November 24, 2021
By Audrey John
The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, the National Tourist Board (NTB) and Line MDAs (Ministry of Environment, National Protected Area Authority, NPAA & Conservation Society Sierra Leone) have conducted pre-feasibility study for the enhancement of touristic purposes at Outamba Kilimi and Mamunta Mayosso National parks.
This development is precipitated by the collaborative relationship between Sierra Leone and Kenya aimed at enhancing our National Parks by identifying suitable sites for the relocation of exotic wildlife species from Kenya.
Stakeholder engagements were held in the various communities to inform the communities of the development. Officials from NPAA flew drone over the parks to properly assess what we have that can be presented to the Kenyans before they visit Sierra Leone for their own assessment and subsequent relocation of wildlife species to these parks. The Ministry administered questionnaires to get a proper idea of the facilities available and the techniques to use in order to attract the animals for tourists to view.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, William I.K. Robinson who doubles as the Head of Delegation said the essence of the exercise was to interview community stakeholder and forest guards at these parks to ascertain the type of wildlife in these parks. He said these parks possess huge tourism potentials; hence the Kenya Government is willing to help in their enhancement by depositing animals in the parks.
The Director of Tourism, Mohamed Jalloh said the move is as a result of the priority government has placed on the sector to attract leisure and international tourist by providing variety of product offers. He mentioned that most of our wildlife species have gone distinct because of human activities but however noted that there is a possibility of Sierra Leone to tap into the opportunities of wildlife watching. He said the relevance of the visit was to identify areas that are suitable for the relocation of exotic animals from East-Africa through the support of the Kenyan government. He said they are identifying habitats that are similar to those in Kenya and ascertain how tourist friendly those parks are.