Establish a national airline to boost tourism in Uganda

The people of Uganda are calling upon the government to re-establish a national airline as a matter of urgency for the sake of national interest, earning foreign currency and boosting our pride.

As a country, Uganda must have a national airline now. As a citizen who is much interested in the formation of a national airline and who understands its economic importance to the nation, I have spoken to many people and they support the idea. An airline is an important national asset.

Any nation worth its salt must support a national airline where it has a stake. It can wholly own the airline or partially run a carrier with shareholding of 60 per cent government and 40 per cent private sector. The experience now is that the world is making money. So, Ugandans too must make money out of aviation industry and tourism. Since the unfortunate collapse of Uganda Airlines, our country has lost a lot of money to foreign carriers.

Right now, there are 15 foreign airlines operating in and out of Entebbe. Nine of them make daily flights while others have four or five flights a week. All these airlines repatriate their earnings out of Uganda.

What shall we achieve as a result of Uganda having its own national airline? The economy will expand tremendously and Ugandans will get employment. We shall also have more cargo space for the horticultural products, among others, which we export.

The tourism industry will prosper because the airline will work with world tourism coordinators and operators to bring in tourists. A country cannot develop tourism conveniently and effectively if it does not own a national airline.

Today, if you walked into the offices of the various airlines which fly into Entebbe and ask for any literature that promotes tourism in Uganda, you will be lucky to get a simple black and white brochure.
Yet the economy of neighbouring Kenya has grown tremendously in the last 30 years because Kenya owns and runs a successful Kenya Airways, which greatly boosts its tourism sector.

In Ethiopia, despite the political problems that bedevilled the country during and after the regime of former dictator Haile Mengistu Mariam, the economy remained stable due to the presence of Ethiopian Airlines. The airlines contributes almost 70 per cent to Ethiopia’s national revenue.

In South Africa, there is a booming tourism sector. In fact, the country now boasts of earning between $15 billion and $20 billion every year from the tourism sector alone.

Remember, South Africa does not have the equivalent of, for instance, Uganda’s Murchison Falls, Rwenzori Mountains, Semuliki Valley, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Mount Elgon, River Nile, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Victoria, or Ssese islands. When Uganda reestablishes a national airline, this will help promote both local and international tourism.

The Ministry of Tourism should work hand-in-hand with a revived Uganda Airlines or any other national airline to promote and develop the tourism industry in Uganda.

Fortunately, there are still many professional Ugandans who worked for the defunct East African Airways, including your own. We are ready to make a contribution towards reviving the defunct Uganda Airlines or set up a new national airline should the need arise.

Mr Kavuma-Kaggwa is an elder from Kyaggwe in Mukono District

kkmukuba@gmail.com