Leaders from Bundibugyo recieve the dummy cheque, over 120 million shillings was given to the district.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority-UWA has disbursed 3.1 Billion Shillings to 13 districts bordering national parks and wildlife reserves in Rwenzori and Kigezi regions.
The Uganda Wildlife Act 2000 requires UWA to disburse some of the money from the national parks to front-line communities for their contribution to wildlife conservation. It stipulates that the UWA board shall pay 20 percent of the park entry fees collected from wildlife-protected areas to the Local Government of the area surrounding the wildlife-protected area from which the fees were collected.
The benefiting districts are, Kasese, Bundibugyo, Bunyagabu, Kabarole, Ntoroko, Kyejojojo, Kamwenge, Ibanda and Kitagwenda districts. The others are, Mitoma, Kanungu and Rukungiri.
The districts neighbour Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, the Rwenzori Mountains National Park and Tooro-Semuliki, and Nyambura wildlife reserves.
On Wednesday, the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Col. Tom Butiime handed over Cheques to the leaders from the benefiting districts.
Butiime explained that revenue sharing demonstrates that wildlife conservation can contribute to the local government budget.
He challenged district leaders to think of acquiring land for ecological purposes towards boosting tourism.
Butiime appealed to district leaders to ensure the money benefits the communities neighboring the wildlife-protected areas.
Sam John Mwandha, the Executive Director of UWA said that the disbursement is the first in more than two years as a result of covid-19 restrictions and low revenue collections. He anticipates that as the global economy settles, there will be more revenue collections which will translate into better revenue sharing.
The board of trustee’s chairperson Dr. Pantaleon Kasoma noted that UWA had revised its revenue-sharing guidelines and sensitized communities in the management of the funds.
John Manume, the Vice Chairperson of Bunyangabu District asked the government to expedite the operationalization of the compensation clause in the new wildlife act.
Since the inception of the revenue sharing fund in 2005, UWA has disbursed 11.3 Billion Shillings.
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