The government of Uganda is expected to save over UGX billion in the Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Centre (UWEC) and the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) merging. UWEC officially handed over to UWA as part of their merger, aimed at eliminating service duplication and improving efficiency.
According to the Parliament’s tourism and trade report, the merger is expected to save the government approximately UGX 15.166 billion in the 2024/25 fiscal year, with 64 staff being laid off.
However, to mitigate the impact, the government pledged to pay terminal benefits totaling UGX 1.334 billion to the affected employees.
This transition, which was initially set to conclude by June 30, 2024, was extended to September 30, 2024, allowing time for structural adjustments and job descriptions.
The official handover ceremony that took place on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at Sheraton Kampala is said to be part of the ongoing merger process of government agencies.
Several board members of UWEC were seen handing over, including the Executive Director, Dr. James Musinguzi, who handed over to the UWA Executive Director, Sam Mwandha. Relatedly, Dr. Musinguzi was appointed the new Director of Community Conservation and Captive Wildlife Services at UWA.
During the ceremony, the National Wildlife Conservation Education Strategy for Uganda was also launched, aimed at conserving wildlife for generations.
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This development follows Parliament’s approval of the merger on April 17, 2024, as part of a broader legislative effort, which also involved amendments to the Uganda Wildlife Authority Act, 2019 to accommodate the merger.
The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife, and Antiquities, Tom Butime, defended the merger then, emphasizing that the roles of UWEC and of UWA were complementary.
UWEC, also formerly known as Entebbe Zoo, was opened by the Colonial government in 1952, starting out as a reception center for confiscated and injured wild animals.
According to the Pan African Zoo Association, it is currently ranked the best zoo in the East African region, while UWA is a semi-autonomous entity that was established in 1996 by an Act of Parliament, Wildlife Statute 1996, now Uganda Wildlife Authority Act No. 17, 2019.
