UWA to to promote conservation as host of 16th edition of inter-forces games

The games that take place between September 19 to September 30, 2022 will be used by UWA to promote conservation.

The Executive Director UWA Sam Mwandha revealed that the games will be opened by the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities on September 23, at Uganda Wildlife Research and Training Institute in Katwe, Kasese.

“As the host of the 16^th Edition of this annual tournament, Uganda Wildlife Authority uses sports as an avenue for professional development of sportsmen, promotion of healthy living, team work and staff discipline as well as a tool for promotion of conservation and enhancement of institutional visibility. Sports is one of the ways through which we reach out to the public with a conservation agenda,” he said.

Mwandha expressed appreciation to government for supporting the forces to develop talents of Ugandans and called for support from Ugandans toward local sports, while in the same breath, lamented poor funding toward sports which he said makes it hard to implement the presidential directive for government entities to employ sports personalities.

He however revealed that UWA has mainstreamed sports and made sports development one of the key areas of focus.

“We have realized that in addition to other roles that sports play in the daily lives of our staff, it is also a good tool for public relations and institutional visibility. In addition to internal sporting activities, we have developed three professional clubs. These include Uganda Wildlife Darts Club, Uganda Wildlife Authority Athletics Club and recently, Uganda Wildlife Authority Football Club,” he added.

The inter-forces games enhance collaboration among the forces, which is important for peace and security, the two crucial ingredients for economic development.