NEWS- Kanungu District Chairman Eng Sam Arinaitwe Kajojo has requested Uganda Wildlife Authority to fast-track the habituation of Chimpanzees, especially for Kanungu District at Ngoto Swamp, which will go a long way towards enabling inclusive tourism for the people of Kanungu Town Council, Kirima Sub county and Kanyantorogo Sub County.
Chairman Arinaitwe Kajojo request was on November 2nd 2023 raised in a petition he presented to Uganda Wildlife Authority consultative meeting which was attended by District leaders from Kisoro, Rubanda and Kanungu Districts.
The meeting was attended by the LV 5 Chairmen Abel Bizimana for Kisoro, Stephen Kasyaba for Rubanda and Eng Arinaitwe Kajojo for Kanungu District and their Chief Administrative Officers.
Eng Arinaitwe Kajojo said that his petition is based on the need to have greater revenue sharing sources and said that where as tourists have to go to Bwindi Mgahinga Impenetrable Conservation Area to track mountains gorillas, they can also have an opportunity to see the chimpanzees in Kanungu.
Eng Arinaitwe Kajojo also raised the issue of animal-human conflict for the people living around Queen Elizabeth National Park which he said is critical, because the people there have stopped sending their children to school to tame the wildlife that is destroying their crops.
He also pointed out that some people have been killed by the wildlife animals, and others have had their gardens destroyed completely and compensation takes unnecessarily too long to be realized.
He noted that whereas they will continue to encourage the communities living near the Conservation Areas to get involved in conservation, they pray that Uganda Wildlife Authority takes action and listens to appeals from the host districts to realize the value of these tourism facilities.
Kanungu District Chief AdministrativeOfficer David Tweheyo Batega, highlighted the need for an increase in the Gorilla levy’s revenue sharing to support the region’s development.
The three Districts’ Leaders therefore urged Uganda Wildlife Authorities and the Ministry responsible for Tourism to initiate training programs for tourism-related workers to enhance local employment opportunities.
