President Museveni has presided over the screening of “Hidden Uganda”, a documentary by an American journalist, Mr. Peter Greenberg.
The documentary film showcases the beauty and hidden gems of Uganda.
Speaking during the event at Speke Resort Munyonyo, President Museveni who was accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, highlighted the natural beauty of Uganda, saying the country is endowed with beautiful climate, diverse attractions, cultural heritage as well as the flora and fauna.
“Here, there’s no air-conditioning, we don’t have to warm the air to cool it, we just enjoy it the way it is,” he said.
“Africa is a huge continent with 12 million Square miles of land, making it 12 times the size of India. You can fit India into Africa 12 times, and you can fit the United States of America into Africa four times. Now Uganda is in the centre of this huge continent. That also has got its significance because we are very far from the oceans, we were the last to be reached by the foreigners (Europeans and Arabs) when they came in. Uganda didn’t have direct contact with them until 1841. That was the first time to see a non-black person; an Arab by the name Ibrahim.”
The president also revealed that if someone is looking for original Africans, they are found in Uganda.
“The British stayed here for only 70 years. Therefore, much of our culture and wildlife was preserved. That’s another angle you should bear in mind when interacting with other people,” he noted.
“That’s why the activities of wealth creation are quite unique. Our crops, livestock and other activities like fisheries are unique. That’s another side of Uganda. The ancient ways of life which we are now modernising, I think these are very important for the world. When you see the Ankole cows, they are the only ones in the world with yellow fat, others have white fat, and that yellow fat has less cholesterol, so those cows are a gold mine in terms of looking for beef which has got less cholesterol.”
He thanked Mr. Greenberg for exposing the uniqueness of Uganda to the world through a documentary film.
“I’m very happy. I want to thank Mr. Greenberg, his team and Diana. Diana thank you very much for diversifying from keeping cattle only to a service provider in tourism. I also thank all those who supported this effort.”
On the other hand, President Museveni assured that the government is working towards enhancing the infrastructure in order to promote tourism.
“This film will help to improve tourism, but we are also taking other measures apart from information dissemination. We are improving the infrastructure, we have some investors to build an International Airport in Kidepo so that the rich people who want to visit go straight with their planes, we are also to build another international airport in Kanungu for the same reason.”
The Vice President, Jessica Alupo commended “Hidden Uganda” for its role in promoting the country’s story to the world. She reiterated that tourism remains a pillar of Uganda’s development, with visitor numbers steadily increasing.
She also urged Ugandans to take an active role in marketing their country’s potential to the world.
The CEO and founder of Age Safaris, Ms. Diana Museveni Kyaremera commended President Museveni for being knowledgeable about Uganda and requested him to have a tour with Mr. Greenberg in future to show him and take him through the history of Uganda and its people.
“The president knows every inch of Uganda. There is no better storyteller or no one knows the history of Uganda and its people than our own president,” she said.
“The royal tour will even give our tourism industry a bigger boost. Hopefully we can have more marketing initiatives like this in the future that will help put destination Uganda on the map.”
On his part, Mr. Greenberg thanked President Museveni for gracing the event and assured him that he will continue promoting the beauty of Uganda through film.
“My job is to show them experiences that they can have, the people they can meet, what they can accomplish, what they can learn, and this is going to be seen by an audience of over 130 million,” he noted.
“Mr. President, I want to thank you for your support and effort in making this happen.”
