Masaka road accidents hurting tourism - UWA

Kampala.

Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) has said the frequent traffic accidents on the Kampala-Masaka highway are scaring away tourists since it is the main artery to the country’s game parks.

While receiving the new Tourism ministers at UWA headquarters last Friday, Dr Andrew Seguya, the UWA executive director, asked the ministers to tell Cabinet to do something about the carnage on Masaka road.

Dr Seguya said the frequent accidents on the road scare away tourists because this is the road that leads them to game parks.

“Usually before these people set off for Uganda, they research about the tourism attractions and the routes on the internet. When Masaka road pops up, all details of the accidents and other negative information about that road comes up and it scares them,” he said.

Mr Seguya’s comments followed several accidents on Masaka road that have claimed more than 200 people in the last six months. The most recent left a police inspector and three other passengers dead.

Tourism minister Ephraim Kamuntu and State minister for Tourism, Mr Godfrey Kiwanda, promised to table the road carnage issues before Cabinet.
Mr Kiwanda told UWA staff that he used to be a regular visitor to their headquarters when he was working in Karamoja sub-region and he knows how difficult it is for UWA to operate with communities that want to encroach on game reserves. He promised to table the complaint on road accidents to Cabinet.

Prof Kamuntu said, “For me, this is not really a new appointment because I was here when UWA was created several years back and I am just coming back home. I am happy with the resilience some of you have put up to remain here since I left you several years back.”
Last year, tourism contributed Shs5.5 trillion to Uganda’s economy.

Lives lost
200 people have been killed on Masaka road in the last six months. Police say most of these accidents have been as a result of reckless driving, overspeeding and general carelessness of road users.