Tourism Minister Tom Butime has called for wider governance reforms across tourism trade associations, advising Uganda Tourism Association (UTA) to defer its council elections until governance and electoral standing of its member associations and nominated delegates have been verified.
In a letter dated September 4, Butime said representations from member associations had raised concerns about institutional stability, regularity of annual general meetings and elections, and validity of some leadership mandates.
He argued that UTA, as the national umbrella organisation, cannot conduct credible elections while governance questions remain unresolved within its member associations.
‘The legitimacy and representative character of UTA necessarily derives from the legitimacy … of its member associations,’ Butime wrote, warning that proceeding with elections before addressing these concerns could transfer governance deficiencies from individual associations to the umbrella body, potentially triggering further leadership disputes and institutional instability.
Butime specifically urged UTA to establish the governance and electoral status of each member association, including the dates of their most recent AGMs, elections, and the validity of current leadership mandates.
He also called for associations whose leaders’ terms have expired or whose governance arrangements violate their constitutions to regularise their operations, including holding proper AGMs and elections where necessary.
Other proposed reforms include completing UTA’s constitutional review, particularly provisions governing membership, representation, leadership eligibility, Governing Council composition, tenure, succession and elections, alongside establishing a verified electoral register.
‘Accordingly, having considered the representations received from UTA member associations and the need to establish an appropriate institutional foundation for credible elections, you are hereby advised to defer the forthcoming elections of the UTA Governing Council pending completion of the necessary governance and institutional regularisation processes,’ he wrote to UTA president Yewagnesh ‘Yogi’ Biriggwa.
Butime further directed UTA to prepare a time-bound reform roadmap and, within 30 days, submit a comprehensive plan detailing activities, responsible parties, timelines and milestones leading to elections.
Established in 2014, UTA brings together tourism associations, including the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA), Uganda Safari Guides Association (USAGA), Uganda Travel Agents Association (TUGATA) and Uganda Community Tourism Association (UCOTA).
Its founding memorandum identifies representation of trade associations, engagement with government, industry standards, training and dispute arbitration among its purposes.
Butime’s intervention is anchored in the Uganda Tourism Act, 2008, which assigns the Ministry responsibility for the ‘supervision, monitoring and coordination of tourism in Uganda.’
The law also empowers the Ministry to undertake legal, institutional and financial initiatives to develop a sustainable tourism sector, formulate and monitor tourism policies in consultation with the private sector, and supervise the industry.
However, whether these broad supervisory powers authorise intervention in the internal elections of independently constituted private-sector associations remains a matter of legal interpretation.
Although UTA’s member associations are independently constituted and governed under their respective constitutions, participation in the umbrella body is subject to collective governance rules covering representation, institutional decision-making and disciplinary procedures.
UTA’s ongoing transformation
Butime’s intervention comes amid institutional reforms informed by a 2025 comprehensive stakeholder baseline study and the subsequent launch of UTA’s 2026-2030 Strategic Plan.
Commissioned by UTA with support from Belgian development agency Enabel, the August 2025 Members Perceptions Baseline Study surveyed 307 tourism enterprises, including 190 affiliated with UTA member associations.
It identified longstanding weaknesses in leadership, corporate governance, secretariat capacity, member representation, institutional accountability and service delivery.
The study also highlighted governance deficiencies across member associations, underscoring the need for reforms across the tourism private sector.
Against this backdrop, UTA’s current leadership developed its 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, launched in February 2026, outlining an institutional transformation agenda to address the identified weaknesses.
The plan prioritises constitutional reform, professionalisation of the secretariat, stronger financial controls, improved accountability across member associations, broader representation and enhanced coordination in policy advocacy, resource mobilisation and service delivery.
It recognises the need for UTA to become ‘a well-governed, professional, and credible apex body that delivers on its mandate with efficiency and accountability.’
Butime’s intervention, therefore, extends an existing reform process to the governance and electoral integrity of member associations from which UTA derives its representative mandate.
Two founding members push back
Following Butime’s directive, UTA requested its member associations to submit documentation concerning their governance structures, constitutions, AGMs, leadership elections and the tenure of current officeholders.
The exercise sought to establish each association’s governance and electoral standing, verify the legitimacy of representatives nominated to UTA’s governing organs and identify irregularities requiring correction before elections.
However, in separate letters dated September 22, AUTO and UHOA challenged UTA’s request, insisting on the constitutional independence of member associations.
UHOA, through its chairperson Susan Kabonero Muhwezi, argued that its affairs are governed by its own board, general assembly, and memorandum and articles of association.
‘UHOA’s membership of UTA does not confer the latter any governance oversight or regulatory powers over UHOA,’ the association stated.
UHOA further indicated that its board would consider whether continued membership in UTA remained in the accommodation sector’s best interests.
AUTO similarly maintained that membership of UTA does not confer general supervisory authority over its internal affairs.
‘There must be clear institutional boundaries between UTA as an umbrella association and the independent associations that constitute its membership,’ AUTO stated in a letter signed by chairperson Civy Tumusiime.
AUTO expressly declined to submit its internal records under the request as framed, although it indicated willingness to respond to a competent statutory authority acting lawfully.
Asked about the way forward following the objections, UTA deputy chairperson Isa Kato said only six of the umbrella body’s 13 member associations had responded to the request for governance information.
He said UTA had forwarded the information received to Ministry of Tourism and was awaiting further guidance.
Kato explained that the broader objective was to strengthen governance by ensuring associations comply with their constitutions and established governance requirements, noting that there were allegations that some associations had gone for years without holding AGMs, while others had leaders accused of breaching their constitutions but whose authority members feared challenging.
He argued that governance deficiencies within member associations could undermine UTA’s credibility because its leadership is drawn from those organisations.
Kato noted that the Ministry appears to be pursuing a bottom-up approach, beginning with governance reforms within individual associations before addressing UTA’s leadership and the wider tourism private sector.