The Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of Unesco on 16 November 1972.

The term cultural heritage refers to monuments, groups of buildings and sites with historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value. Natural heritage refers to outstanding physical, biological and geological formations, habitats of threatened species of animals and plants and areas with scientific, conservation or aesthetic value.

Unesco’s World Heritage mission is to:
• encourage countries to sign the 1972 Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;
• encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;
• encourage States Parties to set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of World Heritage sites;
• help States Parties safeguard World Heritage sites by providing technical assistance and professional training;
• provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;
• promote the presentation of cultural and natural heritage;
• encourage international co-operation in conservation of cultural and natural heritage.

© Martin Malungu

Introduction
The Theme for this paper is “Museum in Africa: Challenges for the 21st Century”. Before I tackle the sub-theme I want to discuss which is “Transforming the Ugandan heritage sector: challenges and achievements”, I would like to add an observation to the general theme.

First of all challenges to Museums in Africa in the 21st century cannot be looked at in isolation of how they have faired in the 20th century especially in the second half of the century. Museums in Africa were depositories of peoples’ cultures whose displays were characterized by “don’t touch” labels. The objects on displays were mystique pieces staring at the on-lookers which created ghostly impressions on their minds to the extent that rather than being attractions which would be visited, museums became places which would be avoided. They were mystified.
For example, the Uganda Museum used to be refereed to as “the house of fetishes and ghosts” (Enyumba y’amayembe n’emizimu). Uganda has had its share of political upheavals, which culminated into the looting of shops and other establishments that were thought to be containing valuables things. Unlike in the Democratic Republic of Congo where museums were looted of their priceless cultural heritage, which have and are for some-time, since 1997, with the downfall of President Mobutu, been traded around the world, the Uganda Museum was never touched by looters in any way. If there have been any thefts, they were internally organized and they were not pronounced.

The challenge, which Museums in Africa have inherited from the 20th century and which will continue in the 21st century is the lack of funding. It is argued that museums work better if they are autonomous or private rather than public institutions heavily dependent on government and subvention for their operation. The argument may be partially true. As autonomous or private institutions they can easily access external funding. As public institutions they cannot access external funding because the funds have to be received by the government and they hardly reach the intended museums. However, it can also be argued that the sustainability of a given museum depends on the politics of the day in a given country and the degree of patronage the donor exercises over the benefiting institution. If there is political uncertainty and bad blood between the donor and the benefiting museum, the funding will either be delayed or run out. This is a reality, which has existed in the 20th century and it will continue to be a challenge to many museums in Africa during the 21st century so long as the political weather is uncertain.

The other Challenges to museums in Africa during the 21st century will be lack of adequate professional and technical capacity to run them; goodwill on the part of the governments in power to support their sustenance and political instability in some states, to mention a few.

Transforming the Uganda heritage sector

Definitions
If I have understood my assignment correctly, I am supposed to show how the Uganda heritage sector has either been (20th century); how it can be (21st century) transformed; what the challenges have been; what they can be and how they can either be solved or not. Simply translated, transformation means to change a thing into another or from one from to another; to change in composition or structure; to change the outward from or appearance. For the purposes of this presentation, I shall take transformation to refer “to change a thing into another or from one form to another” in the interest of all and for sustainable development.

The Uganda heritage Sector
The Ugandan heritage sector like in many other countries of the world is diverse. To quote from Dr. Nicholas Stanley price, the Director General of ICCROM in his Editorial of the ICCROM Newsletter No.20 June 2003, the term “heritage” implies a legacy to inherit and to pass on to future generations as opposed to “property” which conveys ideas of ownership rights and sometimes, commercial value. The term was used in the UNESCO’s 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The distinction between property and heritage brings to mind terms such as “movable” and “immovable” objects; “tangible and intangible” heritage. Presently the responsible Ministries in the government of Uganda are working on two policy issues concerning the heritage sector namely, the Tourism Policy and the Culture Policy. The Cabinet and the Parliament of Uganda have approved the Tourism Policy and it was launched for implementation on 27th September 2003 as part of the Tourism Day celebrations. On the other hand the culture Policy is being drafted. The Tourism Policy is to transform the natural (natural parks, game reserves and animal sanctuaries) and cultural (sites, monuments and museums) heritage of Uganda in order to develop and promote the tourism industry in the country. The Culture Policy is to transform the intangible heritage of the peoples of Uganda.

© Martin Malungu

The formulation and implementation of the Tourism Policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry and specifically the Department of Tourism and Wildlife and that of Antiquities and Museums. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and social Development, the Department of Social Development and the Division of Culture are responsible for the formulation and implementation of the Culture policy. We belong to the Department of Antiquities and Museums but we share some of our responsibilities with the Culture Division in as far as the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage is concerned.

Secondly during the 20th century, much emphasis was laid in the development and promotion of nature-based tourism and less in cultural tourism. The incorporation of the Department of Antiquities and Museums into the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry was purposely to develop and promote the cultural tourism product in the tourism industry.

A Historical Background
Up until July 1977, the functions of the Uganda Museum and Antiquities were administered differently. Since 1934 the Uganda Museum functioned as a semi-autonomous body with a Board of Trustees. Under the Historical Monuments Act of 1967 the Department of Antiquities was established as a government function. By these arrangements the Uganda Museum operated its own Bank account; it could solicit internal and external; funding and government granted an monthly subvention, which catered for staff salaries and few non-wages expenditures. On the other hand, the Department of Antiquities was fully dependant on government funding for its programmes and it was not allowed to solicit internal and external funding. Decree No. 12 of 1977 abolished the Board of Trustees of the Uganda Museum and the Museum function was amalgamated with the Antiquities a function to form the Department of Antiquities and Museums entirely funded by the government. This arrangement still stands at the moment although; as it will be seen in item 5.2 attempts have been made, though unsuccessfully, to revert back to the semi-autonomous status.

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The Uganda Museum:
challenges and achievements (1953-1972)
In 1953 the Uganda Museum was moved from Makerere University College, School of Fine Art to its present site on plot 5 Kira Road in the northern outskirts, of Kampala city. Before independence in 1962, the Uganda Museum like other colonial establishments enjoyed the Colonial Office patronage. External and sometimes internal funding was possible and a lot of activity in the Uganda Museum development dates to the period between 1953 and 1972. During this period a lot of collections especially ethnographic collections were made and the Uganda Museum became renowned for its collections of musical instruments in the whole of Eastern and Central Africa. During the same period also archaeological research was undertaken and in addition to the fame which Makerere University acquired during the same period, the Uganda Museum became world famous for its natural and cultural heritage research and collections. This fame was not only derived from the funding the museum was getting but also from the expatriate staff that had been employed to manage it.

© Camerapix Library

However, when Idi Amin took over power in Uganda in 1971 and as his dictatorship took root from 1972 with expulsion of the Asian community in Uganda and the flight of the expatriates, not to mention the brain drain of the indigenous Ugandans, the fame of the Uganda Museums declined. By 1977, the Museum was in shambles. Its external funding had stopped. The professional and technical staff had left for exile. The government therefore passed the 1977 Decree which abolished the semi-autonomous status of the Museum and amalgamated it with the antiquities to form a government funded Department of Antiquities and Museums.

The Department of Antiquities: challenges and achievements (1967-1972)
Like the Uganda Museum, the Department of Antiquities also enjoyed a period of prosperity between 1967 and 1972, as has been stated earlier, an Act of Parliament, the historical Monuments Act, was passed to establish it as a government Department responsible for the preservation and protection of sites and monuments in the country. The provisions within the Act cater for the identification, documentation, preservation, gazzetment protection and presentation of the natural and cultural sites and monuments. It also ensures the appointment of official for their maintenance and upkeep. Palaeontological, archaeological and historical research is catered for and permission for issuance of licenses and permits for excavation and export of finds is prerogative of the Minister responsible for immovable cultural heritage on the advice of the head of Department.

During this period the administration of the Antiquities Department carried out research and prepared a number of sites and monuments for gazettment and declaration as national preserved and protected objects. Either due to the fact that during that period the administrators were expatriates or that after 1972, Uganda slided into retrogression, no other sites and monuments since have been gazetted. Equally important to note is the preference or bias the administrators had in choosing the sites and monuments which were gazetted. Most of them, were royal tombs of the kings of Buganda, Bunyoro, Ankole and Tooro and a few archaeological sites and historical monuments. Important archaeological and palaeontological sites like Bigo bya Mugenyi, Ntusi, Mubende hill (with its “witch tree”!) Moroto, Napak fosill sites etc were not gazetted.

Efforts to transform the Uganda cultural heritage 1977-2003

The Department of Antiquities and Museums: challenges and achievements 1977 - 1997
When the Uganda Museums service was amalgamated with the Antiquities service, the existing museum staff members were regularized into government service as civil servants with their salaries and positions as “person to holder”. The head of the Antiquities service became the head of the Department. While the amalgamation was well intended to save the museum service from complete collapse, it took time for the museum staff to adjust to the change. This was compounded by the fact the Antiquities staff moved their offices to the Uganda Museum. Personality clashes ensured between the new comers who were regarded as intruders and those who were founded there who thought that they had been stripped of their status and independence.

The second challenge was of course the inadequate funding of the Department which was again compounded by the closure of the museum due to structural falts within its building. The faulty structure led to leakages, which affected the displays in museum showcases. The leakages were rectified by 1980 with a funding from the United Nations Development Programme. Apart from transferring the Department of Antiquities and Museums from the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports to that of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, little was achieved in the transformation of the Uganda cultural heritage during this period. Two regional museums of Kabale and Soroti were established but nothing much was accomplished in the development of the sits and monuments.

The Department of Antiquities and Museums: challenges and achievements (1999 - 2003)
It was envisaged that the transfer of the Antiquities and Museums to the Ministry of Tourism, wildlife and Antiquities would enhance the value and importance of cultural tourism of the tourism industry in the country. Uganda relies heavily on nature-based tourism. It has 10 National Parks and 22 Wildlife Reserves with a variety of animal, bird and fish species and diverse eco-systems. It was therefore anticipated that the equally rich cultural heritage of Uganda would be developed and promoted to boost the tourism industry. It is during this period that the transformation of the cultural heritage in Uganda though with some disappointments, can be said to have registered some achievements.
From 1997 the Department got a 2-year World Bank funding know as the Institutional Development Facility (IDF) grant to build capacity and to prepare it for divestiture as a semi-autonomous body. Under this grant, two graduate students were sponsored to undertake post graduate programmes at Makerere University. A concept/policy paper was produced and consultancies were hired to draft a Bill and prepare an organizations Structure for the new body. From 1999 the Department got another funding from the World Bank for further institutional and capacity building. Under this funding, among other activities, the Uganda Museum building was renovated, a consultancy to prepare a Busses Analysis for the new boy was also contracted.

© Martin Malungu

Originally the divestiture process had targeted the establishment of the Uganda museums and Monuments Authority with an Act of Parliament. However, in 2000 the government came up with a new policy to establish Executive Agencies. Under the new policy a draft umbrella Bill was prepared by the Ministry of Public Service for approval by the Cabinet which would cater for the establishment of Executive Agencies for those government functions like the Department of Antiquities and museums which were earmarked for divestiture. So instead of establishing the Uganda Museums and Monuments Authority with an Executive Director and Board of Directors, it was in June 2001 to establish a Uganda Museums and Monuments Agency with Director as the Chief Executive Officer and an Advisory Board consisting of four members with the Permanent Secretary of the parent Ministry as the Chairperson of the Board. It was hoped to inaugurate the Agency with effect from 1st July 2003 but this has not been possible. The whole exercise has been halted pending Cabinet review of the divestiture Bill, which was found to consist of a number of inconsistencies.

Notwithstanding this disappointing picture in the divestiture process of the Department of Antiquities and Museum, some progress is being made in the transformation of the cultural heritage in Uganda. For example, under a third 5-year World Bank funding, the department is benefiting more specifically in the development and promotion of cultural tourism. For example, the Uganda Museum building was further renovated and a Cultural Centre, which will include a Regional Museum, is to be established in Kabale in south western Uganda. A Pilot project, know as the Fort Portal Heritage Trail is to be established in former Tooro kingdom along the same lines as the “Kabaka Trail”; 20 cultural sites are to be identified and developed throughout the country and a National site Registry/ Databank is about to be compiled. This is certainly going to be an important achievements in the transformation of the Uganda cultural heritage, which had hitherto not been made.

Kasubi Tombs.

I wish now to discuss what we mean by “cultural heritage trails” and the way such an initiative will promote cultural tourism and the transformation of cultural heritage in Uganda. The idea was started by the Kabaka foundation, of the Buganda kingdom, where a number of cultural sites which are associated with the history of the kingdom were selected to develop what is known as “the Kabaka’s Trail”. Unfortunately Kasubi tombs, which is a World Heritage site, was not included in the Kabaka’s trail and yet it is an important traditional and tourist site because the guardians of the site were uncooperative. At any rate six sites were identified within reach. The communities around them were mobilized to form Associations which were responsible for their establishment and management. For Example, they are responsible for their accessibility, maintenance, interpretation and Management committees have been formed to administer them.

Apart from creating production groups like craft makers, blacksmiths, and gardeners, they form cultural troupes, to entertain visitors/ tourists to the sites. The Kabaka and the Central government Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry, inaugurated the Kabaka’s Trail in November 2002. The is an initiative which we feel should be encouraged throughout the country and an NGO known as the Heritage Trails Uganda has been registered for that purpose. We therefore feel that the fort Portal Heritage Trail will be another pilot project like the Kabaka’s Trail which will transform the Uganda cultural heritage sector. Apart from improving the standards of living of the communities levels, the trails themselves will be packaged as tourism attractions to promote cultural tourism, community participation in establishment and management of the other cultural sites, which are to be developed will be maintained. Site Museums will also be established at some of the sites to enhance cultural tourism. It is hoped that by the end of the World Bank funding in 2006, the status of the Department of Antiquities and Museums will have been changed into a semi-autonomous or complete autonomous body and the transformation of the Uganda cultural heritage will be on course as a result of the above planned activities.

© Martin Malungu

Conclusion
This presentation does not show a nice picture of the transformation of the Ugandan cultural heritage through time. It has portrayed some of the insurmountable challenges which museums in Africa faced during the 20th century and which they will inevitably continue to face during the 21st century. It has been demonstrated that the 21st century may not be a bed of roses for some African museum. There will be no miracles. The situation may even be worse. Some of the inhibiting factors like lack of equipment, bureaucratic indecisiveness, political instability, donor dependency and of course donor fatigue, have affected the transformation of the Uganda cultural heritage. The picture may be the same in the other sister museums in Africa. The solutions may be difficult to get at this moment but it is worthwhile to know some of the problems we have faced and which we may continue to face in the 21st century.

In this presentation it had been shown how the Uganda Museum enjoyed a period of prosperity between 1953 and 1972 when it was the most progressive institution in Eastern Africa. The Amin’s regime saw its collapse as a semi-autonomous body and it became part of government in an amalgamation with the antiquities service. The Antiquities service itself saw some light between 1962 and 1972 when most of the cultural sites wee gazetted and declared national preserved and protected objects. From 1977 the Department of Antiquities and Museums has survived as a government function with its staff getting their meager salaries without funding for developmental activities. A World Bank funding from 1997 to date had put hope in the whole edifice with support for capacity-building, infrastructure improvement, consultancies for the divestiture of the Department and the transformation of the cultural heritage of the country to promote cultural tourism but the whole exercise has developed a bureaucratic hiccup which we hop is temporary. Indeed as the hiccup will not affect the funding of the envisage activities like the establishment of the National Site Registry, the development of the Fort Portal Heritage Trail, the establishment of the Kabale social Centre and the Development of 20 cultural sites in the country, in addition to the completion of the renovation and refurbishment of the national Museum, a lot will have been achieved by 2006 when the funding will end.

WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN UGANDA

Uganda became a states party to the World Heritage Convention in 1994. On signing the convention, Uganda pleadged to conserve the sites and monuments within its borders that are recognized and shall be recognized to be of exceptional universal value and should remain intact for posterity and future generations.

Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi
The Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi constitute a site embracing almost 30 ha of hillside within Kampala district. Most of the site is agricultural, farmed by traditional methods. At its core on the hilltop is the former palace of the Kabakas of Buganda, built in 1882 and converted into the royal burial ground in 1884. Four royal tombs now lie within the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga, the main building, which is circular and surmounted by a dome. It is a major example of an architectural achievement in organic materials, principally wood, thatch, reed, wattle and daub. The site’s main significance lies, however, in its intangible values of belief, spirituality, continuity and identity.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Located in south-western Uganda, at the junction of the plain and mountain forests, Bwindi Park covers 32,000 ha and is known for its exceptional biodiversity, with more than 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns. Many types of birds and butterflies can also be found there, as well as many endangered species, including the mountain gorilla.

Rwenzori Mountains National Park
The Rwenzori Mountains National Park covers nearly 100,000 ha in western Uganda and comprises the main part of the Rwenzori mountain chain, which includes Africa’s third highest peak (Mount Margherita: 5,109 m). The region’s glaciers, waterfalls and lakes make it one of Africa’s most beautiful alpine areas. The park has many natural habitats of endangered species and a rich and unusual flora comprising, among other species, the giant heather.

Threats to the site:
The security situation in the Rwenzori Mountains — rebels having occupied the site since 1997 — has prevented any conservation activity. With the inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, the World Heritage Committee called on the World Heritage Centre and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), working in close co-operation with the Ugandan body responsible for wildlife preservation, to consult non-governmental conservation organisations and other international organisations present in the region to discuss ways of making all the parties involved in the conflict aware of the need to respect the site’s world heritage status and to develop projects to support site management.