Wildlife Authority Needs Leadership

17 November 2010
The Observer (Kampala)

editorial

The Uganda Wildlife Authority is now technically without a board of directors and probably top management after court ruled that they were appointed irregularly.

Justice Yorokamu Bamwine declared recently that some of the current members of the board were unqualified, including its Chairman, Dr Boysier Oumar Muballe. He ordered for the dissolution of the board and the minister responsible to appoint a new one in accordance with the law.

One of the last bold acts of the now disbanded board was to fire the Executive Director, Moses Mapesa and two other senior staff, Andrew Koluo and Apophia Atukunda early this year.

The board then appointed a new executive director, whose authority now hangs in balance in light of the court decision. Meanwhile, the suspended officials challenged their dismissal in court, which has now ruled in their favour.

The petitioners successfully argued that the new board was needlessly interfering in the running of the public enterprise. It appears that the minister responsible and his handpicked board were so eager to remove the managers that private auditors were assigned to investigate the body and a report was promptly issued, raising allegations of impropriety.

But Parliament rejected this report, saying it was malicious and not cleared by the Auditor General. The report was also accused of not according its subjects the right of reply. To the minister and his UWA board, the end could justify the means. But no, in the interest of justice even the means must be justified.

In an editorial in August, we cautioned that while it was in order for those in charge to make changes where they deem fit, there was no justification to ignore the law or skip procedure, as was obviously the case in respect of suspected Mr Mapesa. If indeed he and his colleagues are guilty of the allegations made against them, the law should take its course.

Wildlife is a very sensitive sector, which is at the centre of Uganda's tourism boom and so it shouldn't be left in a vacuum for long. A lot can go wrong, including poaching, misappropriation of revenue and encroachment. Those responsible should, therefore, fill this vacuum as soon as possible.

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An earlier news report of an example of the shambles. Reported this news article is not official or correct. Comments?

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Uganda: Wildlife Body Suspends Sport Hunting

Gerald Tenywa

7 November 2010

Kampala — INVESTORS in sport hunting in Uganda's game parks have up to January next year to stop shooting wild animals for fun.

This follows a resolution from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to cancel hunting concessions offered years ago to the wildlife reserves.

"We are concerned about the dwindling numbers of wild animals in the wildlife reserves. Hunting is prohibited," said Mark Kamanzi, the acting director of UWA.

"Instead of allowing animals to breed through game farming, the hunters were being offered hunting quotas (allocated areas)," said Kamanzi.

Other sources said the board agreed to cancel the hunting concessions in a recent meeting following concerns that animal populations in wildlife reserves were low and that concessionaires were shooting them down.

Animals offered for sport hunting include buffalos, bushbuck, bush pigs, warthogs, duikers, elands, impalas and oribis. Others are reedbucks, kobs, topis, waterbuck, leopards, hippopotamus and zebras.

Kamanzi said the decision would not affect private wildlife ranchers outside Lake Mburo National Park in western Uganda and parts of Luweero, Nakasongola and Nakaseke districts in central Uganda.

He, however, stressed that concessions offered in wildlife reserves such as Kabwoya in Hoima district, wildlife reserves in West Nile and parts of Karamoja region would be affected.

Asked how they would deal with the legal implications of their actions, Kamanzi said they were holding discussions with the investors, but most of the concessionaires had not invested heavily and that they would be compensated.

Assessing sport hunting, Kamanzi said UWA offered concessions of 20 years without regulations on hunting and monitoring mechanisms.

He added that the share of benefits were lopsided and unlikely to deter poaching or improve UWA's capacity to manage the wildlife reserves.

Uganda imposed a ban on hunting two decades ago, but re-introduced sport hunting amid protests from conservationists.

The wildlife managers, on the other hand, argued that the only way to save wildlife was to use it to attract the private sector to invest in the management of wildlife reserves.

They set up Lake Mburo National Park and Kabwoya as models.