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The government has started consultations with stakeholders in Uganda’s maritime sector on the proposed regulations that could introduce tighter controls on the construction, registration, licensing and operation of boats on the country’s water bodies.

The regulations are intended to operationalise the Inland Water Transport Act, 2021, which was signed into law by President Museveni in August 2021. The consultations have so far been held in Kalangala District on Lake Victoria and Panyimur on Lake Albert, with the Ministry of Works and Transport planning to extend the exercise to other lakes and rivers.

Mr Robert Ntambi, the commissioner in charge of the maritime department at the ministry is optimistic that the new regulations will improve safety and bring greater order to inland water transport.

He says the proposed regulations cover the quality of materials used in boat construction, assessment of vessels after construction, qualifications of boat operators and how vessels are used in transporting people and goods.

‘These regulations are going to improve safety on the lake, improve adherence to the law by boat operators and passengers in terms of safety, and in general streamline the way inland water transport can be handled,’ he explains.

Licensing shipyards

Under the proposed regulations, the government intends to regulate boat construction from the point where materials are selected to the stage when a vessel is ready for use.

Mr Barnabas Twinomujuni, a maritime surveyor in charge of licensing at the ministry, says boat and shipyard operators would be required to obtain licences, register their construction sites and demonstrate that they have the necessary expertise to construct vessels.

‘Before a boat is put into operation, we ensure the owner of the shipyard or boatyard has quality materials used to make the boat,’ he explains.

The ministry plans to work with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards to establish and regulate standards for materials, including timber used in constructing boats.

People involved in boat construction would also be required to demonstrate their expertise and have their construction sites registered and licensed.

Mr Twinomujuni says existing boat builders would be given a six-month grace period after the regulations come into force to meet the proposed requirements.

Boats to undergo inspection

The proposed regulations would also introduce mandatory boat inspection before they are allowed to operate on any water body. Inspectors would assess construction documents, materials used to build the vessel, its seaworthiness and the availability and quality of lifesaving equipment.

The requirements would include life jackets and other lifesaving equipment appropriate to the size and type of vessel.

‘If we find that the boat is in good condition as per the standards, but lacks lifesaving gadgets, we can’t offer the boat a licence. That is because we realised that some life jackets are in fact life-threatening,’ he says.

The proposed requirements therefore seek to make lifesaving equipment part of the conditions for licensing rather than treating it as an optional safety measure.

Once the boat passes the inspection exercise, a registration certificate , which is valid for five years will be given.

Registration before licensing

After registration, Mr Twinomujuni says one will be allowed to acquire a licence for the boat depending on the activity it will be used for, which is renewed annually.

The proposed licensing system would categorise vessels according to their intended use. For instance, boats transporting tourists are licensed differently from vessels used by fisheries officers or those transporting goods.

The regulations would prohibit a boat from undertaking activities outside the category for which it has been licensed.

However, according to the proposal, boats operated by security organs would be exempted from the licensing requirement.

Mr Twinomujuni says operating an unregistered boat or using a boat without the required licence is criminal and could attract arrest.

Experience is crucial

The proposed regulations would also introduce different qualifications for boat operators depending on the size and complexity of vessels they operate.

Mr Twinomujuni says vessels would be classified as small or traditional boats if they do not exceed 25 tonnes, while those above 25 tonnes would fall under the large-vessel category.

‘Just like it is with cars, you can’t drive a bus yet you trained to drive a small car. The operators must also show proof that they were trained to man these boats,’ he explains.

Those with boat operating experience, but lack formal certification would have to go to the Maritime Education Centre for assessment.

The proposed certification system would have three grades-Coxswain Grade III, Grade II and Grade I.

One seeking Coxswain Grade III certification must be at least 18 years old and demonstrate knowledge of navigation and boat handling. The grade would largely cater for junior crew or co-coxswain duties.

For Grade II, a higher level of experience in navigation and boat handling is needed and one must be at least 23 years. Grade I is the highest level, requiring knowledge of safety, experience in manning boats and the ability to operate vessels of 25 tonnes and above.

However, many stakeholders queried the age requirement.

Traditional boats

The ministry also proposes to distinguish small and traditionally built boats from modern vessels. The intention, according to the officials, is to avoid applying requirements designed for larger and more sophisticated vessels to small traditional boats while still maintaining minimum safety standards.

Six-hour rest requirement

The proposed regulations also seek to address fatigue among boat operators as those involved in long journeys would be required to rest after every six hours of sailing.

This is an attempt to reduce fatigue related accidents. The ministry also proposes requirements governing the repair and maintenance of boats because some vessels have continued operating for years without undergoing proper repairs.

Landing sites to get community oversight

The new regulations would also give landing sites a greater role in enforcing safety requirements.

Each landing site will be required to have a community docking site where boats load and offload passengers and goods. The docking sites would have leadership registered with the Ministry of Works and Transport.

‘The leaders will ensure people adhere to the law. We will also train them on boat quality issues. That way, they will address issues in time,’ Mr Brian Musinguzi, a maritime surveyor at the ministry, says.

The proposed arrangement would effectively create a layer of community-level oversight between boat operators and the maritime authorities.

Loading limits

The regulations would also introduce requirements aimed at preventing overloading. Mr Musinguzi says the system would use a load line to determine the safe loading limit of a vessel.

For example, the measurement of large vessels such as MV Kalangala would follow international standards, while smaller vessels would be assessed using the appropriate domestic requirements.

‘We shall follow the load line when assessing load limits. For instance, when a boat is loaded, water can’t go above the load line, otherwise it is overloaded,’ he says

Stakeholders seek changes

While stakeholders welcome clearer safety requirements, some call for adjustments to the proposed framework.

Mr Jackson Mubiru, a boat operator, asks the ministry to allow them form committees at every landing site to help monitor operations.

‘Basing on the guidelines, every boat will need to be inspected before and after sailing, but the ministry staff are not at every landing site. We request that we have separate leadership from the Beach Management Unit, which concentrates on those involved in fishing,’ he says.

Mr Mubiru also proposes an online system for boat registration and payment of licence fees.

‘We believe this will ease work for the ministry and reduce operation costs,’ he says.

Mr Augustine Kasirye, another stakeholder, calls for clarification on the requirements for vessels exceeding 25 tonnes.

He says the proposed guidelines could create uncertainty over the training and grading requirements applicable to larger boats and urges the ministry to make the provisions clearer.

Passengers also questioned the proposed minimum age and experience requirements for boat operators.

Mr Bambalazabwe Semakula, a fisherman, says an 18-year-old with limited experience should not automatically be considered suitable to operate a boat simply because they meet the minimum age requirement.

‘We request the ministry to look into that and change it because these are people who will cause accidents,’ he says.

He also questions whether the proposed requirements for Grade II operators provide enough experience to safely operate on large and unpredictable water bodies.

‘The weather on the lake changes frequently and this adds to its depth depending on the season. A 23-year-old with only 12 months of experience may fail to man the boat in that circumstance,’ Mr Semakula says, ‘All boat operators know that they need a lot of time to learn the lake. The years of experience ought to be increased to ensure the boat operator has enough experience for the safety of all passengers.’

The concerns are now part of the views the ministry is expected to consider before the proposed regulations are finalised.

For the government, however, the consultations mark an important step towards bringing the 2021 Inland Water Transport Act into operation and establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework covering boat construction, registration, licensing, inspection, crew competence and passenger safety.

There was something revealing about the immediate reaction to Nairobi being awarded the 2029 World Athletics Championships hosting rights.

Not the disappointment in London. That is perfectly legitimate.

London staged an excellent World Championships in 2017, had a substantial bid backed by about £45m (Shs237b) in public funding and had assembled a serious proposition.

The tone

It was the tone. The familiar vocabulary appeared quickly – snubbed, shock, heartbreak, failure.

One British newspaper went further, making Kenya’s doping record the central reason why World Athletics had supposedly made the wrong choice.

And elsewhere, Nairobi occasionally disappeared from the headlines. The story became ‘Africa’ getting the Championships.

That is profound. Nairobi did not beat London and Rome because Africa needed a consolation prize.

It beat both because, on this occasion, World Athletics decided that Nairobi presented the more compelling proposition.

The other European bidder, Munich, got the 2031 nod.

Sebastian Coe, hardly an outsider to British athletics, described Nairobi’s bid as ‘compelling and emotional’.

More importantly, World Athletics pointed to the substance behind it – strong operational planning, financial guarantees, a renovated Kasarani Stadium and Nairobi’s growing experience of hosting major international athletics.

The choice also completed a geographical sequence that is difficult to dismiss as some great injustice to Europe.

Beijing hosts in 2027, Nairobi in 2029 and Munich in 2031. Asia, Africa, Europe. Three continents, three editions.

That is not the death of European athletics. It is what an international federation looks like when it remembers the word ‘international’.

And perhaps that is the uncomfortable part of this conversation.

The world is considerably larger than Europe and the United States.

Kenya, of all countries, should not need to explain why.

Kenya has the numbers

Athletics is not something Kenya has recently discovered in preparation for a bid.

It is part of the country’s sporting DNA. World Athletics itself describes Kenya as one of the great athletics nations, while its own fan research found that 68 per cent of Kenyans surveyed rated their interest in athletics as high, compared with a global average of 39 per cent.

Kenya was the most athletics-interested market surveyed.

Then there are the numbers. By the end of 2025, Kenya had won 182 World Championships medals – 72 of them gold – second only to the United States’ 469.

At the Olympics, Kenya had amassed 124 medals, 117 of them in athletics.

At the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Kenya won seven gold medals and 11 medals overall, finishing second on the medal table. Great Britain won five medals and no gold.

That is not an argument that Kenya is entitled to host because it wins medals.

Hosting requires considerably more than sporting excellence.

But sporting excellence matters. Especially when the sport in question is athletics.

For decades, Kenya and Ethiopia have supplied the world with some of its most extraordinary distance runners.

Kip Keino. Catherine Ndereba. Paul Tergat. David Rudisha. Eliud Kipchoge. Faith Kipyegon. Haile Gebrselassie. Kenenisa Bekele.

The names keep coming. And the championships kept going elsewhere.

There is something almost absurd about the world’s most consequential athletics competition repeatedly travelling to countries with perfectly legitimate hosting credentials while the regions producing such an extraordinary proportion of its champions remained spectators to the business of hosting.

Nairobi has earned the stage

Nairobi has already shown that it can handle the responsibility.

It hosted the World U18 Championships in 2017. It hosted the World U20 Championships in 2021.

The Kip Keino Classic has become an important meeting on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold circuit.

And Kasarani is undergoing a major overhaul ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

World Athletics specifically cited Nairobi’s previous hosting experience, operational planning and infrastructure investment in assessing the successful bid.

This is not a city being handed a world championship and told to figure it out. It has been building towards this.

Indeed, Nairobi previously bid for the 2025 Championships, only for Tokyo to win.

The second attempt came with a stronger proposition and considerably more experience behind it.

Kipchoge understood the argument long before the vote. During the campaign, he put it rather beautifully.

‘Giving Kenya the chance is giving back to the sport.’

He went on to point to Kenya’s decades of medals, records and Diamond League success, arguing that the opportunity to host would be a gift to both Kenya and Africa.

Then came Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian great whose sporting rivalry with Kenya never prevented him from recognising what this moment means beyond national borders.

‘When I congratulate the Kenyans, indirectly I congratulate ourselves and the Africans as well,’ he said after the announcement.

‘World Athletics Championship has come to African soil for the first time.’ Exactly.

Kenya’s doping problem is real. It should not be minimised, romanticised or waved away because Nairobi has won a hosting vote. The integrity of the sport must remain non-negotiable.

But it is also possible to acknowledge that problem without reducing an entire athletics nation to it.

World Athletics knows the issue exists. It also knows what Kenya has contributed to the sport, what its athletes have achieved, what its fans bring to athletics and what hosting can do for the development of the sport on the continent.

The organisation has explicitly pointed to Kenya’s sporting record, public passion for athletics and hosting experience in explaining the decision.

That is why the decision matters beyond a stadium in Kasarani.

Africa is not an alternative

For years, the global sports calendar has had an almost predictable centre of gravity.

Europe and North America have dominated the hosting conversation, with the rest of the world too often treated as an emerging alternative rather than an equal part of it.

Look at the Fifa World Cup. South Africa hosted in 2010, becoming the first African country to stage the tournament.

Russia followed in 2018 and Qatar in 2022. Each time, different controversies surrounded the choice, and some criticism was entirely legitimate.

But there was also a recurring undertone – that the event had somehow travelled beyond its natural home.

That idea needs retiring. Europe is not the world. Britain is not the world. America is not the world.

They are important parts of it. So are Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Doha, Tokyo, Beijing, Mumbai and countless other cities that increasingly expect to be treated not as interesting alternatives, but as part of the main conversation.

And this is not an argument against London.

London will host major athletics again. Its stadiums, crowds, organisation and history will remain valuable to the sport.

British disappointment can coexist perfectly comfortably with African celebration.

What should not coexist comfortably is the assumption that when an African city wins a global sporting right over a European one, the first question must be what is wrong with the African choice.

Sometimes the more interesting question is what took so long.

Nairobi’s moment has arrived. The remarkable thing is not that Africa is finally hosting the World Championships.

It is that, given Kenya’s astonishing record in athletics, it took until 2029.

NAIROBI 2029 – THE ATHLETICS CASE

Kenya by the numbers

182

World Athletics Championships medals won by Kenya through 2025

72

Of those medals that are gold

469

World Championships medals won by the United States, the all-time leader

124

Kenya’s total Olympic medals through Paris 2024

117

Kenyan Olympic medals won in athletics – 94.4 per cent of its Olympic total

11

Kenya’s medals at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, including seven golds

2017

Nairobi hosts the World U18 Championships at Kasarani

2021

Nairobi hosts the World U20 Championships

2029

Nairobi becomes the first African city to host the World Athletics Championships

Doctors have warned that Ugandans balancing late-night commitments for work, study, or family may harm their physical health, mental focus, and emotional well-being, urging them to reset their body clocks for better sleep quality.

Doctors say irregular bedtimes, sleeping in on weekends, and exposure to bright screens at night can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, the roughly 24-hour cycle that regulates sleep and wakefulness.

At about 5pm, the day is far from over for several Ugandans, with some workers moving from their main jobs to side businesses, evening shifts, and other income-generating activities, with the growing pressure to earn extra income.

Others use the evening to tutor, study, and complete housework. By the time they finish, it may be close to midnight or later, yet the following morning often comes early.

Dr Justus Atuhaire, a physician at Mulago National Referral Hospital, says: ‘The circadian rhythm is a natural physical and mental loop that runs on an approximately 24-hour cycle that tells the body when it is time to feel awake and alert, and when it is time to feel sleepy.’

The body clock also influences body temperature, digestion, and hormone levels, with light and darkness serving as major signals that regulate the cycle.

When the clock gets out of step

Daylight tells the brain that it is daytime, while darkness promotes the release of melatonin, a hormone associated with preparing the body for sleep. Bright artificial light late in the evening can interfere with this process and make it harder to fall asleep.

‘Late-night work, device screens, tasks, and problem-solving keep your brain alert and active when it should be winding down. People who use strong lights at night delay natural sleep since they stop your body from sensing true darkness,’ Dr Atuhaire explains.

Constantly changing sleep times can also prevent the body from settling into a predictable rhythm.

‘Shifting your schedule constantly forces your internal clock to reset every single day, which prevents the body from ever locking into a healthy, predictable pattern. It removes the predictable cues your body relies on,’ he adds.

Dr Joel Mirembe Nsubuga, a physician and former secretary general of the Uganda Medical Association, says an occasional short night should not become a routine.

‘If you have had a short night, you can use measures such as a brief nap to temporarily improve your alertness, but you still need to recover the lost sleep. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends that adults keep naps to about 20 minutes to avoid feeling groggy.’

Resetting the body clock

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, including weekends, because sleeping in can disrupt the body’s sleep-wake rhythm.

‘The human body clock generally takes one day per hour of time shift to fully adjust. When adjusting your sleep schedule, shifting your bedtime back gradually is highly recommended over trying to change it all at once,’ Dr Mirembe says.

He recommends moving bedtime and wake-up time by 15 to 30 minutes every two to three days. ‘If your current bedtime is 1am, aim for 12.45am for a couple of nights, then 12.30am and so on. Progress is gradual, so holding your new times steady on weekends is what makes the change stick.’

Dr Atuhaire recommends exposure to daylight during the day, saying light is one of the body’s strongest signals for regulating the sleep-wake cycle.

‘The body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm, responds strongly to light. Exposure to daylight during the day helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle and can promote alertness,’ he says.

At night, Mr Davis Amanya, a wellness coach, advises people to reduce activities that keep them stimulated when they should be preparing for sleep.

‘If you only have a limited window in which you can sleep, don’t spend part of that time on your phone or doing things that can wait. Create a routine that tells your body it is time to wind down,’

Mr Amanya says, calling for reduction of bright light and screen exposure before bed and keeping the bedroom dark, quiet and comfortable.

Coffee and energy drinks are a quick response to tiredness for several people, but Dr Atuhaire says international health guidelines generally recommend limiting caffeine to 400mg per day or less for most adults.

‘Caffeine makes you feel more awake because it blocks some of the signals in the brain that make you feel sleepy. However, it can remain in the body for several hours and, when taken too late in the day, may interfere with the next night’s sleep, which can create a cycle,’ he said.

Mr Amanya also advises people to maintain a balanced diet, stay hydrated and engage in light physical activity to support energy levels and overall wellbeing. However, he cautioned that exercise cannot replace adequate sleep.

Utility

How much sleep is needed?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sleep requirements vary with age.

Newborns aged zero to three months need 14 to 17 hours of sleep a day, while infants aged four to 12 months require 12 to 16 hours, including naps. Toddlers aged one to two years need 11 to 14 hours, while children aged three to five years require 10 to 13 hours.

School-age children between six and 12 years should get nine to 12 hours, while teenagers aged 13 to 17 years need eight to 10 hours.

Adults aged 18 and above need seven to nine hours

Dr Justus Atuhaire, a physician at Mulago hospital, says people should not mistake their ability to stay awake for evidence that they have adapted to needing less sleep.

‘You can train yourself to tolerate the feeling of tiredness, but you cannot train the body to stop needing sleep. The fact that someone says, ‘I only sleep five hours, and I am fine,’ does not necessarily mean that their brain and body are functioning at their best.’

More than 1,680 manufacturers and importers are now registered under the Digital Tax Stamps (DTS) system as the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) expands its use of technology to track excisable goods and curb tax evasion.

The system, URA says, has helped to bring previously informal or non-compliant producers into the tax system while improving its ability to track production volumes and determine excise duty liabilities.

Speaking during an engagement with manufacturers in Kampala last Thursday, URA commissioner for corporate services Richard Kariisa said improving compliance would be critical as the tax authority seeks to meet a revenue target of Shs46.6 trillion.

Kariisa, who represented Commissioner General John Musinguzi Rujoki, said URA would continue relying on systems such as DTS and the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing System (EFRIS) to strengthen tax administration.

The DTS system requires manufacturers and importers of selected excisable products to affix digital stamps that allow URA to trace goods from production or importation through the distribution chain.

The meeting also raised concerns about the cost manufacturers incur in purchasing digital tax stamps.

Kariisa said expenditure on the stamps is deductible for income tax purposes, provided manufacturers maintain adequate records.

Felix Niwagaba, who is in charge of Digital Tax Stamps at URA, said manufacturers receive EFRIS invoices when purchasing stamps, which can be used to support deductions when filing income tax returns.

A digital stamp currently costs Shs30 for beer, Shs60 for spirits and wine, Shs13 for mineral water, Shs17 for soda, Shs135 for cement and Shs75 for tobacco products.

The cost is borne by manufacturers and importers as part of their compliance obligations.

Digital tax stamps currently apply to a range of excisable products, including beer, spirits, wine and other alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices, bottled water, fermented beverages, tobacco products, cement, sugar and cooking oil.

URA introduced the system principally to address weaknesses in excise duty collection, including under-declaration of production volumes and the movement of untaxed goods onto the market.

Niwagaba said the system also gives manufacturers information that can help them track products and stocks through the supply chain.

However, enforcement remains a challenge, particularly because URA has to monitor manufacturers, distributors and retailers across the country.

Niwagaba said some taxpayers continue to find ways of circumventing the system, requiring URA to extend enforcement beyond factories to products already in the distribution chain.

URA has also tightened penalties for breaches of DTS requirements as it seeks to reduce the competitive advantage enjoyed by businesses that avoid excise duty.

The DTS system is implemented by SICPA Uganda and forms part of government’s broader efforts to increase domestic revenue collection.

URA says DTS, alongside EFRIS and other tax administration measures, has helped strengthen compliance and close gaps such as under-declaration of production.