MUSEUM TO STAY SAYS NEW MINISTER
Ahead in wisdom and intellectual capacity over his predecessor by miles has the new Minister for Tourism, Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu finally said in public what was an open secret in the corridors of the tourism ministry: The Museum will stay. The previous minister, notorious for a range of shoot from the hip decisions, mainly to do with the Uganda Wildlife Authority which subsequently got messed up real good according to a tourism stakeholder, had insisted on megalomaniac plans to build a Trade Centre of 60 floors on the ground of the Museum, irrespective that the National Museum is a place of unique historical value for Uganda and for Ugandans. Minister Otafire, then in tourism, insisted that those opposing the knocking down of the Museum were opponents of progress but suffered a crushing defeat in court as was the case with several of his decisions over UWA when opponents of his plan obtained an injunction against government, prohibiting any tampering with the site and the building.
Tourism stakeholders breathed a sigh of relief when Otafire was moved to the Ministry of Justice, which left however the legal fraternity in stitches, and warmly welcomed the gentleman Minister as another stakeholder put it to this correspondent, when Prof. Kamuntu, previously a Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism Trade and Industry was made a full cabinet minister holding the stand alone tourism portfolio.
Our new minister is speaking on crucial issues like he was one of us said a regular source to this correspondent from within the safari operators, showing that his hard work during the first few months in office is beginning to pay off and earned him the respect of the tourism fraternity.
The assurance over the museum will now put another foul taste in the mouth of the industry behind, as other decisions on a new board of directors for UWA and the appointment of a new Executive Director are also being taken soon, according to a well placed source within the ministry. Well done Bwana Minister adds this correspondent, at last the sector has once again a sensible and respected voice in cabinet!
