The Vice President of the Republic of Uganda H.E Major (Retired) Jessica Alupo has applauded the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities and the Department of Museums and Monuments for the initiative to establish regional museums across the country.
Presiding over the International Museum Day celebrations held at Soroti Regional Museum Grounds in Soroti City on Saturday, Alupo, in her remarks, noted that museums play critical roles in driving research and innovation, using history to inform and inspire the next generation.
She emphasized that the establishment of regional museums will not only boost the conservation and promotion of heritage and culture but also diversify Uganda’s tourism offerings, thus accelerate the national socio-economic growth.
“I hereby reiterate that the development of museums is a firm foundation for the dissemination of skills, knowledge, and information inherited from our great-grandparents in the advancement of civilization and technological innovation, such as herbal medicine, architecture, creative and performing arts, which were used to solve societal problems, promote cultural tourism and empowerment of citizens to live in harmony,” Alupo said.
She added, “I thank the leadership of the Ministry of Tourism for the good work you are doing, to promote our heritage resources for Tourism. In addition, I would like to thank all the partner institutions/organisations, who are working with the Ministry of Tourism to harness Uganda’s tourism potential.”
This year’s celebrations were held under the national theme; “Museums Shaping Future Knowledge,” domesticated from the global theme; “Museums for Education and Research”.
In his remarks, Col. (Retired) Tom Butime, the Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities noted that the Ministry has embarked on the development of museums and heritage sites to create more tourism products and ensure that tourists stay longer in the country.
The Tourism Ministry is currently constructing a museum in Moroto District to cater for the Karamoja sub-region.
According to the Minister, this initiative is under the Ministry’s strategic plan for museums and monuments 2023/2024, 2029/2030 whose goal is to conserve cultural heritage resources for sustainable cultural tourism in Uganda for the present and future generations.
“Our purpose for celebrating this year’s International Museum Day in Soroti City is to lay the foundation for the cities in Uganda to embrace developing museums as products for cultural tourism attraction,” Minister Butime said.
Speaking at the event, Doreen Katusiime, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, called on the citizenry to protect, preserve and promote cultural heritage as public property for tourism development and harness it to improve livelihoods.
“The Museums and Monuments Act 2023 caters for education and research in Museums and heritage sites. The department of Museums and Monuments is working closely with the Uganda council of Science and Technology to ensure that research in this area is conducted in accordance with Ugandan laws,” Katusiime said.
She added that by the end of NDP4, there will be a museum in each individual region in the country.
“The National Museum will also be renovated, expanded and upgraded to international standards,” she noted.
Soroti Regional Museum
The International Museum Day celebrations also incorporated the official opening of the Soroti Regional Museum which was built in 2017.
It should be noted that the idea was birthed in 1953 and the Teso Museum Society was subsequently founded draw a roadmap for the establishment of the Teso Folk Museum. Among the roles of the Society was to secure land for the building, collet artifacts and histories that speak of the Teso cultural heritage.
It is the first among numerous museums that the Ministry of Tourism is developing to cater for the different cultures and heritage of the people that inhabit the various regions of Uganda.
The Commissioner for Museums and Monuments Ms. Jackie Nyiracyiza noted that the Soroti Regional Museum building is relatively small compared to the preferable size of museum establishments because the construction was done in 2017 under a limited budget.
The regional museums initiative, according to Nyiracyiza, started in 2022.
“Like the PS said, at that time (of Soroti Regional Museum construction), the resource envelope was small. However, we managed to secure enough land, meaning that we have room for expansion. We are also going to develop a handcraft center here so that we have an exhibition complimenting the museum,” she said.
She added that the museums department is seeking partnerships with the private sector to develop the museum site by establishing other amenities like a restaurant that serves local food to further depict the culture and culinary tradition of the people.
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Funding
Under the Development of Museums and Cultural Heritage Sites in Uganda Phase ll project, the Museums and Monuments department last year secured Shs 8.5 Billion towards the development of museums and heritage sites.
According to Nyiracyiza, these funds have so far aided works in Karamoja where a museum construction is in the pipeline. The Karamoja works include the establishment of an interpretation center at Kangai in Dokoro, a museum in Arua among others.
“All these are in the feasibility study which was conducted so that’s why we are stating that by at least 2030, each region should have a museum,” Nyiracyiza said.
Among the sites that have gotten a major facelift in the recent past under the Museums and Monuments Department is the Mugaba Palace in Mbarara, a major tourist attraction in the South Western region that preserves the history and traditions of Ankole.
