Uganda are
nearing the 400 mark and 4 groups have been
habituated for visits by tourists, leaving the bulk
of the animals 'off limits' to live in
peace. QUESTION MARKS OVER KINGDOM
HOTELS KAMPALA SITE Public controversy has arisen
over recent media reports, that the 19 acre site,
where the present Shimoni Primary School is
located, would be given for 'free' to the world's
fifth richest man to build a hotel in the heart of
Kampala. In addition talk of long term tax holidays
were floated. Most controversy however was raised
by revelations that the relocation of the school to
a new area would not at all be underwritten by the
tycoon but left to the Uganda government,
translating &endash; if it is true what the papers
stated &endash; into tens of millions of US Dollars
'subsidy' to the investor. Local hoteliers raised
the issue of equal treatment for them while
concerned parents are worried about the school
being closed for the project without the
replacement being ready. Watch this column for
further developments. CAA LOOKS AT FURTHER
GROWTH After another sterling
performance in 2005 for both cargo and passengers,
the CAA is now looking at a long term average
growth of at least 7.5 percent, which industry
observers however term 'very conservative'. Growth
in recent years was almost always well into the
double digit figures and as more airlines show
interest to fly into and through Entebbe &endash;
which is rather generous with 5th freedom rights
through its open sky policy &endash; more traffic
is expected to use Uganda's sole International
Airport. Domestic aviation has also been growing
substantially as the CAA is rehabilitating more and
more upcountry airfields. Presently about 50 such
airfields exist across the country and the Uganda
Association of Air Operators together with the
Uganda Tourism Association has asked government to
have at least one airfield in each of the country's
districts, which would require presently at least
another 18 to be constructed. 2006 should also see the work
advance in the reconstruction of the 'old airport'
to which side the cargo and domestic operations
will be relocated, leaving the present terminal
solely for international arrivals and departures.
The old airport is presently used as main
operations air base of MONUC, the UN force for the
Eastern Congo. EAGLE AIR INCREASES JUBA /
YEI FLIGHTS Another flight has been added to
the route by Eagle Air, which now operates every
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, following
an increase in demand for air travel between the
two cities. Juba is the capital of the South Sudan
and seat of the Government of South Sudan. Said
Capt. Tony Rubombora, CEO of Eagle to the question
of daily flights: 'as demand grows we shall add
another flight until we can operate daily services.
We operate a 19 seater LET 410 which also offers
some limited loose cargo capacity and is well
suited to the operating environment in Yei and
Juba, as we need no ground equipment to turn this
aircraft around' MORE HONOURS FOR KENYA
AIRWAYS Following the swoop at the East
African Travel News awards ceremony recently, where
the airline scooped 5 of the coveted 'best' awards,
the African Aviation Magazine now once again
recognized KQ as Africa's best carrier &endash; the
5th time over the past 7 years &endash; in their
recent meeting in Casablanca. Criteria employed
were amongst others customer care, inflight
service, financial performance, network expansion
and fleet modernization, all areas where East
Africa's premier airline has set the standards for
the continent in recent years. CAA TO BUILD MORE TERMINALS
AT AIRFIELDS The ongoing effort of CAA to
improve the quality of air transport around the
country were given a further boost with the
announcement of two public tenders to build a small
terminal building at the Kidepo airfield, a remote
and scenic national park in the border triangle
between Uganda, Sudan and Kenya, while the existing
terminal at Kisoro is due for expansion and
modernization. Kisoro is the gateway for gorilla
tracking, located in the border triangle of Uganda,
Rwanda and Congo DR and allows easy access to both
of Uganda's gorilla parks, Mgahinga and Bwindi.
Especially the drive from Kisoro along some lakes
towards the Nkuringo tracking point at the Eastern
side of Bwindi is considered one of the most scenic
across the country. Meanwhile, an applicant air
operator from the January licensing hearing has
made a range of public allegations against CAA over
their licensing status in a press conference this
week. It is however recalled that this operator
wanted to introduce an outdated Antonov aircraft to
fly regional routes for cargo collection, and was
told at the meeting that ICAO's binding guidelines
were to phase out existing such aircraft from the
registries and not allow fresh registrations.
Further allegations that CAA officials were 'never
available' are also not matched by reality, as
requests for information or meetings by this
correspondent have never failed to be accommodated
in the swiftest possible manner. Frustrations by
unsuccessful applicants are not unknown but rarely
boiled over so far into public press statements of
such nature. INZIKURU STRIKES GOLD AT
COMMONWEALTH GAMES Dorcus Inzikuru, reigning world
champion over the 3000 metre steeplechase distance,
has also bagged the Commonwealth Games crown in
Melbourne with a convincing win over her nearest
two Australian rivals. This gives Uganda her first
ever gold medal in track events at the Commonwealth
Games. LAKE VICTORIA LEVELS FALLING
FURTHER Minister of State for Water Mrs.
Maria Mutagamba was now compelled to admit that
lake water levels had fallen to their lowest since
1923 and almost half a metre below the 1961 level,
hitherto the lowest since Owens Falls dam was built
in the 50's of last century. She also made reference to the
previous unsustainable level of water discharge for
electricity production contributing to this
development, a connection otherwise long denied by
official in the energy sector. CHECK BUILDINGS, GOVERNMENT
IS URGED Following the collapse of a make
shift church in a suburb of Kampala during a
torrential thunderstorm last week, government and
the Kampala City Council were urged to ensure full
compliance with building standards and in
particular inspect hotels and hotel buildings sites
ahead of next year's Commonwealth Summit. Last year
a hotel under construction by a local business man
partly collapsed and multiple infringements were
detected through a Commission of
Enquiry. NTUNGAMO &endash; RUKUNGIRI
ROAD FINALLY COMPLETE A brand new road connecting the
two townships has recently been opened, cutting
traveling times from previously 4 hours to less
than 45 minutes. The road, branching off from the
main Kampala &endash; Kabale highway, also allows
easier access to the main gorilla national park of
Bwindi and the Southern Sector of Queen Elizabeth
National Park. The road is due for further
extension to the Congo border at Ishasha and will
then form part of the Trans Africa Highways system,
connecting the coastal harbour city of Mombasa with
the East and Central African hinterland. UWA HAS MORE POACHERS
SURRENDER THEIR GEAR Ongoing community efforts by
Uganda Wildlife Authority have now resulted in over
600 former poachers around the country handing in
their traps and poaching gear. UWA now regularly
shares 20 percent of their gate collection with
neighbouring communities, an effort which seems to
have paid off well for conservation
efforts. AIR SERVICE REGULATIONS TO BE
DISCUSSED IN APRIL The long awaited stakeholder
workshop for the East African aviation fraternity
will now take place in Arusha between April 05
&endash; 07. Stakeholders from across East Africa
will assemble to discuss the latest draft of almost
1000 pages, which is aimed to harmonize the
regulations in preparation of the planned
introduction of a 'single sky' regime, due later in
the year. ITB JUDGED A SUCCESS FOR
UGANDA The Ugandan team representing
the country at the just concluded ITB reported
sharply increased interest in the destination and
impressive forward bookings, not only for gorilla
tracking but all the other attractions the country
has to offer. Of special interest were the
centenary celebrations of the first successful
climb of the Rwenzori Mountains for which a series
of special expeditions are expected to come to the
country in the second half of the year. NO BIRD FLU IN
UGANDA The specially constituted bird
flu task force has just released their latest
report, in which it was affirmed that no cases of
bird flu have been detected in the country.
Intensive monitoring is ongoing and in particular
UWA rangers and safari guides are on the lookout.
Communities neighbouring national parks, game
reserves and wetlands have been sensitized and
responded well to their added
responsibilities. KENYA AIRWAYS SCOOPS
AWARDS The most recent edition of the
annual Travel News awards in East Africa once again
saw KQ receive 5 of the coveted trophies, including
best African airline, best regional airline, best
domestic airline, best business class and best
inflight magazine. KQ also holds the 'title' of
most respected company in East Africa, which is a
result of a survey conducted annually by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers amongst the leading business
executives across the region. KQ TO PURSUE AIR TANZANIA
LIAISON ? Kenya Airways Tanzanian partner
airline Precision Air has now made formal proposals
to the Government of Tanzania to be considered for
managing ailing Air Tanzania, now that their
cooperation with South African Airways seems
definitely headed for a break up. No decision is
however expected before the partnership is formally
dissolved, expected to last possible until the end
of the year. Meanwhile, Precision Air is
intensifying efforts to offer extra flights and
more capacity to step into the void left by Air
Tanzania's gradual disappearance from the
skies. PRESIDENT MUSEVENI SWEEPS
ELECTIONS With a sound majority of 59.28
percent President Museveni, fondly referred to as
M7 by his supporters, put all doubts to his
popularity to rest, as he trounced his 4 rivals,
with the nearest contender remaining in the 37
percent margin while the three others scored 1.58
percent, 0.95 and 0.82 percent respectively. Even
in parliament the NRM has a sound majority with 190
directly elected MP's, making it 227 with their
already previously elected special interest group
members. Tourism, Trade and Industry Minister Daudi
Migereko was also returned to the house with a
solid majority of votes while long serving State
Minister for Tourism, Hon. Jovino Akaki Ayumu lost
his parliamentary seat. Election observers from the
Commonwealth, the EU, the USA, the African Union
and the East African Community all declared the
elections to be free and fair with only minor
infringements reported, a testimony that there was
no rigging as alleged by the losers in their
desperation of yet again loosing to the most
popular candidate. Three of the defeated candidates
have already conceded while main rival Dr. Besigye
is once again resorting court action, an avenue he
already unsuccessfully chose after his loss in
2001. However, he himself is likely to be charged
with opening a ballot box at his home polling
station, in addition to pending charges already
before court. UGANDA AT ITB Visitors to our national stand
at ITB Berlin can find the Uganda Tourist Board and
private sector participants in Africa Hall 21 a,
stand number 112. As always, our hospitality will
extend to a cup of original Ugandan tea or coffee
but the tourism trade cocktail, sponsored by SN
Brussels Airlines Uganda, will require an
invitation. JOINT AIR SERVICE REGULATIONS
INTO FINAL CONSULTATIONS The East African joint air
service regulations, which will form a harmonized
document valid for all the sister states once they
are agreed upon and passed, will now go into their
final consultative stages with a regional
stakeholder meeting due in April this year in
Arusha / Tanzania. The three civil aviation bodies
will be joined by staff of the East African
Community, members of the US FAA and aviation
stakeholders from across the region to discuss the
latest draft version of the regulations.
Ugandan stakeholder body UAAO
&endash; Uganda Association of Air Operators has
already prepared submissions in regard of airfield
licensing and VFR operations into such fields and
similar responses are expected from the Kenya
Association of Air Operators and their Tanzanian
colleagues. Issues have also arisen over the
cost of the exercise for non civil aviation staff
to go to Arusha for several days. The largely US
funded exercise is said to impose heavy cost on the
private sector for full participation in the
consultative stages and stakeholders have
subsequently requested to have funding extended to
them too for key participants to avoid reducing the
consultations to a farce due to low stakeholder
turnout. UWA OFFERS MORE
CONCESSIONS In their latest bid to privatize
services within the protected areas network, Uganda
Wildlife Authority has now advertised 2 concessions
for motorized launches to undertake trips on the
Nile to the Murchisons Falls as well as the Nile
delta, where the river enters Lake Albert. It is
also expected that this will be followed soon by
similar efforts in Queen Elizabeth National Park,
where the launch trips along the Kazinga Channel
are amongst the most popular activities in the
park. More information through
damian.akankwasa@uwa.or.ug or
uwa@uwa.or.ug INFLATION RUNNING AT 6.2
PERCENT The impact of the dry spell on
food items and ongoing high prices for fuel,
combined with the shortage of electricity have had
an impact on annual inflation, which presently
stands at 6.2 percent but pointing upwards in the
medium term. The Uganda Shilling subsequently
depreciated slightly over the past weeks. Daily
exchange rates can be found at
www.newvision.co.ug ITALIAN EMBASSY HOSTS
DISCUSSIONS ON CENTENARY
CELEBRATIONS Ahead of the centenary
celebrations of the first recorded conquest of the
fabled Mountains of the Moon by Duke of Abruzzi,
the Italian Embassy invited stakeholders to a
consultative meeting. At the same time participants
of the just ended annual BIT tourism trade fair in
Italy also met. Uganda won the exhibitor raffle for
free BIT participation in 2007, saving some 13.000
Euros in fees which can now be re-deployed to
improve the stand design and presentation in next
year's fair. Interest in climbing the
Rwenzori Mountains has also risen sharply in Italy
and the Italian Alpine Club will be one of the key
partners for the activities in June and July this
year, including organizing several expeditions. The
planned programme and more details for the event
can be found at www.rwenzoriabruzzi.com UWA ADVERTISES MORE
CONCESSIONS The Kibale Forest National Park
concession for the Kanyanchu Bandas has now been
re-advertised as no suitable proposals were
received so far. Kibale is one of the key parks to
watch primates and is said to be home to 13
species, including chimpanzees. Also advertised was
the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park
(Southern sector) where up to 10 luxury tents and
complimentary facilities will be up for grabs.
Ishasha has a tree climbing lion population and is
rich in animals and birds. More information can be
obtained from the Director Tourism, Business
Development and Planning Mr. Damian Akankwasa
through damian.akankwasa@uwa.or.ug or visit
www.uwa.or.ug for more information on available
commercial ventures with UWA. Uganda East Africa News
(Continued) DRAUGHT DRIVES INFLATION After gradually reducing to 3.2
percent in 2005, inflation has now gathered speed
again due to draught related price increases of
food stuffs and presently stands at 6.5 percent.
Fuel price increases were also considered amongst
the main causes for the current inflationary
trends. SN BRUSSELS FEATURES UGANDA
IN NEW INFLIGHT MAGAZINE Besides the regular 'newspaper'
type inflight reading SN Brussels Airlines has now
also re-started a bimonthly proper magazine 'Spirit
of SN', which will be available on all flights.
Uganda has received critical accolade in the first
edition mentioning the Ngamba Island Chimp Refuge
as well as devoting a major article on 'Bananas
mean Business', highlighting the importance of
Uganda as a major grower of many banana
varieties. TOURISM SECTOR PROTESTS POWER
CUTS The Ugandan tourism sector has
now joined with the Private Sector Foundation to
formally protest to government over the increasing
shortage of electricity, which impacts more and
more on the profitability of smaller hotels and
restaurants and unreasonably hampers guests
enjoyment, when suddenly TV's go off or the hot
water runs out. In an immediate response the
Electricity Regulatory Authority granted 3 licenses
for proposed additional thermal plants, which are
due to arrive from June onwards. Electricity cost
will subsequently go up, as hydro generated power
is much cheaper, but until lake levels have
restored to previous marks, hydro power is not
likely to meet the energy needs of Uganda. Two new
hydro plants along the upper Nile valley below the
present dam in Jinja are in the pipeline but will
take years to complete. PRIVATE SECTOR FOUNDATION
ADDS TOURISM WORKING GROUP In recognition of the growing
importance of the tourism industry for the economy
of Uganda, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda has
now moved to de-link tourism from the general
services sector and established a dedicated working
group at national apex level to deal with issues
pertaining to the sector. This correspondent is
privileged to have been chosen to chair the working
group and has invited eminent personalities from
the hotel-, aviation- and touroperations sub
sectors to join hands with him in advancing the
private sector agenda vis-à-vis sectoral
incentives and fiscal measures from government and
to improve the enabling framework for a fuller
development of tourism in the future. Notably, the
Chairman of the Uganda Tourist Board Mr. Roni
Madhvani, also owner of Mweya and Paraa Safari
Lodges and Mr. Yusuf Mubiru, Director of Volcanoes
Safaris, current Vice President of tourism apex
body UTA and former Association of Tour Operators
Chairman and presently also serving on the Board of
Trustees of the Uganda Tourist Board, will be
represented on the working group, again
demonstrating the private sector's close
cooperation with the Tourist Board. Others on the
group will be the present Chairman of the Hotel and
Catering Association of Uganda, a member of the
domestic air operators' association executive, a
representative of the community tourism
establishment and the Chairman of the Board of
Airline Representatives in Uganda. Besides making its own proposals
from the private sector stand- and view point it
will also act as a catalyst to respond to
government, development partners and NGO documents
on tourism, strengthening the efforts already
undertaken by the Uganda Tourism Association in
this regard by adding the voice of the national
platform PSF U, of which UTA is a member since PSF
U's formation in the late 90's. SHERATON KAMPALA OWNERS TO
LIST 20 PERCENT ON USE The Director of Finance of
Apolohotel Ltd. &endash; the owning company of the
Sheraton Kampala Hotel and itself owned by MIDROC
of Saudi born sheikh Muhammad Al-Amoudi, announced
preparations to list 20 percent of the Apolohotel
shares on the Uganda Stock Exchange. This was part
of the 2001 sales agreement, when the Government of
Uganda sold its shareholding in the company to
MIDROC conditionally that at a later stage the
company would list on the USE and allow Ugandans to
buy shares in a privatized company. PARAA LODGE GETS NEW
VEHICLES During the ongoing programme to
upgrade Paraa Safari Lodge in Murchisons Falls
National Park to the standard level of its sister
lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mweya
Safari Lodge, a new fleet of 4x4 vehicles was now
introduced for resident guests at the lodge. The
vehicles provided transport to guest arriving at
the Pakuba airfield in the park centre, or
alternatively from the Budungu airfield on the
Southern river bank of the Nile, but also take
guests for game drives and to the top of Murchisons
Falls. The vehicles are also available for use by
non-residents with prior bookings. Visit
www.paraalodge.com for more information on the
facilities. MORE GOOD NEWS FOR KENYA
AIRWAYS Information just availed to this
correspondent indicates that the passenger volume
carried by KQ in the last quarter of 2005 grew
further by an astonishing 17 percent while cargo
volumes grew even faster by 27 percent, owing to
the introduction of the new B777-200ER on key
routes to Europe and the South/Far East. KQ's
European routes showed a passenger increase of 20
percent, higher than network average, pointing to
sustained high demand for flights to Kenya from the
key European market places like London and
Amsterdam. Inter African traffic also rose by about
18 percent as a result of new routes and capacity
increases, using larger aircraft, while domestic
traffic rose by about 20 percent. MV KALANGALA OFF FOR TRIAL
RUNS The long awaited lake steamer,
which is to connect Port Bell (Uganda's main Lake
Victoria port on the outskirts of the capital
Kampala) with some of the most scenic spots of the
country, the Ssese Islands, has now left the
construction dock for its trial runs, before being
formally commissioned. It will sail up to
Kalangala, to which a daily service will then be
established, followed by other routes and
stopovers, as demand grows. The new ship is able to
carry about 100 passengers and up to 120 tons of
cargo, which will bring relief to Ssese Island
farmers and fishermen, being able to reliably send
their produce to the main markets in
Kampala. UWA IN RECORD
TAKINGS Inspite of having offered a 50
percent discount for park entrance fees to Ugandan,
the Wildlife Authority still collected over 1
Billion Uganda Shillings, equivalent to just over
500.000 US Dollars, during the period of December
15 &endash; January 15. Record numbers of visitors
were entering the parks, including many East
African citizens and residents, who came to explore
the game parks and reserves in Uganda during the
holiday period, taking advantage of a 25 percent
rebate in the rates applicable to them. Final
statistics of the 2005 performance will be
available within days and actual figures can then
be obtained from this correspondent via
uta@imul.com or through Uganda Wildlife Authority
at uwa@uwa.or.ug/ damian.akankwasa@uwa.or.ug
DEBILITATING DRAUGHT HITS
PARTS OF EAST AFRICA The lack of sufficient rain in
recent years has now stamped its mark on some of
the landscapes of East Africa, leaving rural
populations starving and shrinking lake and river
waters across the region. All three East African
sister states are now suffering from a shortfall in
hydro generated electric power, with Uganda and
Kenya negotiating the speedy introduction of
additional thermal power plants, driven by diesel
engines. The shrinking waters of Lake Victoria in
particular have raised the alarm levels at the EAC,
and probably triggered alarm bells as far as Cairo,
since the existing Nile Water Treaty allows Egypt
and Sudan a major say over the release of waters
from the Jinja dam, where Lake Victoria transforms
itself into the source of the Nile River.
Kenya alone is now reported to
look at a half billion US Dollars investment
programme to introduce thermal plants and pay for
the fuel bills, but ultimately the consumers across
the region will be hit with higher tariffs unless
they prefer to sit in darkness, not a pleasant
alternative says this correspondent, who thankfully
has his own standby generator to keep household
appliances and office equipment running during the
'load shedding' which hits ever second evening and
every second day now across Uganda. Even Tanzania
has not been spared and some water reservoirs for
use to generate electricity are now reportedly down
to a third of their original capacity. Most hit
however are the rural population when their crops
fail and their domestic animals begin to die when
water sources dry up. The same applies to some of
the game parks, where the herds are migrating
larger distances to find pasture and water.
Periodic draught periods have hit East Africa over
the past decades but with sharply grown populations
each draught circle now hits harder, as there are
more people to feed. UGANDA SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
PROGRAMME UNDERGOES REVIEW The long expected and overdue
mid term review of the EU funded sustainable
tourism development programme at the Ministry of
Tourism, Trade and Industry is now underway, with
stakeholders having the opportunity to candidly
review the progress made over the past nearly 3
years and comment on expectations and meeting
targets of the programme, which has mainly
benefited the Uganda Tourist Board and the public
sector so far. Private sector stakeholders now
asked for an add on to specifically target capacity
building of the private sector and the
establishment of a tourism trade secretariat, which
will then be due to some regular funding from the
new tourism development fund levy, which is to come
into effect once the new draft tourism bill has
finally been presented to Parliament for debate and
passing. This however is not expected to happen
before the General Elections and in all likelihood
only the next Parliament will deal with these
issues. KENYA AIRWAYS TO COMMENCE
PARIS FLIGHTS Shortly after speaking to KQ CEO
Titus Naikuni, where he made reference already to a
further network expansion to destinations expected
to yield quality traffic for the airline, the
announcement has now come through that KQ will from
June this year begin flights to Paris / France. The
expansion, meant to come sooner, was temporarily
delayed due to a shortage of aircraft. As revealed
in the interview, KQ is due to get another B777-200
ER and a new B767, the latter of which will be
deployed on the Paris route. In 2005 over 40.000
French nationals visited Kenya and the new non-stop
flights between the two capital cities are expected
to sharply increase these numbers. Further
information indicates that initially 3 flights per
week will be offered, due to expand as traffic
volumes grow once the route has established
itself. SKAL KAMPALA GIVES TO
CONSERVATION Three main conservation groups
in the country now benefited from the proceeds of
last November's annual tourism ball, which
commemorates Skal Kampala's founding in 1994. The
Rhino Fund Uganda received One Million Uganda
Shillings, as did Ngamba Island, a chimp refuge on
Lake Victoria and also the Wildlife Clubs of
Uganda, which promote conservation across the
nation's schools. The donations were handed over
the current club president Mohit Advani at the
popular Atithee Restaurant in Nakasero / Kampala.
Well done SKAL! DIRECTOR OF TOURISM, TRADE
AND INDUSTRY TO RETIRE Long serving Director of
Tourism, Trade and Industry, Ms. Blandina Nshakira,
who was previously serving as Commissioner for
Tourism and in other senior capacities, will retire
from public service in April this year, after a
distinguished career, which saw her rise to the
Director level at MTTI. This correspondent wishes
Blandina well for her future and acknowledges many
years of fine cooperation by her in order to
jointly develop the tourism industry into a major
economic force in Uganda, an objective well near
achieved by now. KENYA REPORTS RECORD TOURISM
RESULTS FOR 2005 Inspite of multiple anti travel
warnings against Kenya during 2005, the returns now
available and as released by the Chairman of the
Kenya Tourist Board Mr. Jake Grieves-Cook, record
results were recorded for the past 12
months. Arrivals grew by an average of
23 percent, after an already vastly improved 2004,
and the country received about 1.68 Million
visitors, up from the previous year high of 1.36
Million arrivals. Earnings have also risen to an
estimated 680 Million US Dollars, making 2005 the
most successful year in Kenya's tourism history
yet. Figures from Uganda will be available shortly,
as the Uganda Bureau of Statistics is finalizing
the statistics for all borders and the
International Airport in Entebbe, due to be
released in early February. Watch this column for
the awaited update. A WEEK TO GO FOR NEW PHONE
NUMBERING As a reminder to regular readers
of this column, that as of 01st February an
additional digit '2' is being added to the mobile
phone networks across Uganda after the present
prefix &endash; make sure you do amend all your
Uganda contacts accordingly. Uganda Telecom's fixed
line network will undergo a similar change on April
15th and this will also be announced again in this
column. WORK ON ROUNDABOUTS TO
START The Japanese Government's grant
to Kampala city is now being put into action with
work commencing at several key roundabouts leading
in and out of the city, which have in past years
become bottlenecks for traffic flow. Ongoing work
will inevitably result in some delays but traffic
is expected to flow much more smoothly once the
reconstruction works have been completed later in
the year. The city landmark 'Clocktower' donated by
the Kassim Lakha Family on the occasion of the
coronation of Queen Elizabeth, will however remain
at its present location and not be demolished or
moved, after successful intervention by the
monument conservation society and other likeminded
bodies, which lobbied the city council and
government to protect the landmark monument.
Third edition January 2006 RIP JOAN ROOT Animal film icon Alan Root's
ex-wife Joan, who was part of producing the Roots'
successful and award winning series of films on
animal behaviour such as 'The Year of the
Wildebeest', which are often shown on the global
conservation and adventure channels like Discovery,
National Geographic and Animal, was killed in her
sleep by unknown assailants on Friday 13th on her
farm outside of Naivasha, about 100 Kilometres from
Nairobi. No motive has been established as yet and
the hunt for the killers is on, as apparently
nothing was stolen and the shots were fired at her
through the bedroom window. Other such prominent
conservation personalities like Joy and George
Adamson also fell prematurely to killings, leaving
a stain on Kenya's reputation as a peaceful nation.
It is sad to see such prominent personalities being
murdered in cold blood. Having known Alan and Joan
for almost my entire time in East Africa I extend
my sincere condolences to Alan and the rest of the
Root family. EAGLE EXTENDS AIRLINKS TO
YEI Following the start of a 3x a
week service between Entebbe and Juba a few months
ago, Eagle has now added Yei to their network,
which will be served through an en-route stopover
for passengers wishing to embark or disembark at
that Southern Sudanese town. Eagle's Managing
Director Capt. Tony Rubombora during a recent
meeting with this correspondent firmly committed
himself to developing routes into the South Sudan
and providing airlinks capable of allowing easy
connections on to other international flights out
of Entebbe for the South Sudan traveling public.
Eagle Air is also Uganda's leading domestic
aviation firm with scheduled flights to a number of
upcountry airfields. They operate a fleet of
predominantly LET 410's. SN BRUSSELS BRINGING FLAT
BEDS TO ENTEBBE FROM JUNE Once the present refurbishment
of their A 330 fleet is concluded, SN Brussels
Airlines will bring the coveted flat bed business
class seat on to the Entebbe route as of June 27th
this year. This was learned by eTN East Africa when
talking to the local SN management while discussing
the imminent European SN Sales Team trip to Uganda,
which will take place in early February. About a
dozen country managers will assemble in Uganda to
strategize and during their social programme they
will visit Bujagali Falls, do some rafting and see
the SoftPower community centre and other
attractions in the vicinity of the upper Nile
valley. (Also see article on SoftPower in last
week's column) It was also learned that there
were changes at top management level in Brussels,
when both their Executive Chairman and their CEO
retired within weeks of each other and were
replaced by a new face at the helm of the airline.
Also new is the integration of Virgin Express with
SN Brussels. New CEO of SNV, which now combines SN
Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express, is Mr. Neil
Burrows. It was also revealed that a 4th long haul
aircraft will be made available to boost the fleet,
which now serves 14 African destinations in East
and West Africa, one of the most comprehensive
networks to the African continent out of Europe,
where SN connects 57 destinations. BWINDI KILLER GETS 15 YEARS
&endash; ONLY As reported last week one of the
killer gang who murdered American and British
tourists after crossing into Uganda a few years
ago, was convicted of murder. The sentence however
was astonishingly light with only 15 years, as even
simple armed robbery often attracts a death
sentence. The judge in his ruling said many people
in the home countries of the victims 'abhor the
death sentence' but instead of jailing the killer
for life he imposed only a 15 year sentence,
possibly also considering the Bizimana gave himself
up voluntarily in 2004 and cooperated with the
authorities. Three other Rwandan Interahamwe
militia members are presently awaiting trial in the
US. Bizimana's lawyer said he would appeal the
sentence. AIRBUS COURTING KENYA
AIRWAYS The Airbus representative for
Africa and the Indian Ocean region, Mr. Hadi Akoum,
has confirmed a fresh approach by the European
aircraft manufacturer towards Kenya Airways, one of
the leading African carriers. KQ retired their A
310-300 fleet a few years ago in favour of an all
Boeing fleet and has since then upgraded and
renewed their fleet with the latest B 777-200ER
models as well as additional B 767 and B 737
aircraft. Kenya Airways also operates a maintenance
facility for their own aircraft and Boeings
operated by other airlines, a consideration which
reportedly also played a role in Ethiopian Airlines
deciding against the purchase of Airbus aircraft,
since they too have their own well respected
maintenance facility in Addis Ababa. Meanwhile, Mr. Akoum also called
upon the Kenya Airport Authority to get ready to
receive the new A 380 and prepare for the necessary
modification in equipment and buildings. Presently
only Johannesburg is compliant with A 380
requirements, making it the only African airport so
far. Uganda
has giraffes in its national parks Bwindi
Communities benefit massively from Gorilla
Tourism But the
sadness lasted for a very short time because the
communities soon discovered the immense benefits
that could be derived from gorilla tourism.
Moreover, the Uganda Wildlife Authority was
implementing programs aimed at enhancing benefits
to the community. Some of
such programs include: -
establishment of a community-owned and managed camp
that would offer accommodation and meals to
tourists, as well as construction of souvenir shops
where communities would sell their
crafts. -
establishment of the Mgahinga Bwindi Impenetrable
Forest Conservation Trust (MBIFCT) with assistance
from the Global Environment Facility/ World Bank.
The arrangement was that 60 percent of the Trust
funds would be given to the communities to
implement development and conservation
projects. Currently,
Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is encouraging
communities living near the newly habituated group
of Nkuringo to enter into partnership with private
sector companies and participate in organizing
To
be part of the delegation and join ATA, contact ATA
Headquarters: |
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Preliminary
figures now released by the national statistics
body indicated that arrivals for 2005 stood at
about 662.000, compared with the figures they
released for 2004 which UBOS &endash; Uganda Bureau
of Statistics &endash; put at 512.000. If confirmed
this would underline the trend over the past 6
years, when in average some 20 percent annual
growth was recorded in arrivals to the country.
However, as mentioned the figures are not finally
confirmed. In a related development East African
citizens will in coming years also be able to cross
the national borders of the East African sister
states with a simple ID, then removing the element
of East African visitors from the statistics, who
will thereafter begin to show under the regional
domestic tourism figures, which are expected to
benefit from the transition, while international
arrival statistics will then have to be modified
and the 'loss' of cross border traffic put into the
new adjusted context.