ON THE EVE OF KABAKA MUTEBI CLOSING BUGANDA'S 4th TOURISM EXPO; A HISTORICAL PHOTO

The photo above was taken at Lubaga Cathedral the day Kabaka Muteesa II returned from exile (17 Oct 1955). Dr George Kkolokolo who lives in France recalls the event very well because he was present (and was a primary school child). The Late Ssekabaka Mutesa II is seen with the Nnabagereka on his left. On the Kabaka's right is Archbishop Joseph Cabana and next to him (on his right)is bishop Kiwanuka (then Bishop of Masaka), then there is a White Father after whom is Late Mr Mackenn dressed in a papal knighthood. MacKenn was a honorary Old Boy of St. Mary's College Kisubi(SMACK)for which School he had been a devoted lawyer, legal adviser and member of Board of Governors for years!

His Highness, Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi is to officially close the fifth annual Buganda Tourism Expo, Sunday, 1st July 2012. The people of Buganda are grateful towards the efforts of the Kabaka, Nabagereka as well as Buganda's Minister for tourism for the untiring efforts to develop the industry. This year's event is to run under the theme "Celebrating Our Cultural Diversity". It is aimed at celebrating and promoting diverse culture across the country. The photo of Opening Namirembe Cathedral is adding to the stock of historical photos we have. William Kituuka Kiwanuka ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KABAKA RONALD MUWENDA MUTEBI OFFICIALLY CLOSES BUGANDA'S 4th TOURISM EXPO, SUNDAY 1st JULY 2012

NABAGEREKA SAID, 'WE NEED SOLID PARTNERSHIPS TO DEVELOP TOURISM SECTOR' Posted by J.M Kavuma-Kaggwa on Friday, July 22 2011 at 00:00 The Nabagereka of Buganda, Sylvia Nagginda, gave valuable advice to the Baganda on the need to cooperate with the central government in order to promote the tourism industry in Buganda. The Nabagereka made the remarks during the opening of the Buganda Tourism Expo 2011 at Mengo Palace in Kampala. This wise counsel from the Nabagereka should be taken seriously by all and I appeal to the Baganda, and indeed, all Ugandans to heed her advice for the good of our country. We must develop the tourism sector in Buganda so as to earn tangible revenue. The economies of Kenya, South Africa and many European countries are thriving on the revenue earned annually from tourism. It is important that we pick lessons from these countries. The tourism industry cuts across all groups of people: the farmers who grow food, the people who make souvenirs and curios and those who sell them, the people who work in hotels, the drivers and tour guides who take tourists to the parks, tour operators, travel agents, the airlines, etc. Cooperation with the central government is crucial, especially when it comes to economic development, which we badly need. However, the kind of cooperation we are advocating has been very minimal since 1999 when we saw President Museveni and his wife, Ms Janet Museveni, attending the Kabaka’s wedding at Namirembe Cathedral in high spirits. That kind of cooperation should be restored so as to move forward in our effort to achieve development in key sectors such as tourism. I will not deal with the reasons why that kind of cooperation has been lacking of late because that requires different thinking and handling. What is vital for the Baganda is the need to focus of areas of development to uplift the living standards of the people. Currently, we have plans to build hotels and lodges for tourists along the shores of Lake Victoria in Kyaggwe, Buvuma, Kyadondo, Busiro, Mawokota, Buddu, Ssese Islands and Kooki. This will require heavy funding and joint business ventures from friends of Buganda in foreign countries and within. That is why we have to develop “solid and lasting cooperation between the government and Buganda. I remember the system of joint venture and BOT (Build Operate and later Transfer) worked very well in Kenya in the 1960s after they achieved Independence. The late President Jomo Kenyatta invited several hotel and lodge developers and financiers (one of them was Hallmark Hotels) and they built hotels in Nairobi and the coastal towns of Malindi and Mombasa as well as Tsavo and Amboseli parks. They operated them for a period of 10 years while recovering their money, and at the same time trained Kenyans to run them after those 10 years of foreign ownership. This is the kind of “hotels and lodges development programme” which we are going to use in Buganda. In May, I had an audience with the Katikkiro of Buganda, Eng. J.B. Walusimbi, and we talked at length about these development plans. Finally, I would like to state that all the Baganda have the primary responsibility to themselves to make Buganda highly developed in all areas of economic, educational and social development. J.M Kavuma-Kaggwa is an elder from Kyaggwe - Mukono District 0772 584423