We need good roads in wildlife protected areas – MP Muhumuza

Buwama County lawmaker, Richard Muhumuza, says there is a need for MPs to advocate for funds to Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to be able to revamp infrastructure in National Parks and reserves.

In an exclusive interview with Pearl of Africa (POA) TV at Murchison falls National Park, Hon. Muhumuza who also serves as the chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Conservation and Sustainable Tourism, said the infrastructure needs a facelift.

Though tourism is one of the biggest income earners of this nation. It fetches an approximate shs100billion, and according to the UWA Executive Director, it is still little to sustain all their works across the country.

The Buwama County legislator’s plea came in at a time when the Authority van that was on a game drive, got stuck for some minutes at the Pakuba Park road that joins the Airstrip to Pakuba lodge in the middle of Murchison falls National Park.

For some minutes, the 20 MPs and UWA staff, were forced to get out of the van under the protection of Park guides and evacuated by the wildlife water truck that pulled their out of the rough road.

Before the incident, the legislators paid a courtesy visit to the Joint Operation Command Center of the entire Murchison falls National Park where the Chief Warden, Mr. Edson Nuwamanya, led them to them on a guided tour of operations at the site, including tracking of animals and poachers currently handled by the center.

While there, the Legislators appeared speechless on seeing the poachers’ hunting equipment that included; spears, barbed wires, and many others, all intercepted by security operatives at the park. They use Earth Ranger Software to capture all criminal incidences that are carried out by poachers.

The legislators were later taken on a field tour of the electric fence that is currently being built by the Authority to prevent wild animals like elephants from invading locals’ gardens and disrupting their lives.

At the site, legislators in their engagement with the Uganda Wildlife Authority Executive Director, Mr. Sam Mwandha, expressed concern about the distance covered by the fence and the quality of the material used.

Before the global COVID19 pandemic, the tourism industry in Uganda was one of the top forex earners. The visit by lawmakers was made to assess tourism sites to find out on the ground how efficiently they can revamp the secto