Mumbere asks Italy for help
THE cultural leader of the Bakonzo/Bamba Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu, Charles Mumbere, has appealed to Italy and other development partners to support his kingdom’s socio-economic development plans.
By John B. Thawite in Kasese
THE cultural leader of the Bakonzo/Bamba Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu, Charles Mumbere, has appealed to Italy and other development partners to support his kingdom’s socio-economic development plans.
He asked Italy to provide scholarships in improved mountain utilisation and management, set up a research centre for herbal medicine and to restore the ecosystem in order to preserve the glaciers on the Rwenzoris.
Mumbere said this in a memorandum he read to a group of Italians who are set to climb Mt. Rwenzori as part of celebrations to mark 100 years since the Italian Duke of Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo de Savoy, became the first European to reach the highest peak on June 18, 1906.
The chairman of the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu recognition committee, Constantine Bwambale, read the memorandum in Kasese town, in which Mumbere also asked Italy to set up a university and hospital in memory of the Duke of Abruzzi.
“Whereas the Rwenzururu habitat is rich in soils, vegetation, climate and water resources, minerals and a hardworking population, we are still faced with numerous challenges,†he said.
He said these challenges included lack of technology, lack of energy sources to enhance the local industry, poor telecommunication facilities in the highlands, lack of infrastructure to accommodate the various Obusinga organs, lack of funds to secure the cultural sites and set up a museum and the receding snowline.
He commended government for the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and constitutionalism that promotes cultural identity.
He said once the Obusinga is recognised, the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu would embark on
Mumbere noted that the arrival of modernisation which accompanied the British advent into the Rwenzori region had subjected the Bakonzo to competition to which they must adopt or perish.
The Italian envoy commended the Bakonzo for their efforts to preserve their culture warning of the dangers of unchecked foreign aid and modernisation.
“Aid is good but it must be used in the right way otherwise you might end up with distortions not only in the economy but in culture too,†he said at the Obusinga royal palace.
He said his government’s plans to to install meteorological stations in Kasese to enable the district monitor the ecosystems in the Rwenzori Mountains.
Tombaccini said a 10-member team of Italian researchers was due in Kasese late this month to install the facilities to monitor the glaciers and the weather in the Mountains f the moon region.
He also disclosed that his government was planning a “very large and extensive multi-sectoral development programme to stimulate truism†in the area.
Ends
THE cultural leader of the Bakonzo/Bamba Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu, Charles Mumbere, has appealed to Italy and other development partners to support his kingdom’s socio-economic development plans.
He asked Italy to provide scholarships in improved mountain utilisation and management, set up a research centre for herbal medicine and to restore the ecosystem in order to preserve the glaciers on the Rwenzoris.
Mumbere said this in a memorandum he read to a group of Italians who are set to climb Mt. Rwenzori as part of celebrations to mark 100 years since the Italian Duke of Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo de Savoy, became the first European to reach the highest peak on June 18, 1906.
The chairman of the Obusinga Bwa Rwenzururu recognition committee, Constantine Bwambale, read the memorandum in Kasese town, in which Mumbere also asked Italy to set up a university and hospital in memory of the Duke of Abruzzi.
“Whereas the Rwenzururu habitat is rich in soils, vegetation, climate and water resources, minerals and a hardworking population, we are still faced with numerous challenges,†he said.
He said these challenges included lack of technology, lack of energy sources to enhance the local industry, poor telecommunication facilities in the highlands, lack of infrastructure to accommodate the various Obusinga organs, lack of funds to secure the cultural sites and set up a museum and the receding snowline.
He commended government for the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and constitutionalism that promotes cultural identity.
He said once the Obusinga is recognised, the Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu would embark on
Mumbere noted that the arrival of modernisation which accompanied the British advent into the Rwenzori region had subjected the Bakonzo to competition to which they must adopt or perish.
The Italian envoy commended the Bakonzo for their efforts to preserve their culture warning of the dangers of unchecked foreign aid and modernisation.
“Aid is good but it must be used in the right way otherwise you might end up with distortions not only in the economy but in culture too,†he said at the Obusinga royal palace.
He said his government’s plans to to install meteorological stations in Kasese to enable the district monitor the ecosystems in the Rwenzori Mountains.
Tombaccini said a 10-member team of Italian researchers was due in Kasese late this month to install the facilities to monitor the glaciers and the weather in the Mountains f the moon region.
He also disclosed that his government was planning a “very large and extensive multi-sectoral development programme to stimulate truism†in the area.
Ends