OF THE THREE announcements this week that captured my attention as a traveller, I was least concerned about the revised baggage clearance procedures the Uganda Revenue Authority listed – and especially the quantities for specific items that excite most travellers of my kind.

Being neither a retailer nor a smuggler, the details did not move me. The last time I came close to being a national economic risk on arrival back home through Entebbe Airport was probably in 2002.

We had gone on our last holiday as a childless couple and planned to do our baby shopping while at it. Our well-planned spree exploded overnight as we were flying into South Africa, as we found the US dollar thrashing the rand to bits.

https://chimpreports.com/ura-increases-passenger-baggage-allowance-to-usd-2000/

We could buy twice of everything without blinking – and for some items, we did. We even got two of something called a ‘Nappy Stacker’ whose purpose I did not fully investigate till well after our daughter had arrived and I really needed to justify all the expenditure.

It turned out to be just that – a thing for stacking nappies after they were washed, dried and ironed.

On other trips I honestly believe I could have owed the government some money because of all the items I’d buy for different family members, but those days ended and we are now paying school fees as a priority.

Plus, most of the items that excited us back then are now available here at manageable prices if one searches long and hard enough. The rest are neither essential nor critical.

The more developed economies have much more comprehensive lists of what you can take in through their airlines (into the US you can pack five (5) litres of alcohol in your suitcase, compared to our two (2) of wine here.)

It’s about government revenue and the need to formalise retail trade, so it’s acceptable to some of us otherwise the economy can’t grow sensibly. We also need more control over WHAT is brought in and made available on our shop shelves, so it’s got to happen.

What might not have to happen is the second announcement most air travellers are bothered by – including me: the revised parking fees at Entebbe International Airport.

Tripling some of the fees is rankling, and the explanation so far given is irritating: “The fees have not changed in fifteen years and we have high maintenance costs…”

If you have used the parking services at Entebbe – all of them – you should have higher expectations with these higher fees. Personally, I expect to see zero potholes in that parking lot from the end of November, and the drainage channel grills to be much less irritating than they are today.

Keep us posted, please, all those who go through the Entebbe airport after the end of November.

The third announcement came from the Uganda Tourism Board, and was a Public Notice telling all owners and managers of “accommodation facilities” that if they did not have a tourism license to operate from UTB by November 18th they would be shut down.

That public notice could have been put better, for sure, and backed by a positive campaign to make it attractive for all these facilities to pursue said licensing.

As usual, some people questioned the need for licensing and regulation, even though it should be obvious and the reminder is published almost annually: we need to hold ourselves to higher standards and raise the bar whenever we can.

Of course tourism facilities need to be licensed, as should restaurants, coffee shops, factories, shops…everything. We need to Be Serious about these things.

Unfortunately, we are not taking it seriously end-to-end; UTB’s good intentions, for instance, are backed by the relevant laws but can only work if all the other laws are implemented seriously at the same time.

Most of these “accommodation facilities” have been allowed to exist in spite of their not meeting municipal, building or public health laws and ordinances. Even so-called three- and four- star hotels would fail licensing requirements, for little things like lacking disability access and various safety provisions.

But WHAT are the licensing requirements? Go online and check for yourself – there is a full Statutory Instrument with details. More importantly, though, from November 19th, 2024 join me in alerting UTB to every accommodation facility that you believe does not have or deserve a license.

Let’s be part of the monitoring process here, so that these three regulations make sense and help build at least one sector of this economy.

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Simon Kaheru

www.skaheru.com
@skaheru