World famous US hip-hop artist Aliaume Damala Badara Thiam alias Akon has thrown praise on Uganda’s tourism and said his view about Uganda has greatly changed after visiting and seeing different parts of the country.
Akon who was on a four-day courtesy visit to Uganda arrived in the country on good Friday and directly headed to Rwakitura in the country side to meet with the president of Uganda YK Museveni before going ahead to visit several parts of the country, starting with Queen Elizabeth National Park.
During the meeting, the president applauded the Senior Presidential Advisor on Diaspora Amb. Abbey Walusimbi for inviting Akon to Uganda and implored his office to encourage more historical African Diasporas to return and take up different investments that could be available.
After the reknown meeting, Akon, together with wife, Rozina Negusei embarked on a trip with visits to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable forest where he tracked gorillas. The singer excitedly referred to himself as “the papa of Gorillas”.
Speaking after the two excursions, he said he was elated by the warm welcome according to him while in Uganda.
“I have had an amazing time. Oftentimes I don’t get time to visit the country and have fun. Thank you so much for the warm hospitality in the past few days. I thank president for opening the doors and for making me feel super welcome and super safe. I am leaving determined to do something amazing,” the singer said.
According to an official in the Office of the President, Akon has been selected as Uganda’s special envoy on tourism and culture and has been asked to organize the Uganda Cultural Festival which will be an annual event to celebrate Africa by the African-American communities around the world.
“Akon has also been tasked with setting up high-class luxurious lodges or accommodations within the tourism development areas of Uganda. He will also partner with Aya Group of Companies to set up Aya-Akon Tower, a 72 storeyed building within the Central Business District of Kampala,” Kigozi said in a statement.
Speaking about his experience, the Senegalese-American singer cum investor said Uganda was one of the five out of 10 countries that he had chosen for the construction of the Akon City as a tourist attraction but noted he has been wowed by the tourism potential the East African country has.
“I believe Uganda has the biggest tourism potential in the whole of Africa. Believe me, I have been everywhere in Africa and I haven’t seen the potential like this. I am super excited. When I look at the potential in a tourist point of view, I believe Uganda has one of the biggest potentials,” he said.
“Just with my visit here, so much about Uganda that I never knew even existed. When you look at how Uganda and Ugandans have been promoted internationally, you will be scared to come to Uganda. They only tell you about the times of Idi Amin and all that happened then. They don’t tell you about what I saw. It is time to expose that. I want people to understand how beautiful Uganda is and the best way to do it is to build a city here.”
While speaking about the country’s ability to fund the development of the new city, Akon said, “I know if I put it there, they’re going to find a way to afford it because it’s going to motivate them.” He added, “Ultimately when you create an opportunity, people grow with that opportunity, people learn with that opportunity, people are motivated with that opportunity.”
In a press release yesterday, the government of Uganda announced that they allocated one square mile of land to the business mogul for the city. The amenities and cost of construction have not been disclosed, but the city which will be completed by 2036 will operate on his AKoin currency, “a stellar-based cryptocurrency.”
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