Basoga urged to guard tourist sites

Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga, Buyende officials and residents climb Kagulu Hill in Buyende District last week. Locals were urged to stop quarrying on the hill in order to preserve it for tourism

Tourism Minister Maria Mutagamba has called on communities living around cultural heritage sites in Busoga Sub-region to preserve and protect them.

Touring Kagulu Hill in Buyende District together with the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, the minister said the hills were one of the best tourist destinations in Busoga and should form the core of the Busoga Tourism Circuit.

“We have gone an extra mile. The whites come to see chimpanzees, gorillas, the lakes, River Nile and now, we have added cultural sites to the industry,” she said, adding that tourism is Uganda’s second largest income earner.

Ms Mutagamba said the 6,000ft-hill is of historical and cultural significance as the place where Mukama Nyamutukura, the descendant of all royals, camped before his ancestors spread out to form the 11 hereditary chiefdoms.

Ms Kadaga, who is also the Woman MP for Kamuli, called on the authorities in Buyende to stop stone quarrying on the hill in order to preserve its beauty. She added that the hill will in future be blessed with hotels and recreation centres.