Why Jinja Club hired golf course for Nyege Nyege amid fears
Workers set up a stage in the middle of the course. PHOTO/DENIS EDEMA
What you need to know:
Last year’s Nyege Nyege, an international annual festival, was hosted at three locations along the Nile River in Jinja which includes the Jinja Golf Course, Source of the Nile and Jinja Showground.
There are concerns in the sporting world about the future of Jinja Golf Club’s course after the annual Nyege Nyege festival.
Last year’s Nyege Nyege, an international annual festival, was hosted at three locations along the Nile River in Jinja which includes the Jinja Golf Course, Source of the Nile and Jinja Showground.
However, this year’s edition that started last Thursday through to Sunday was exclusively held at the golf course. This sparked debate especially given that many sports facilities in Uganda suffer from neglect and poor maintenance.
Jinja club chairman Joseph Nkurunziza attempted to address these concerns last Saturday during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Kakira Sugar Open, explaining that they looked at the economic benefit from the lease.
“We decided to bite the bullet and give them (Nyege Nyege) the course to use because of several factors,” Nkurunziza explained to a keen audience.
Nkurunziza further revealed that part of last year’s earnings was used to upgrade the swimming pool while the first instalment for this year’s event bought a high cutter for maintaining the course.
The remaining instalment this year will be used to maintain the tennis court. He assured the members that they had only leased out the roughs on holes seven and eight and have put safety measures to ensure the course was maintained after the party.
“We have a contract with them that if the course is damaged, especially the green, they’ll have to repair it.
Bridging tourism and sports
Jinja City mayor Peter Dalton Kasolo praised the club’s decision while emphasizing the need for sports to intertwine with tourism for economic success.
“Jinja is a tourism city and we should find ways of integrating so that we maximize the revenue that comes in,” Kasolo, who graced the tournament as a guest of honour urged.
“We appreciate the club for accepting the event to be hosted here instead of taking the revenues somewhere else but we should also use that revenue to improve the facilities,” he added.
Kasolo also outlined the council’s plans to tarmac the Nile Crescent road that leads to the venue starting January next year.
