The inadequate supply of life jackets is hampering enforcement of safety measures for water travelers, a police officer has said.
Pascal Ecumu, the Officer in charge of the Police Marines on Lake Albert says these protective gears are not easily available for passengers on many of the lakes in the country.
Ecumu says even when sensitized on the use of life-jackets, its always difficult for the local water transport operators to acquire them from Kampala. He wants dealers in life jackets to spread out their businesses to all landing sites in the country for easy acquisition by those who need them.
This follows a number of deadly accidents on Uganda’s lakes which have partly been blamed on failure to observe safety measures such as wearing life jackets.
Majority of commercial boats doing transport on Lake Albert have no life-jackets and this poses a risk to passengers incase the boats capsize.Life-jackets protect passengers from drowning following an accident.
In an interview with URN, the Beach Management Unit Chairman for Ruunga Landing site on Lake Albert, MK Baguma said residents have no life-jackets because some of them do not know where to get them.
Baguma explained that even those who want to acquire them are hesitant to go to Kampala where they are only sold.
On Friday last week, a boat carrying 22 people for a burial in the Democratic Republic of Congo capsized. Police has so far recovered 10 bodies of the victims and seven are still missing. Six people survived the accident.
