What this 1940 British hero said about Uganda, how true it is today

54 years before Uganda got her independence, then Prime Minister of Britain, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, waxed poetry about Uganda's natural gift in his book "My African Journey" saying, “For magnificence, for variety of form and colour, for the profusion of brilliant life — bird, insect, reptile, beast — for vast scale — Uganda is truly “the Pearl of Africa.”

What this 1940 British hero said about Uganda, how true it is today/Courtesy/Sir Winston Churchill Normandy1944.info Pulse

Do the words still stand today challenged by time and the growing pains of Uganda's economic, political and social progress?

Churchill was a British statesman, orator, and author all tucked into Prime Minister. He is called the 1940 hero who reawakened Britain and its Empire from the shackles of defeatism against Hitler's Germany to victory.

Do his words still ring true today?

Railway

What this British hero of 1940 said about Uganda and how true it is today/Courtesy Pulse

The Uganda Railway Corporation (URC) is currently doing work on the Kampala – Mukono section (26.8km) of the Meter Gauge with regular updates on their Twitter account.

"When works are completed, passengers will be able to move on rail from Kampala to Mukono, as we plan to extend the passenger service further on the Northern corridor," says URC.

The government, through Uganda Railways Corporation, has engaged M/s China Road and Bridge Corporation to undertake the rehabilitation works for the Tororo – Gulu section. The 375km railway line traverses through Mbale, Kumi, Soroti, and Lira before terminating at the Gulu Logistics Hub. The Hub is designed to facilitate transportation, collection, separation, consolidation and distribution of goods for national and international transit on a commercial basis.

The rehabilitation works for the Tororo – Gulu line will take a period of 2 years and are fully funded by the Government of Uganda at Shs199.9 billion as part of the efforts to increase the stock and quality of strategic infrastructure to accelerate Uganda’s competitiveness and create the integrated transport infrastructure and services in the country.

What this British hero of 1940 said about Uganda and how true it is today/URC Pulse

On Saturday, 29 July 2023, together with my Kenyan counterpart, Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen the Cabinet Secretary of Roads and Transport, we signed a communique affirming the commitment of the two countries to construct the SGR in a coordinated manner; Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba by Kenya and simultaneously Uganda constructing the Malaba – Kampala section and beyond.

Tourism

What this British hero of 1940 said about Uganda and how true it is today/Courtesy Pulse

Tourism accounts for 3.64 per cent of the national GDP ($40.53) in terms of direct contribution. Tourism also accounts for a large share of total employment, directly employing close to 1.6 million people, 68 per cent of whom were females and accounting for 14.7 per cent of the total number of jobs.

READ: World records held by Ugandans under 30 this year

What this British hero of 1940 said about Uganda and how true it is today/Courtesy Pulse

In April this year, the Uganda Tourism Board unveiled the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) 2023 at Sheraton Kampala during the World Tourism Day celebration. The UTB Board Chairman Hon. Daudi Migereko, explained that the expo serves as a means of marketing destination Uganda with the new destination brand to national, regional and global markets, to reignite tourism in destination Uganda, create over 500 business linkages for Uganda’s travel trade and consolidate Explore Uganda, The Pearl of Africa brand.

What this British hero of 1940 said about Uganda and how true it is today/Courtesy Pulse

READ: This country's 2023 tourist policy is a gateway to its Gross National Happiness

With hiccups from the pandemic, Uganda's tourist numbers dropped from 1.5 million annually to 473,085 in 2021. However, the 59 per cent rise year-on-year in 2022 (about 814,508 international visitors), promises a return to glory.

New natural discoveries

Recent exploration surveys in Uganda have led to the discovery of approximately 31 million tons of gold ore deposits, from which an estimated 320,158 tons of refined gold could potentially be extracted, with its value currently standing at $12.8 trillion.

What this British hero of 1940 said about Uganda and how true it is today/Courtesy Pulse

The results were announced back in June 2022 by Solomon Muyita, a spokesperson for Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, following two years of aerial exploration followed by geophysical and geochemical surveys and analyses.

READ: 6 best coffee stops on a road trip to Western Uganda

Chinese gold mining firm, Wagagai, invested $200 million towards the construction of a refining facility and is expected to refine approximately 5,000kg of gold per day in Busia by the end of 2022.

President, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, has sought to ramp up investment in the country’s mining sector to develop its reserves of copper, iron ore, cobalt, phosphates and gold. Refining gold locally is expected to lead to the generation of 3,000 direct jobs while improving social service deliveries to local communities.

READ: EACOP exploration

The fairytale continues...