We need regulatory agency to oversee marine transport

MV Kalangala on November 28, 2018 pulled out the canopy of the capsized boat that killed 32 people last on November 24. PHOTOS BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA

What you need to know:

  • The issue: Water transport
  • Our view: Government should remap and survey the Ugandan navigable lakes and rivers and designate safe routes for passenger and cargo vessels.

The Saturday boat tragedy on Lake Victoria that claimed lives of more than 30 people is a huge indictment on the government’s failure to put in place a sound legal and policy framework to regulate the water transport sub-sector.

It is also proof of how pathetic and vulnerable the country’s water transport is, without a viable law and substantive national marine policy.

The existing marine law was enacted by colonialists 79 years ago and has become obsolete. Uganda’s water transport is largely run by illiterates in an informal and haphazard system that lacks regulation and control by an established authority.

There is no established marine police to control transport on our waters like we do have traffic police on roads to control vehicle traffic and behaviour of drivers.

There is no regulatory authority for marine transport, for example, to ensure all water vessels, especially passenger service vessels, are licensed, inspected, registered, insured or their movements monitored or to ensure the coxswains or captains that drive these vessels are competently trained and licensed.

This explains why the ill-fated boat was neither registered nor insured, had no licence, was in poor mechanical condition but was simply picked from wherever and was restored on the waters to transport people.

Most of the coxswains that operate passenger boats or vessels have no formal or professional training at all. The country has no formal marine colleges or schools to train personnel in handling water transport or rescue operations.

The 2008-23 National Transport Master Plan, which aims at streamlining the transport sector but has not yet been implemented, rightly observes that Uganda’s water transport infrastructure is basic and dilapidated. The navigations aids were destroyed or are missing or just do not exist, meaning our water transport handlers operate mainly on guesswork.

Government should remap and survey the Ugandan navigable lakes and rivers and designate safe routes for passenger and cargo vessels.

Like passenger vehicles on roads have designated routes of operation, the same should apply on the waters with specific points for docking and departure. This will ensure regular monitoring and control. There should be standards of boats or vessels for passenger services. There should be a law that only allows factory-assembled or made vessels to operate passenger services, registered and operating designated routes.

Unless the government addresses the above issues, we shall continue to witness more avoidable carnage on our waters.