Government has revealed that it plans to declare and gazette the Tororo Rock in Tororo District as a national cultural heritage site in Uganda.
The Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Hon. Tom Butime, noted that gazetting the rock will help preserve and protect it from encroachers.
Butime said all the plots being given out will be taken away once the process of gazetting the rock is done.
“For the Tororo rock. I would say that under the national museums and monuments, we could declare the rock as a national heritage cultural site that will give it protection and, therefore, nobody would have an opportunity of tampering with it or giving away pieces of land on that rock and the adjacent area. I wanted to make that assurance that when we go back to Kampala, we will pursue the same,” Butime said.
The Minister was responding to concerns raised by His Highness the Emorimor, Paul Sande, who decried encroachment on the land surrounding the rock.
The Emorimor said if something is not done, the magnificent rock and the surrounding environment will be no more in years to come.
He made the remarks at this year’s World Wildlife Day celebrations held in Tororo on Friday March 3, 2023 at the King George Memorial Stadium.
Butime further revealed that gazetting the rock will also help in streamlining the process of marketing it as a tourism product.
He also emphasized the need to diversify tourism products and promised that the Ministry together with its Agencies will work hand in hand to package and promote the distinctive Tororo Rock and other attractions in Tororo District.
The Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) Chief Administrative Officer, Lilly Ajarova, noted that with the new brand of Explore Uganda, the Tororo rock is a unique feature and an addition.
She added that with rebranding the destination, the value being offered is the diversity and variety of the destination.
Speaking at the same event, Apollo Ofwono, the Tororo Municipality MP, asked the Ministry to install an electric cable car at the Tororo rock to ease movement but also attract more tourists.
Tororo rock is a rock formation located in the town of Tororo in the Eastern Region of Uganda.
At an elevation of 4,865 feet above sea level. The highest altitude of Tororo Rock is 4,865 feet (1,483 m) with a gradient of about 0.75 from the east to the west.
On the rock’s slopes are ancestral caves and various rock paintings. The elevation of Tororo Town averages 4,189 feet (1,277 m).
Therefore, Tororo Rock towers 676 feet (206 m) above downtown Tororo. It is the third of its kind in Africa with the other two in South Africa and Nigeria.
At the event, it was also revealed that there has been increase in the number of Uganda’s Wildlife in Uganda’s protected areas.
Commenting on the same, Ajarova said the population increase in the protected areas is good because they are the major tourist destinations.
Thangavel Palanivel, UNDP’s senior economist applauded government’s efforts to curb the loss of Uganda’s wildlife including the enactment of Wildlife Act 2019 – which has resulted in a positive impact on wildlife conservation.
