Cabinet has authorized the ministry of Tourism and wild life antiquities to gazette and table the Uganda Wild life Bill, 2015 in parliament for debate and enactment.
The revelation was made by the information and national guidance minister, Jim K Muhwezi this morning in Kampala.
According to Muhwezi, national objectives and directive principles of Atate Policy No. XIII of the constitution of Uganda, 1995 obliges the state to protect important natural resources, including land, water, wetlands, minerals, oil, fauna and flora on behalf of the people of Uganda.
He explains that; “Parliament enacted the Uganda Wild life statute, 1996 with provisions to protect the resources. However, since then, several issues affecting wildlife conservation have emerged, including oil exploration around protected areas, increasing conflicts between people and wildlife, cases of animal poaching, illicit trans-boundary trade in wildlife, and institutional changes, among others.”
Minister Muhwezi says that these realities have necessitated a review of the Act to align it with the above emerging issues. “Cabinet has therefore, approved a set of 15 new principles of the Uganda Wildlife Bill, 2015. They include; “To provide for compensation of loss occasioned by wild animals escaping from wildlife protected areas, to provide for clarification of the extent of liability of the Uganda Wildlife Authority in regard to wildlife-induced damage and conservation area land disputes, to review all offences and penalties relating to crimes against wildlife to make them more deterrent and many others.”
