The Head of Tourism Police Department, and former Kampala Metropolitan Commander, CP Frank Mwesigwa has decried the lack of skilled personnel to enable the department effectively handle its docket for better results.
Mwesigwa made the statements while addressing the media in Kabale District on Wednesday. Mwesigwa is on a three-days tour to Kigezi region.
The former KMP commander said that tourism police requires an extra 4000 men in order to handle the task of securing tourist attractions in the country. He said that the department has only 1000 personnel out of the minimum 5000 required.
"We are trying to train more police officers to solve this problem of inefficient human resource although the problem is still serious in this field,” he said.
“We have had the challenge of people conflicting with wild animals for long, but in our various engagements, we remind our people of the benefits of people living harmoniously with wildlife,” he added.
Ivan Batuma The chairperson of Kigezi Tourism Cluster, hailed the role of tourism police in addressing security issues in the country.
“Before establishing tourism police, we had struggled with insecurity in some of our sites but now where these officers are deployed, we are sure of quality protection for our visitors,” he said.
