|
UGANDA
News
from Uganda, Gifted by Nature
By
Prof. Wolfgang H. Thome MBA Ph.D.
MOMBASA
PORT INTRODUCES NEW
MASTERPLAN
A
high powered delegation led by the KPA
chairman Gen. (rtd) Joe Kibwana and the
KPA CEO Mr. Brown Ondego recently met the
Uganda business community at the Sheraton
Kampala Hotel to introduce the new master
plan layout for the development of East
Africa's most important sea harbour. The
tourism sector in particular was keen to
learn about the new passenger terminal
facilities, KPA proposes to put up, in
order to attract more cruise line calls.
Cruise tourism is high value business and
the establishment of an Indian Ocean /
East and South Africa cruise circuit is
now high on the agenda of the tourism
sectors in East Africa.
UGANDA
RAILWAY TO EXTEND TO JUBA
State
Minister for Transport, Hon. Awuzu
Andruale, made this announcement while
addressing the Uganda business community
and his Kenyan counterpart Hon. Andrew
Ligale during the launch of the Kenya
Ports Authority development master plan.
He also announced that the road from Arua
via Yei to Juba in South Sudan was
earmarked for upgrading and tarmacking in
due course to stimulate the traffic of
people and goods between Uganda and the
autonomous region of the South Sudan.
Meanwhile, a decision on the award of the
joint Kenya / Uganda railways concession
is now imminent and news of the successful
bidder can be expected in next week's
column.
EAST
AFRICAN SAFARI RALLY FOR
DECEMBER
The
'classic' version of this eye-catching
event will be held between December 01
&endash; 10 this year and again bring the
big names of yesteryear in rallying to
their former stomping grounds. Bjorn
Waldegaard will meet former rival Juha
Kankkunen with many others joining them
over the 4.200 KM long course across the
most scenic parts of East Africa.
AHHSA
ASSEMBLY ON IN MALAWI
The
association of tourism, hotel and
hospitality training institutes in sub
Saharan Africa is holding its annual
assembly in Lilongwe, Malawi to discuss
its development agenda for the coming
years in view of the sharp increase of
arriving visitors to the continent.
Uganda's HTTI at the Crested Crane Hotel
in Jinja is represented by the Principal,
Mr. Barnabas Kabalisa, who will be
formally inviting members to attend the
2006 assembly in Uganda, with the national
HTTI being the host for the annual
gathering next year. Uganda's premier
hospitality and tourism school is then
also expected to be formally certified by
the association, enabling them to have
certificates, diplomas and degrees
recognized across the continent and
beyond.
AFRICANA
HOTEL OFFERS SPECIAL 'RAMADAN
BREAKFAST'
Guest
of Hotel Africana in Kampala professing to
the Islamic faith can now have an early
breakfast during the month of Ramadan. A
full buffet is laid out in the early
hours, before the faithful go for prayers
and begin the day's fast. A mosque
adjoining to the lobby of the hotel makes
the observance of the daily prayers also
easier &endash; talk of a complete package
for Muslim visitors.
MOMBASA
TO GET NEW FERRIES
Bids
for the construction of two new ferries
for the Likoni harbour crossing from
Mombasa to the mainland (South) have now
been received from 7 interested companies.
The new ferries are estimated to cost
about 700 Million KShs. The two ferries
are to replace the present ageing vessels,
which have to cope with over a million
vehicles and nearly 60 million passengers
per year. The crossing is presently the
only way to the famous South coast of
Mombasa with its endless white beaches but
also to the main coastal border crossing
to Tanzania at Lunga-Lunga border post.
All efforts to either construct a bridge
across the harbour entrance or a road
bypass from the airport to the South coast
have so far come to nothing.
KENYA
BUREAUCRATS RUN RIOT &endash;
AGAIN
Reports
in this column a while ago brought the
impact of ill-considered and ill-conceived
measures by Kenya Revenue Authority to
light, which affected greatly the fuel
supply situation, not only in Kenya but
more so in Uganda and countries beyond.
News are now received, that air operators
at the busy Wilson Airport are also being
hammered with new requirements
vis-à-vis 'cargo' shipments. It
appears, that even luggage carried by
passengers, within the limits or in excess
of baggage allowances on 'light aircraft'
have been subjected to this unwarranted
treatment by authorities, who in the words
of a pilot regularly flying in and out of
Wilson 'do not know hoot from toot'. A
meeting of the Kenya Association of Air
Operators in mid September also tried to
discuss this issue with the management of
Wilson Airport. Issues highlighted were
checking and screening of baggage 'on
arrival' from purely domestic flights, the
involvement of customs department in
domestic flight arrivals and a 'handling
charge' of Kshs 4/- per KG of inspected
'cargo', which is over -/50 US Cents in
additional payments per KG. Operators also
took issue with new regulations on aerial
photography, where the Director of Surveys
now requires 7 days application time,
which led to the cancellation of a BBC
feature on the migration of the wildebeest
in the Masai Mara. Operators also took
issue with new security regulations over
searches of passengers on private flights,
which they termed 'excessive, harassment
and totally unnecessary'. One wonders if
these bureaucrats have any relationship
with reality on the ground and the impact
of their action on the vital tourism
sector of this East African
nation.
MORE
TROUBLE FOR KENYA CONSERVATION
In
a hotly disputed move the Kenyan Minister
for Tourism last week terminated the
status of Amboseli National Park and
returned it to National Reserve status, as
it was before 1974, under the ownership of
Kajiado county council. Leading
conservationists, like Prof. Dr. Imre
Loeffler, Chairman of the globally
respected East African Wildlife Society,
termed the directive by the Minister
'reckless, clandestine, ill-conceived and
illegal', while a former Executive
Director of KWS, Dr. David Western called
for due process to be observed and such
moves to conform with legal standards
&endash; implying that the Minister's
action was considered outside legal
bounds, mainly of the total absence of the
legally required consultations with
stakeholders. Amboseli has been one of the
'cash cow' parks for KWS and is presently
also subject to a much heralded
re-branding campaign KWS is undertaking
for its parks. There is suspicion in
conservation circles, that sections of
government who are presently campaigning
for a new constitution (other sections of
government are actually campaigning
against it) are using the measure to
canvass political favours and a vote for
their camp, nothing new for that matter
for long term observers of the political
scene in Kenya.
This
however needs to be seen in the context of
other issues impacting on the re-vitalized
tourism sector, such as regulatory issues
in aviation (see previous article) and the
ongoing campaign violence, which has
already led to sharply dialed up travel
advisories, putting clouds over an
industry which has only just emerged from
years of doldrums and downturns following
bad political decisions and political
violence in past years. The EU had over
the past years spent millions of Euros in
support for Kenya tourism marketing and
observers are now keenly monitoring the
present developments to establish, if all
those efforts are now going down the
drain.
Latest
reports now also indicate that the
conservation fraternity has taken the
matter to the High Court in Nairobi to
stop what they term 'illegal' move by
government. The court issued an order to
have government respond to the suit within
8 days &endash; stand by for more updates
in coming weeks as this saga unfolds
across the border.
'Uganda - Gifted by
Nature
UGANDA
GETS NEW BRAND IMAGE AND TAGLINE
Under the 'branding Uganda' initiative
a new logo and tagline were developed in
recent months and will be officially
launched on October 22nd at a media and
society event at the Speke Resort
Munyonyo. Senior CNN staff, amongst them
Femi Oke and Jeff Koinange, will also be
in Uganda at the time to formally launch
Uganda's sponsorship of the 'Inside
Africa' programme, which will last for the
next six months.
High
ranking Government of Uganda officials and
key figures from the private sector were
last Friday treated to a preview of the
Sights And Sounds of Uganda, which will
begin airing alongside the 'Inside Africa'
programme as of this weekend. Camerapix of
Kenya produced the first of a total of six
one minute features, which will run on
CNN's prime time Africa programme for the
next half year.
The
gathering was also shown the new Uganda
brand logo and tagline 'Uganda - Gifted by
Nature' which is set to replace the age
old 'Uganda, the Pearl of Africa', a
phrase coined by the late Sir Winston
Churchill at the turn of the last century.
The CNN campaign is part of a greater
effort to rebrand Uganda in the global
market and highlight its potential for eco
tourism, agriculture, horticulture and
agroprocessing, general investment
opportunities and of course Uganda's
culture and people. Government, private
sector and civil society worked closely
together to move this project forward,
estimated to cost an initial US$ 1
Million.
RHINO
SANCTUARY GETS FIRST VISITOS
In a long awaited move the first
visitors were admitted to the Ziwa Rhino
Sanctuary this weekend. Tourists can now
at last visit the rare animals on the way
to Murchisons Falls National Park, since
the sanctuary is located about 2/3rd of
the way from Kampala. Fees charged reflect
those of entries in other category one
national parks. Regular radio contact
between rangers and headquarters and an
implanted radio beacon in the horns of the
rhinos will allow to pinpoint their
location on the nearly 18.000 acre private
game sanctuary at all times. For more
information contact the sanctuary at
info@rhinofund.org or
yverkaik@rhinofund.org
The formal
opening of the reserve is expected in the
very near future and will highlight
Uganda's efforts to protect its
biodiversity, wildlife and promote
conservation.
KAYAKING
'FREESTYLE' FESTIVAL A HUGE SUCCESS
This year's freestyle festival in
Jinja along the upper River Nile valley,
has drawn nearly 50 participants from
Canada, the US, the UK, South Africa,
Australia and Europe, including the
current world number 1, 2 and 3 ranked
kayakers. The Jinja festival, due to its
location and climate, is fast becoming a
global favourite in the calendar of
events, to which the warm waters and
exciting rapids and falls contribute much.
Nile Breweries, a subsidiary of SAB
Miller, is again the main sponsor of the
week long races. The proceeds of the
festival will go towards contributions to
the Uganda team for the 2006 World
Championship in Canada. 27 local Ugandans
add to the international competitors
including reigning champion Paulo Babi.
More information can be accessed through
www.kayakthenile.com or else via
jamie@kayakthenile.com
MINISTRY
SEEKS 200 MILLION FOR CLASSIFICATION AND
GRADING
In order to implement the coming
classification and grading of hotels and
restaurants the Ministry of Tourism has
been seeking an additional fund allocation
of Ushs 200 Million. The agreement to
harmonize the regulations East Africa wide
had been taken three years ago and the
common approach on regulations and rules
was signed off earlier this
year.
US
EMBASSY CROSSES THE LINE
Reports from Nairobi indicate that the US
Embassy has directly contacted an American
cruiseline warning them off from calling
on Mombasa with some 400 passengers.
Sources in Kenya preferring anonymity
expressed their outrage over this move,
which goes well beyond the previously
issued anti travel advisories by the State
Department. Only recently 900 Japanese
cruise passengers enjoyed safe excursions
and safaris after their Singapore
registered vessel docked in Mombasa for a
port call and the unprecedented action of
the US Embassy was therefore promptly
termed 'unacceptable interference in
business relations' Local agent
Abercrombie and Kent staffer Harun Musyoki
termed the embassy action 'most
unusual'.
The
'concern' stems from the present campaign
over a new constitution on which the Kenya
public will be voting shortly, but while
there have been violent campaign incidents
reported the projected danger for visitors
to Kenya seems drastically over the top
and ill motives are suggested towards US
Embassy personnel suspected to be behind
the action. Said one member of the tourism
fraternity on condition of anonymity: 'if
they (Embassy staff) find it so dangerous
here let them go home to the US and find
out what crime rates are there, Nairobi
may not be the safest capital city but I
rather be here than in D.C. In any case,
we suspect them to have ulterior motives
to pressure Kenya into their camp on many
other international issues, but we are not
for sale'. And tourists have been coming
in the face of their advisories, because
the also know that a lot is wrong with
them!'
KQ
ORDERS NEW BOEINGS
Kenya Airways has now released news of
a deal with Singapore Aircraft Leasing
Enterprises for the delivery of at least 3
B 737-800 aircraft due in late 2006. It is
expected that the new 148 seat aircraft in
C/Y configuration will replace the older B
737-200, which are less fuel efficient and
carry only up to 101 passengers. The new
aircraft will also be able to fly longer
distances across the continent, where KQ
has in recent years been building up a
sizeable network, connecting Africa
through their hub in Nairobi. Following
the conclusion of the first fleet renewal
programme a second phase is now going
underway with this order. KQ was also
recently honoured as the best African
airline for its flat bed sleeperette seats
in business class and 4th best in the
world, a monumental achievement for the
airline which completely turned its
fortunes around over the past decade and
is now under largely Kenyan senior
management.
KILIMANJARO
HOTEL NOW A KEMPINSKI
Following extensive rebuilding,
renovations and refurbishment, Dar es
Salaam's landmark hotel is this week being
formally re-opened as the East Africa
region's first Kempinski Hotel, offering 5
star standards in line with Kempinski's
other global properties. Located near the
oceanfront it overlooks the harbour of Dar
es Salaam and offers swift access to the
central business district and government
offices in the commercial capital of
Tanzania.
TWO
APPLICANTS REMAIN
The joint railway concession for Kenya
and Uganda Railways has now reached the
decisive stage, with only two of six
bidders remaining in the race. A
consortium led by Indian Railways,
partnering with Kenya's Magadi Soda and
Maersk Sealand, will now face off with a
South African led group. The privatisation
was supported by the IFC and is one of the
largest projects undertaken so far in East
Africa's process towards economic
modernization. An initial 2.600 workers
are expected to be retired upon completion
of the deal.
KENYA
AIRWAYS REACTS TO RISING FUEL COSTS
Information received from KQ indicates
that due to sharply risen fuel cost flight
consolidation and use of larger aircraft
on certain routes will be used to counter
the cost impact on the airline. Consult
www.kenya-airways.com or your nearest
travel agent for any changes on the
schedule in coming weeks. Ticket cost on
domestic routes such as Nairobi &endash;
Mombasa were already raised to offset
higher fuel charges.
RISING
FUEL PRICES ADD TO INFLATION
The most recent figures from Bank of
Uganda show a rise of inflationary
pressures to now 7.7 percent, up from 6.5
percent the previous month. Much of this
increase is attributed to the sharply
risen cost of petrol and diesel in recent
weeks. The Uganda Shilling also
depreciated accordingly on the foreign
exchange bourse and now trades in average
at 1850 Shs to one dollar.
Last
Series
KENYA AIRWAYS' NEW DESTINATIONS
With
the onset of the autumn/winter schedule KQ
will be adding twice weekly flights from
Nairobi via Harare to Mozambique's capital
city of Maputo, where incidentally
Serena's hospitality can be experienced at
the Polana Hotel, the city's leading 5
star property. At the same time flights
commence three times a week to the Chinese
city of Guangzhou, tapping yet further
into the Chinese business and leisure
market for the East African carrier. All
three countries in East Africa, Uganda,
Tanzania and Kenya are now on the approved
list of the Chinese government for
travellers to the region and expect a
substantial upturn of traffic from China
in coming years.
NOMINATIONS
FOR PRESIDENT IN MID DECEMBER
The
electoral commission of Uganda has now set
December 14 and 15 for the parties
registered to formally anoint their
presidential candidates. Uganda will for
the first time in 25 years hold multi
party elections, having been successfully
ruled and steered to economic success
under the movement system of government
since 1986. It is widely expected that
incumbent President Yoweri Museveni will
be standing again, following recent
constitutional changes, although he has
yet to formally announce his candidature.
The turnaround of the economy, specially
the tourism sector, is largely credited to
President Museveni's regular intervention
on behalf of the tourism industry over
incentives for investments and he was
personally involved in the Discovery
Channel's 'Presidential Tour of Uganda'
two years ago, in which he acts as 'guide'
to the film team.
Meanwhile,
the National Resistance Movement will be
holding party elections in October as part
of the democratic process.
UGANDA
DONATES TO 'KATRINA' RELIEF
FUND
Following
his appearance at the UN Summit in New
York President Museveni proceeded on to
Washington DC, where he met former
President George Bush (Senior) who is
coordinating fund raising efforts with
former President Bill Clinton for the
relief effort for the hurricane victims of
'Katrina' and handed over a cheque of US
Dollars 200.000 from the Ugandan people.
And while it may be a fraction of the
money needed to restore New Orleans and
neighbouring communities to its former
glory, it is the thought and effort which
counts here.
WORLD
TOURISM DAY IN UGANDA
Ahead
of the annual World Tourism Day the
Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry
has made a significant statement on
tourism developments in Uganda, followed
by a statement from the Uganda tourism
private sector. The day itself will be
celebrated with a tourism industry
luncheon hosted by the Bank of Uganda and
high level attendees from public and
private sector to discuss the way forward
for the fastest growing segment in the
Ugandan economy. This correspondent in his
capacity as President of the Uganda
Tourism Association will deliver the
private sector keynote address.
TANZANIA
RAISES FEES FOR KEY PARKS
In
spite of last minute appeals from tour
operators TANAPA has now gone ahead an
raised fees for the Serengeti and Mt.
Kilimanjaro to exactly the level they had
planned to do before the private sector
objections were raised. 'In your face'
seems to describe this move best, as after
all the private sector 'only' supplies ALL
the business for the park
organization.
REBRANDING
UGANDA COMING INTO ITS OWN
The
joint efforts of private sectors, civil
society and government to 'rebrand' Uganda
are now nearing its conclusion with brand
logo and tag line being decided in coming
days by a group of eminent personalities.
Meanwhile, the Camerapix filming for the
'Sights and Sounds of Uganda', which will
be running from mid October alongside the
'Inside Africa' edition of CNN's global
broadcast has also concluded its first
schedule to prepare the 'Best of Uganda'
version, before returning to the country
in October to complete the other segments.
Watch CNN's programmes from the second
week in October onwards.
Third
edition, September 2005
By
Prof. Wolfgang H. Thome MBA
Ph.D.
UGANDA
CAA GRANTS MORE FLIGHTS
Following
application by Sudan Airways to increase
services from the present once weekly
flight between Khartoum via Juba to
Entebbe the Ugandan regulators have
promptly approved a second flight to cater
for the rapidly increasing volume of
passengers and cargo between Juba and
Entebbe. The flight segments between
Khartoum and Juba and v.v. are operated
also as domestic flights inside Sudan.
Meanwhile
a freak windstorm ripped part of the roof
off the passenger terminal building on
Monday, leading to a partial evacuation of
passengers from the affected areas, but
operations resumed after about an hour,
once the debris was cleared. Emergency
repairs of the roof section are already
underway.
In further
developments the Lira airfield has been
temporarily closed by the CAA to allow for
removal of runway obstructions along the
approach path, where unauthorised building
activity had endangered flight traffic.
The re-opening of the field will be
reported in this column.
YEI
&endash; JUBA ROAD NOW OPEN
Following
an extensive mine clearing exercise in
recent months, this vital road link
between Northern Uganda via the town of
Yei to Juba is now finally open again. A
convoy of over 20 trucks was
enthusiastically welcomed in Juba,
carrying much needed supplies from Uganda
at affordable prices, as previously
supplies needed to be flown in from
Sudan's capital city Khartoum. Trade links
with Uganda are expected to take an
immediate turn to the better as the main
road from Kampala through Masindi,
Murchisons Falls National Park, Pakwach
and Arua now connects directly to the
South Sudan. The road link through Nimule
is also expected to open in the near
future. The South Sudan leader Salva Kiir
last week also made his inaugural visit to
Kampala and pledged that trade tariffs for
Ugandan goods would be reduced to
encourage imports of Ugandan
goods.
SHERATON
KAMPALA OPENS NEW BREAKFAST
AREA
Following
further completion of their new facilities
a purpose built breakfast area with hot
and cold buffet is now open. Located at
the former Victoria Dining guest can now
enjoy an indoor and outdoor setting on the
first floor with views over the city
centre. Breakfast being the most important
meal of the day, Sheraton has now
definitely put it into a new environment
as this correspondent could ascertain
during a tour by the hotel's F&B
Director Mr. Kwashie.
LAKE
SHIP READY
MV
Kalangala will be formally commissioned on
October 09th, which also marks Uganda's
43rd Independence Day. The new lake ship
will cater for a total of 100 first and
economy class passengers and also allow
for cargo uplift to and from the Ssese
Islands of 100 tons. Kalangala is the
district's name for the island group on
Lake Victoria and provides also the name
for the new ship, which will be operating
from Kampala's suburb of Port
Bell.
UNDP
LAUNCHES HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
REPORT
Uganda
moved two places upwards in the global
scale of indicators used to compile the
statistics and measure performance.
Participants in the event held at Kampala
Sheraton Hotel however decried the
extraordinary difficulties developing
countries face to implement the Millennium
Development Goals and the even greater
difficulties of the developed world to
dismantle their economic fortresses they
have build to protect their industries,
services and agricultural sectors.
Participants heard that the developed
world spends over 350 Billion Dollars per
annum in agri-subsidies alone, which
results in loss of market access for
farmers in the developing world of over 70
Billion Dollars, almost exactly the sum of
aid given to these countries. The Bretton
Woods Institutions and WTO were also
severely criticised over their own
fortress mentality towards the developing
world and Sub Saharan Africa in
particular. The presenters jointly asked
for fair trading practises in all sectors
of the economy to boost the economic
performance of the continent to complement
aid packages, in order to reach the MDG's
by 2015.
EAST
AFRICA TOURISM FIGURES UP
AGAIN
For the
first six months of the year both Kenya
and Uganda again recorded a substantial
increase in visitor arrivals by about 20
percent over the 2004 figures. A trend
study for the second half of the year
indicates that both countries are to
receive again record visitor numbers in
2005. Uganda has opted to concentrate on
quality over quantity however and promotes
sustainable ecotourism with low impact and
high benefits and rising occupancies in
the hotel and lodge sector have led to
several new projects being developed in
and near protected areas (national parks
and game reserves) as well as in Kampala,
Jinja and Entebbe.
TV
LICENCE FEE FOR 'COMMERCIAL'
ONLY
Following
President Museveni's intervention on the
introduction of a TV Licence Fee from
September 01st, the Minister for
Information and Broadcasting has now
retracted his earlier 'from the hip'
statement and also clarified, that the fee
per TV in use is due by hotels, clubs,
restaurants and other places where the
public can view TV programmes, while
private consumers remain exempt of the
fee. The cost of an annual TV Licence is
approximately US Dollars 11 per
set.
FUEL
SUPPLY STILL SHAKY
Following
arbitrary changes by the Kenya Revenue
Authority over the payment of taxes for
fuel and treatment of export consignments
the supply of diesel is still somewhat
short of demand, prompting fuel companies
and dealers to appeal to government to
demand that the Kenyan authorities remove
the obstacles leading to the present
situation. As a result diesel supplies
from the main storage tanks are now
rationed for the time being, while leading
fuel company executives in Uganda
preferring anonymity blame the Kenya
Revenue Authority for being 'incompetent
and insensitive' to the impact of their
actions. It was also learned today that
AVGAS is again running low in Uganda and
the air operators have again lodged
complaints with Shell for poor stock
keeping.
|
Second edition,
September 2005
By Prof. Wolfgang H. Thome MBA
Ph.D.
|
|
SN BRUSSELS GETS NEW UGANDA
MANAGEMENT
Geert Lemmen has at last said good by
to his friends and clients in Uganda
during an emotional farewell party, during
which he also introduced Pierre Declerck
as his successor. Under Geert's reign the
old Sabena and then the new SN Brussels
made great headways in customer affection
and passenger and cargo numbers improved
strongly, largely credited to Geert's
effort in building a competent and
determined team in Kampala and Entebbe.
Pierre is no stranger to East Africa,
transferring from his previous station in
Kenya, while Geert now takes up his new
appointment in Sierra Leone, where he
hopes to make equal progress and get
results for SN Brussels. Kwaheri Ya
Kuonana from us all here, until we meet
again.
SOFTPOWER ADOPTS MORE SCHOOLS
Softpower Education, an NGO with roots
in the UK and associated with Nile River
Explorers, a leading rafting and river
activities company in Jinja, has of late
recorded more support from visitors coming
to Jinja for kayaking and rafting. Many of
them give small donations or send funds
after their return home, having seen the
impact of the school support programme of
Softpower, which engages in the
rehabilitation of school buildings,
classrooms and adds water tanks and
hygiene facilities. Softpower works
closely with local communities in the
rural areas, who then take charge of the
maintenance of such projects. Visitors
also come to Jinja to support building
projects by working on site for the
duration of their holiday. Near Bujagali
Falls a full community centre, clinic,
pottery and education centre is presently
under construction by Softpower. Find more
details at www.softpowereducation.com
AVIATION WORKSHOP DISCUSSES NEW
REGULATIONS
The Uganda CAA this week discussed the
new draft regulations for Uganda with
stakeholders in the presence of observers
from their counterparts in Kenya and
Tanzania, the panel for harmonization at
the East African Community and members of
the US FAA who supported the exercise.
Over 220 submissions were made by
stakeholders, namely the Uganda
Association of Air Operators (UAAO) but
also from Mission Aviation Fellowship
(MAF), the police air wing, Uganda Air
Force, air traffic controllers association
and the meteorological department. While a
good number of objections were taken care
of during the meeting by amendments,
alterations or deletions from the
presented text, other areas were deferred
for further discussions with stakeholders.
The President of the Uganda Tourism
Association during the closing ceremony
underlined the partnership between
regulator and aviation fraternity but also
called for an intensified institutional
dialogue between the parties to address
issues as an ongoing practise and asked
the regulators to accept the private
sector stakeholders as full partners and
not only call upon them when convenient or
impossible to ignore. He also asked for
membership in the aviation bodies UAAO and
BAR to be made mandatory by the regulator
to bring all aviation companies under a
private sector platform and then allow
them a regular consultation with the CAA
and other relevant government bodies.
HOTEL OWNERS ALSO WAKE UP TO TV TAX
With the TV tax being deliberated over
for months before becoming reality on
September 01st, the Uganda hotel owners
have seemingly now also woken up belatedly
to decry the annual cost per TV set of
about 11 US Dollar, saying it is too
expensive. Industry observers have
promptly asked where the owners were
during the process and how they
participated in the consultations. In
contrast, the Hotel and Catering
Association of Uganda, itself a member of
the umbrella body UTA unlike the owners
who operate in isolation from the rest of
the industry, had taken part in the
consultative process and sensitized their
membership months in advance to the TV
fees coming into effect.
OIL TESTS AWAITED
Materials and data from the test
drilling in various areas of Uganda are
now being evaluated at special facilities
in the UK to determine the viability of
commercially viably finds of oil and
natural gas. In the meantime, more
exploration blocks have been awarded by
the Uganda government in recent weeks, as
the hope of finding the precious commodity
have risen and attracted more
prospectors.
KENYA TOURISM DISCUSSES WAY FORWARD
Stakeholders in the Kenyan tourism
industry, including the Kenya Tourism
Federation (Private Sector), the Kenya
Tourist Board and the Kenya Wildlife
Authority met this week to discuss the KWS
Tourism Development Management Plan, which
includes a re-branding of the parks,
giving them an individual image and
address the need for more accommodation to
cater for the growing number of visitors.
Last year's occupancies in Kenya rose by
nearly 38 percent following a sustained
marketing campaign in its key established
markets and in new markets and the current
year is expecting again record visitors
and even higher occupancies, both at the
Kenya coast and in the national parks.
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Pearls from Uganda
