uganda tour and safari news

By Kiiza Kalamantu Calah
For Uganda gorilla safari news
Six five-star hotels are to be constructed in six national parks to boost tourism, the tourism state minister, Serapio Rukundo, has said.

Kidepo National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Lake Mburo National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park would get the hotels.

“We are in negotiations with investors who own Uganda Hotels like Kempinski Hotels, Hilton Hotels, Sheraton Hotels and Serena Hotels to construct these hotels by 2012,” Rukundo said while launching the Pearl of Africa Tree at Akright Kakungulu Satellite City on Entebbe Road.

He said more hotels were needed near game parks to accommodate tourists.

“For our tourists to face nature in its virginity, see animals like climbing lions in Ishasha Queen Elizabeth national park, gorillas, chimpanzees and relax, accommodation within the parks has to be improved.”

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in Uganda, with earnings expected to reach $500m (about sh820b) annually.

Last year, over 770,000 people visited Uganda. They included businesspeople, conference attendants, cross border tourists and participants at the Commonwealth summit.

Urban planning state minister, Urban Tibamanya, said the Government was looking for investors to partner with Kampala slum-dwellers to develop the slums.

He said the investors would construct storeyed buildings and share floors with the slum-dwellers.

Anatoli Kamugisha, the Akright managing director, asked the Government to enact strong laws to protect rare tree species like the Pearl of Africa Tree.

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posted by Kiiza Kalamantu Calah
For Uganda gorilla safari news

The beauty of being near Mt. Elgon is that you can enjoy the sight of water from the numerous streams that flow from the gigantic eastern Ugandan mountain. As the streams make their way down the mountain slopes, water falls over rocks, creating spectacular scenes and sounds. One of them is Sisiyi Falls, so named because it never runs dry, come rain come shine.

Sipi Falls Resort, located in Sironko district, is such a soothing place. You can spend hours under trees watching the water fall from 103 feet, making it one of the longest water falls in Uganda and cave painting. From miles away, it can be seen as a streak of white against a green hilly background. Where the water falls to the ground, it has formed a natural swimming pool.

Getting to the Sipi is not exactly pleasant, but the beauty compensates for the rough road. Five kilometres along the Sironko-Kapchorwa road, is Buyaga trading centre. From here, visitors turn off onto a murram road and after another six kilometres, you are on site.

Not willing to let such water-falls go unexploited, Dr. Patrick Mutono and his wife Hellen, formerly based in the USA, set up a resort with leisure gardens, surrounded by self-contained cottages.

Holidaymakers come to this spot to set themselves free from the commotion in the city. Moses Wagoli, a Buyaga resident, says tourists frequent the site. “They come mostly on weekends and stay till Sunday evening,” Wagoli says.

Because the tourists are not shy to treat their bodies to fresh air, the locals have baptised the place “Garden of Eden”as they provide some cultural attractions especially entertainment.

According to Wagoli, Ugandans also frequent Sipi Falls. “District officials come here and then send their drivers away with the vehicles to avoid being detected.”

The place is lit up at night with solar lanterns. There are no lamp posts anywhere as huge stones do a better job.

Dr. Mutono, the proprietor, says he conceived the idea to develop Sisiyi Falls during a visit to a nearby Church, when the beauty of the area struck him. “The locals accepted our offer to buy the land and we started work in 2004 to bring it to this level. We started commercial operations in 2006,” he says.

Mutono lists wedding receptions, seminars, retreats and nature walks as some of the activities taking place at the resort. Tourists also climb to the top of the falls and enjoy a panoramic view of Sironko town.

While at the falls, don’t forget to look out for Bagisu beauties, easily mistaken for elderly women as they walk bent forward with merchandise on their backs.

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By kiiza Kalamantu Calah

For Uganda gorilla safari news

The shoebill and the crested Crane will be the main tourist attractions Uganda will exhibit at the British Bird watching fair. The August 15 to 17 fair will be held at the Egleton Nature Reserve Oakham Rutland in London.

‘’with 10% of the global bird species in Uganda and at least 50% species in Africa, Tourism Uganda is keen on the country’s cooperative advantage through partnership with Uganda wildlife Authority with Civil Aviation Authority, the National Forest Authority and the private sector, ‘’ noted Tony Ofungi, A Uganda Tourist Board senior publicity.

The London fair is the world’s first and the largest international bird watching annual event held every August at the Rutland Water in England. It is described as the birder’s ‘’ Glastonbury.’’
The show offers a large number of suppliers of binoculars, cameras, books, clothing and other birding equipments, plus artists and tour companies like those offering gorilla safaris, wildlife safaris birding safaris and many more display and sell wares.

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By Kiiza k Calah
It was during the Rwanda’s annual gorilla-naming ceremony (called Kwita Izina), officials decided to name one baby gorilla “Sacola,” namesake of a trust that owns and manages a new lodge in the Virunga heartland that aims to preserve the future of little Sacola and the region’s other 700+ mountain gorillas.

The Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, or SSL, opened officially on June 21 in the midst of this year’s Kwita Izina, and sits near the rarefied habitat of the highly endangered mountain gorilla. By channeling portions of guest fees toward both habitat and local community conservation, SSL hopes to create a “win-win” situation for a region plagued by riots, wars, corruption, and gorilla murders.

Not far from the Volcanoes National Park (infamous as a battlefield during Rwandan civil wars in the 1990s), SSL is projected to raise $200,000 in its first year. Already, it has provided jobs for locals, and “all but one of the employees at the lodge are Rwandan,” says Kathleen Goldstein of the African Wildlife Foundation, which is one of the project’s partners.

“The only outside talent at the lodge is an amazing chef recruited from Kenya,” Goldstein explains. “Many of the staff were recruited from the local community and then trained by SSL.”

After the jump: Learn how the lodge’s earnings have been put to use so far.

The lodge practices eco-friendly and responsible tourism, she says, and provides opportunities for guests to get up close (but not too close) and personal with the park’s most endangered creature. SSL sets up day-long treks through the Virunga’s rough, heavily vegetated terrain to scout out mountain gorilla families and witness their everyday habits and behaviours. Anyone who watched National Geographic’s Gorilla Murders documentary, though, may remember that the mountain gorillas are extremely susceptible to human germs, and the lodge’s guides maintain the group’s distance of about 20 feet. No more than eight guests can go at a time.

The lodge used some of its most recently raised funds (about $30,000) to improve community road conditions, including the path that leads up to the lodge, which was previously rather difficult to access. “The community chose to reinvest proceeds into ensuring that their lodge was of the highest quality,” Goldstein says. “They realized that their asset—the lodge—was difficult to get to because of a badly deteriorated road.” SACOLA trust determines how funds will be allocated, but all of the trust’s members have been elected by local community members themselves.

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By Kiiza k Calah
It was during the Rwanda’s annual gorilla-naming ceremony (called Kwita Izina), officials decided to name one baby gorilla “Sacola,” namesake of a trust that owns and manages a new lodge in the Virunga heartland that aims to preserve the future of little Sacola and the region’s other 700+ mountain gorillas.

The Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, or SSL, opened officially on June 21 in the midst of this year’s Kwita Izina, and sits near the rarefied habitat of the highly endangered mountain gorilla. By channeling portions of guest fees toward both habitat and local community conservation, SSL hopes to create a “win-win” situation for a region plagued by riots, wars, corruption, and gorilla murders.

Not far from the Volcanoes National Park (infamous as a battlefield during Rwandan civil wars in the 1990s), SSL is projected to raise $200,000 in its first year. Already, it has provided jobs for locals, and “all but one of the employees at the lodge are Rwandan,” says Kathleen Goldstein of the African Wildlife Foundation, which is one of the project’s partners.

“The only outside talent at the lodge is an amazing chef recruited from Kenya,” Goldstein explains. “Many of the staff were recruited from the local community and then trained by SSL.”

After the jump: Learn how the lodge’s earnings have been put to use so far.

The lodge practices eco-friendly and responsible tourism, she says, and provides opportunities for guests to get up close (but not too close) and personal with the park’s most endangered creature. SSL sets up day-long treks through the Virunga’s rough, heavily vegetated terrain to scout out mountain gorilla families and witness their everyday habits and behaviours. Anyone who watched National Geographic’s Gorilla Murders documentary, though, may remember that the mountain gorillas are extremely susceptible to human germs, and the lodge’s guides maintain the group’s distance of about 20 feet. No more than eight guests can go at a time.

The lodge used some of its most recently raised funds (about $30,000) to improve community road conditions, including the path that leads up to the lodge, which was previously rather difficult to access. “The community chose to reinvest proceeds into ensuring that their lodge was of the highest quality,” Goldstein says. “They realized that their asset—the lodge—was difficult to get to because of a badly deteriorated road.” SACOLA trust determines how funds will be allocated, but all of the trust’s members have been elected by local community members themselves.

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By Kiiza k Calah
For Primates Adventure co

Tourists flock our country year in and year out appreciating the gifts that God gave our land. Flocking our nation to climb our mountains that they call virgin because they have survived the heavy pollution and litter that is a characteristic of the foreign peaks such as the Everest.
When we think about the country’s tourist attractions, our minds immediately goes to the national parks and forests for gorilla tours, Chimpanzee tours, Wildlife and others . But mountain climbing is a magnet that attracts a large number of tourists and natives to the mountainous region.

One such mountainous region is Mt Rwenzori, which in itself has a strong heritage that can be traced back to 1906, when an Italian Duke climbed the mountain which lies on the border of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Italian influence is very important in this region because in 2006, a large team of Italians returned to the region and climbed the very same mountain during the centenary celebration which marked 100 years since Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of Abruzzi climbed the peaks in the region.

During this climb, Professor Giorgio Paolo Maria Vassena, a researcher and lecturer at the University of Brescia, Italy, in partnership with Professor Bob Nakileza of Makerere University, Department of Geography placed two metrological stations that record data.

Professor Vassena explained that, “The first meteorological station is located 4,000 metres high over the Bukuku Lake and is owned by the University of Brescia and the Italian Alpine Club.” This particular station was set up to record rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, total solar radiation, speed and direction of the wind.Mt Rwenzori where the metrological stations have been placed.

According to Professor Vassena, the solar radiation is something that needs to be noted as it appears that the severe reduction of the ice cap on the Rwenzori peaks is mainly due to the typical clouds cover, present during the day in the area. At the moment it is not proved if within the Rwenzori range at high altitudes, the increment of temperature that is already seen at sea level is also occurring.

“A second meteorological station was installed on Mt Stanley by researchers of the L’Umana Dimora, the station is just above Helena Hut at 4,600 metres of altitude. The data collected is useful when understanding the environmental weather behaviour taking place in the course of time in the area,” explains Professor Vassena.

Professor Vassena was delighted to report that the group of Italian researchers completed a field-training course with the park rangers of the Rwenzori region so that they too can be involved in the management of the meteorologist sensors and be a key part of the researching team that supports the Italian team.

He added that the rangers are now able to download data and give technical support to the Bujuku metrological station. This year between June and July, a study was carried out to define the position where a permanent working GPS (global positioning system) reference station on Mt Stanley would be placed. At present the station is located at Helena Hut but the station will be fully operational by 2009.

Professor Vassena explained that although some changes in climate have been noted there has been no drastic change as two years is a very short time to monitor dramatic change.

He noted that changes will be noted after a period of five to 10 years. With the current threat of global warming this information is vital as it will provide data that will indicate a change in climate conditions.

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By Kiiza K. Calah

Rwanda merges agencies Rwanda’s Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA), Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks in Rwanda like Parc volcanoes which is femous for gorilla treking in Rwanda (ORTPN), Privatization Secretariat, Rwanda Commercial Registration Services Agency, Rwanda Information and Technology Authority (RITA), Center for Support to Small and Medium Enterprises (CAPMER), the Human Resource and Institutional Capacity Development Agency (HIDA), Department of Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA) to become one.

KIGALI, RWANDA - The government of Rwanda seeks to undertake a major institutional reform that is expected see about seven parastatals merged into a single body for better delivery.

The reform seeks to put seven agencies into a single body to be called Rwanda Development Board (RDB) that would harmonise activities to ensure quick and timely service delivery for quick gains and innovation. The aim of the reform is to serve better the private sector.

The chamber of deputies in the Rwandan parliament recently passed the controversial bill paving way for RDB to be established.This comes following the cabinet meeting chaired by President Kagame that backed the idea.

The looming reform is targeting Rwanda’s Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA), Rwanda Office of Tourism and National Parks (ORTPN), Privatization Secretariat, the newly created Rwanda Commercial Registration Services Agency, Rwanda Information and Technology Authority (RITA), Center for Support to Small and Medium Enterprises (CAPMER), the Human Resource and Institutional Capacity Development Agency (HIDA) and a department of Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA).

The bill which was presented to the law makers by the state minister in charge of industry and investments in the ministry of trade and industry, Mr. Vincent Karega seeks to create an enabling environment for mobilizing local and foreign direct investments done under one roof.

According to the minister, establishment of a single window institution to handle services given to the private sector is the way to go. Facing a multitude of law makers, the minister cited at Singapore and Ireland, the two giants that are doing better in business because they have placed services offered to the private sector in one umbrella origination.

The RDB will harmonise activities for quick and sustainable development in the country. It also seeks to put together services needed by the private sector as well as adding more efforts in ICT to create opportunities for business operators and investments in the country.

The bill also anticipates that by merging seven institutions, RDB will ensure that taxpayer’s money is purposely spent because of harmonization of institutions, activities and services hence proper management system.

It is proposed that the RDB will be under senior management of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with a renewable five year contract, who will also sit at its chairmanship. The RDB will be reporting to the president’s office.

The targeted institutions have been key contributors to the country’s economy especially in mobilisation of local and foreign investments, capacity building, and ICT as well export promotion.

Rwanda strives to become a middle income country by increasing its current Gross Domestic Product per capita from $250 to $900 by 2020. However, this requires tremendous efforts to push the country to expand its economy by over 600%.

Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA), whose role is to mobilise FDIs and promote exports, has been a key player in contributing to the country’s vision.

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By Kiiza Calah

A US$25 million cargo hub that Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has set its sights on in the next phase of developing Entebbe International Airport is generating a lot of interest.

Two groups one from South Africa and another from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have expressed interest in developing the project, which has been designed as a build, operate and transfer project.

CAA’s public affairs manager, Mr. Ignie Igunduura said the airports and aviation body was seeking a joint venture with a private partner like tour operators in Uganda offering safaris to foregners who come for gorilla safaris in Bwindi and as well as other wildlife and primate safaris in Ugnada’s national park.

“We have had several groups showing interest. Most of them have made the first contact,” Igunduura said. “We have given them everything they need to come back with concrete proposals, which we expect any time from now.”

The investors who have showed interest are responding to invitations from CAA asking local and international businesses to further assess the financial viability of the project.

The cargo centre is provided for under CAA’s 20-year master plan. The centre will have the capacity to hold 500,000 metric tonnes of cargo per annum according the designs, which have been completed.

The holding capacity of the cargo centre is designed to meet anticipated growth in cargo volumes up to 2012. Existing cargo facilities are too small to meet present and future volumes.

A South African company, Africon, has done the designs of the facility, which will occupy six acres at the airport.

The proposed cargo centre elements include construction of cargo building (perishable cargo), cargo building (dry cargo), freight forwarders building, customs building, truck off-loading area, vehicle parking area and roads - cargo aircraft apron and taxiways.

It also involves construction of an access road to the cargo centre and construction and installation of support utilities.

Mr. Ambrose Akandonda, CAA’s managing director said cargo traffic at Entebbe had risen from 20,000 metric tonnes nine years ago to 64,000 by the turn of last year.

The facility will cater for dry and wet cargo and have utilities like chillers and cold storage facilities.

“CAA is looking at three options that include involvement of the private sector to build, operate and transfer the facility after an agreed period,” Akandonda said at the start of this year when the revelation for the facility was made.

“We want to interest the private sector to come into warehousing, which has a turnaround on investment, while CAA provides the aeronautical support infrastructure like paved areas for aircraft, parking and taxi ways.”

Airlines are growing their cargo business and Entebbe cannot pull big cargo carriers if such a facility was not in place.

One such airline is Emirates, which is rapidly expanding its network.

This according to CAA will help Uganda move its cargo to various markets.

Emirates’ cargo service has increased from a daily flight to four flights a week into Entebbe, signaling significant growth in trade between Uganda and the rest of the world.

According to Uganda’s ‘big push strategy’, the government is looking at turning Uganda into an air cargo centre of excellence in Africa because of its strategic central location.

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