Transport and Communication

The transport sector is one of the most crucial sectors in the country as other sectors depend on it either directly or indirectly. Uganda is served by road, rail, inland water and air transport and the majority of people use road public transport. Plans are underway to construct the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) with the aim of linking it with Kenya, Tanzania, and South Sudan.

As a landlocked country, Uganda has always been dependent on its neighbours, especially Kenya, for movement of its imports and exports. It is connected to the sea through the ports of Mombasa, Kenya and Tanga and Mombasa in Tanzania. Uganda has a reasonably well-developed infrastructure comprising a network of road, rail and airport. The country is fairly adequately connected to its neighbours as well as the COMESA member states by rail, road and air.

Having been a major recipient of bilateral and multilateral donor funding for decades, Uganda has had a good portion of its transport infrastructure rehabilitated. A number of roads, landing sites and Entebbe International Airport have regularly received budgetary votes for renovation every FY. The basic infrastructure such as trunk and rural feeder roads has also been renovated.

The main vehicles of public transport in Uganda are small minibuses, which are called here “taxis”. In contrast to our taxis these are approved for 14 people and low priced. Nationwide they are distinguished by their blue chequered markings.

How does it work?

These taxis are driving on fixed routes, mainly through the cities and from their centres to the suburbs. It is not that easy to tell which taxi goes where, so it is best always to ask. All the Ugandans are really friendly and they will help you.

You can flag them down everywhere and you can get off everywhere. The payment is done after the ride. the amount depends on the distance. When you drive far out of Kampala you don’t pay more than a few Euros. You pay when you alight the co-driver at the rear door. Always carry enough small change with you. Advice: When you first use a taxi, take somebody with you who knows how it works. After this test you will see how easy it is.

It’s not always comfortable to use taxis in Uganda. Sitting with 14 people in a small car, in the middle of a traffic jam with 30° outside – there are better things in the world. If you want to avoid such a situation, using a special hire is the better choice.

The Role of the transport infrastructure
The state of the transport infrastructure directly impacts on the performance of other sectors of the economy. While roads have majorly been instrument in facilitating the movement of goods and services to markets, air transport has virtually been the backbone of the tourism industry.

Tourists from Europe and other parts of the world are able to come to Uganda and visit major tourist sites like Bwindi Impenetrable Forest due to the availability of Entebbe International Airport.

The airport has also facilitated regional co-operation and development as several dignitaries (including heads of state and government) transit through it even if they had no urgent matters to discuss with Uganda government officials.
The railway and marine transport infrastructure has enabled the development of the fishing industry which is one of the fastest growing and highest foreign exchange earners for the country. Transport along Lake Victoria, which is shared by the three East African countries keep the nationals from all these countries together and in a way, fosters social and economic integration.

Performance of the sector
The transport sector made steady progress with all sub-sectors registering significant growth figures. Overall, general cargo increased by 48% mostly due to the increase in the volume of imports and exports of horticultural, flowers and fish products. Most of the cargo id freighted under scheduled passenger flights.

The share of the transport and communications sector in the GDP has averaged 5.1 per cent over the last 5 years. The gazetted roads, which form 30% of the road network, carried 84% of the total road traffic volume. The number of vehicles on the road is estimated to have grown by 6.6% between January 2001 and December 2003.

The number of transit passengers through Entebbe International Airport rose from 68,324 in 2002 to an estimated 74,189 in December 2003. The volume of non-traditional exports through the airport increased from 14,543 tonnes in 2001 to 17,180 tonnes in 2003.

Road Transport
This remains the most dominant mode of transport in Uganda. It comprises about 10,000 km of classified main roads (trunk, secondary and tertiary), about 25,000 km of district (feeder) roads, 2,800 km of urban roads and 30,000 km of community access roads.

In order to enhance access to services and markets as well as stimulate economic activities, the government accords high priority to the construction and maintenance of national roads.

Government has now embarked on construction of the Northern Kampala Bypass, which will provide an alternative route to traffic from the Kenya/Uganda border that are bound for southern and western Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. This road is also part of the Northern Corridor, which is an important road link in the country network, over which 90 per cent of Ugandan imports and exports are transported.

In May 2004, the government asked formally donors for US $20m annually for the second 10-year Road Sector Development Programme (RSDPII). The money is meant for institutional management reform, which entails the formation of a Road Authority responsible for a national road network development and management and to complete the backlog of road maintenance projects.

A VIDEO SHOWING ENTEBBE EXPRESS HIGHWAY

During the FY 2004/05, the government has provided sh7b to complete the following ongoing projects: Pakwach-Nebbi road, Sironko-Kapchorwa road, Gayaza-Kalagi road, Busunju-Kiboga roads. Other ongoing projects include Hoima Road, Karuma -Olwiyo and Kagamba-Rukungiri roads, together with the reconstruction of the Jinja-Bugiri road.

In addition, procurement of civil works is underway for roads between Fort Portal and Hima, Hima and Kikoroyo, Kasese and Kilembe, Soroti and Lira, Busega and Mityana, Kampala, Gayaza, Zirobwe and Wobulenzi, Matugga, Semuto and Kapeka. The government also announced plans to regravel the road between Atiak and Moyo.

Available means of road transport 

Taxis

These are 14-seater minibuses which are readily available all over the country. They are quite known for overloading and not observing traffic rules.

Special Hire vehicles
Special hire are privately owned vehicles which you can be hired to take you to specific destinations and they are mainly found in urban areas. There are both branded and none-branded special hire vehicles which are readily available at strategic locations in public places.

Boda  Boda cycles
These can be either bicycles or motorbikes and are common means of transport all over the country. They can reach places where vehicles cannot go because of bad roads. They are commonly known for reckless riding and not observing safety rules of wearing helmets and carrying one passenger.

Public buses

There are both domestic and regional buses routes. The regional buses provide means of transport to neighbouring countries. The domestic buses transport people to most urban areas of Uganda.

Pick-up trucks

These mainly transport goods like charcoal, sand, stones, firewood, bananas, fruits and vegetables among other things. They are also means of transport for people in rural areas of Uganda where formal public transport is not readily available.

Container trucks and Lorries

These lorries or trucks that transport goods within the country and beyond the national borders. The type of lorry to hire depends on the tonnage of goods to be transported and the place of destination.

Pedestrians

Pedestrians pushing wheelbarrows loaded with goods or carrying goods on their heads can be used in areas where other means of transport can work.

Rail Transport
Traffic volume along the permanent railway (Kampala-Malaba line) continued to rise over the past year. The total volume of cargo along the line rose to 919,252 tonnes by December 2003 from 714,906 tonnes in December 2001.

In a move geared at improving the regional rail links and ease the pressure on the road network, the governments of Uganda and Kenya are currently engaged in discussions to implement a joint concession of the two rail networks. As a landlocked country, Uganda is still engaging Tanzania on the southern route.

As of 2017, Uganda’s metre gauge railway network measures about 1,250 kilometres (777 mi) in length. Of this, about 56% (700 kilometres (435 mi)), is operational. A railroad originating at Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects with Tororo, where it branches westward to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Pakwach. The only railway line still operating, however, is the Malaba–Kampala line.

Air Transport
The aviation industry continues to expand, with currently 14 scheduled airlines offering 65 frequencies a week. Commercial aircraft movements at Entebbe International Airport are expected to hit 16.2% in 2004 up from 13.9 registered in 2002. In addition to serving as an alternative gateway to the outside world, the industry is also acting as a vehicle for the promotion of tourism and non-traditional perishable exports which depend on the efficient air transportation system.

In April 2004 however, all major airlines increased their fare by up to US$10 depending on the routes they operate. Airline officials said the increment was imposed on travellers as a fuel surcharge following the recent increase in oil prices on the world market. The decision was taken at a February 2004 meeting in Geneva where all the airlines under the International Air Transport Association were represented.

Marine Transport
Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) owns and operates 3 wagon ferries on Lake Victoria from Port Bell and Jinja in Uganda to Kisumu in Kenya and Mwanza in Tanzania. The maximum capacity of each wagon ferry is 880 tonnes.

In April 2004, Egypt announced plans to invest in water transport in Uganda. According to the acting head of Africa and Middle East department, Emanuel Orinzi, the investment in water transport on the water bodies in Uganda is part of their effort to boost trade and development between the two countries.

The new Egyptian investment in water transport is intended to ease passenger and cargo transport. It follows a number of other Egyptian investments in Uganda in some fields like agriculture, cultural heritage, education, diplomacy, civil engineering and banking.

The government also issued water transport safety measures to control accidents on the lakes. The measures include the re-introduction of mobile courts and compulsory life jackets for all those using the lake. Official statistics from the government indicate that most water accidents are due to over-loading. The new measures would help decrease the cases of catching immature fish.

Challenges facing the Transport Sector
The poor state of the transport infrastructure is in itself the major challenge facing the sector. Over 60% of the road network in Uganda is so bad rendering some of it impassable. This affects the transportation of goods and services to markets.

The poor state of the roads has also been a major contributor to the road carnage which worsens every other year. Government therefore faces the daunting task of purchasing road construction equipment which is expensive. In situations where development partners have donated such equipment, it has been misused for purposes other than road construction.

Besides, the rail line sorely needs upgrading. Although it was designed for train speeds up to 80 kilometres per hour (kph), it barely operates at speeds of 25 kph. Operations have also suffered greatly over the years because there is about three times more traffic inbound than outbound. 

The rail yard in Kampala is congested, and cars often wait many days longer than necessary to unload. Once unloaded, they seldom make the return journey to Mombasa expeditiously. Often shippers in Mombasa wait for empty wagons or flat cars to return before they can ship loads out to Uganda. The URC currently employs about 1,800 people but only needs about 1,000 to operate. The railroad lacks the funds to pay severance to employees so it must continue to pay for labour it does not need.

The conditions for road freight operators could hardly be worse. One stretch of Ugandan highway between Malaba and Jinja has sections washed out altogether, and almost all other sections necessitate that trucks weave from the left to the right side of the two-lane road to avoid very large potholes. Burst tires, broken springs, and bent axles are common, as are accidents. Although the road was poorly constructed, the deterioration is exacerbated by the trucks themselves which are often overloaded. 

There is also the general complaint among truck owners that there should be more harmonization of axle weight regulations between Uganda and Kenya to facilitate clearance at the border and avoid fines at weigh stations. Although the Uganda Truck Owners Association (UTOA) was formed to advise the government on policies that would increase the efficiency of road transport, there are still unnecessary delays, confusion, and non-compliance.

Communication in Uganda

Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is the country’s regulator of the communications sector. UCC was established in 1998 by the Uganda Communications Act (Cap 106 Laws of Uganda) to facilitate and enable the development of a modern communications sector and infrastructure in the country.

Today, Uganda’s communications sector is one of the fastest growing in Africa. As in the rest of the continent, this is largely due to the rapid expansion of mobile telephony. According to statistics from UCC, the number of telephone subscribers had reached 10 million in March 2009 — up from more than 8.7 million in December 2008 — which is about one-third of the country’s population. Of the 10 million subscriptions, 9.8 million are mobile phone subscribers while around 200 000 are fixed-line owners (see Figure 1).

Despite the bleak global economic outlook, 1.35 million telephone connections were added to the Ugandan market between December 2008 and March 2009, making these three months the highest quarter-to-quarter growth in subscriptions in the country to date. This growth translates into a nationwide teledensity of 32.8 lines per 100 inhabitants, compared to the 29.5 teledensity of December 2008.

The Commission figures show a remarkable improvement in the telecommunications sector, both in capacity and distribution. The population coverage for mobile telephony is close to 100 per cent, while geographical coverage is about 65 per cent.

Mobile market players

Since 2007, Uganda has opened up the sector fully to competition. Currently, Uganda’s major mobile telephony providers are MTN Uganda, Orange Uganda Limited, Zain (formerly Celtel) Uganda Telecom Mobile and Warid Telecom. The boom in Uganda’s mobile market is the result of continuous positive growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and a clear policy of liberalization and competition.

There are two main categories of licences in the telecommunications sector under a licensing regime introduced in 2006. One is the public infrastructure provider (PIP) licence, which allows operators to set up their infrastructure in any part of the country. The other is the public service provider (PSP) licence, which allows telecommunication services to be provided using infrastructure deployed by PIP companies.

Under this licensing regime, the Commission has licensed 24 public infrastructure provider companies and 35 public service providers. In addition, the Commission has encouraged the sharing of infrastructure and introduced a simplified licensing procedure, both serving to boost the entry of new companies into the market.

Broadband and the Internet

A third-generation (3G) mobile broadband service was launched in major cities in March 2008 by Uganda Telecom Mobile, and Orange Uganda has said it plans to provide a 3G service within 2009. The fixed-line operators Uganda Telecom and MTN Uganda offer a range of data services, but mobile phones seem likely to predominate as the means for accessing the Internet. According to UCC, mobile wireless Internet accounts have continued to grow, rising to an estimated 215 000 by March 2009, compared with about 22 000 fixed-line subscriptions. This is partly due to the emergence of new entrants into the retail broadband services. However, the regulator estimates that, with the dramatic increase in the number of public facilities such as Internet cafés, around 2.5 million people were going online.

Broadband Internet access will be boosted with the 2500-km fibre-optic national backbone network being installed across the country, using investment by the Ugandan government and the private sector. It is soon to be connected to the international submarine cables that are due to land on the coast of Kenya. A regional regulatory taskforce has been established to set up frameworks and standards for inter-State access and pricing regulation of sea cable systems.

The new players who have rolled out commercial services in the broadband segment include Tangerine (Nomad) Communications and TMP Uganda. Warid Telecom, which previously provided voice services only, has also joined the fray to offer both fixed and mobile Internet services.

Reaching the countryside

Because the Ugandan mobile market is very competitive, prices have fallen and average revenue per user (ARPU) is decreasing. In response, companies are looking to expand into rural and other communities that have previously been underserved. The government has also backed major initiatives to expand telecommunication services and the Internet to rural areas, partly supported by a universal service fund known as the Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF).

Essentially, the RCDF is intended to act as a means of intervention to ensure that basic communication services of acceptable quality are accessible, at affordable prices and at reasonable distances, by all people in Uganda. The Fund also aims to promote use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) by introducing at least one “vanguard” institution and supporting the establishment of an Internet point of presence (PoP) in every district.

Most districts in Uganda now have some of the following facilities as a result of implementing the RCDF: Internet PoP, Internet cafés, ICT training centres, public payphones, multipurpose community telecentres, ICT laboratories in government-aided secondary schools, e-health or telemedicine projects, and call centres. In addition, a number of research and postal support projects have been implemented.

One of the most popular services in the countryside could be “mobile money”, or the ability to make payments and store credit on a mobile phone. Companies are already moving to satisfy this demand. In March 2009, Uganda Telecom and MTN Uganda each launched mobile banking, while in June Zain began offering its “Zap” service. Customers can top up (or transfer) mobile airtime, send and receive money, and pay utility bills.

SMS on the rise

The short message service (SMS) is popular in Uganda. According to UCC, some 294 million SMS messages were sent during the January–March 2009 period, compared to 190 million in the preceding quarter (October–December 2008). And operators now offer information services via SMS, including news, weather forecasts and sports results. The use of SMS to ask for information from expert sources is another way that communications can be improved for rural residents. Such a service was launched in June 2009, for people to send a query by SMS on, for example, farming techniques, and receive an answer from a searchable database. For users who have difficulties with reading or writing, “voice SMS” is particularly useful, through which people can send pictures or short voice messages. Uganda Telecom and Warid Telecom are among those providing this service

The digital switchover

Radio broadcasts began in Uganda in 1952, and television was available from 1963. Both types of broadcasting were provided solely by the government until liberalization in the early 1990s. Since then, there has been a large increase in the number of private radio and television stations. The number of licensed radio stations now stands at 222, of which 192 are operational, while 35 of the 50 licensed television stations are on air.

At ITU’s Regional Radiocommunication Conference in 2006, it was agreed that, by 2015, broadcasting would be switched entirely from analogue to digital networks in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In Uganda, the government is considering the consultation document “Digital Broadcasting Migration Strategy”, issued in April 2009. This proposes that the country should make an earlier switchover, in December 2012, and that at least one more signal distributor should be licensed in addition to the public Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.

There is recognition in Uganda of the challenges that must be met in order to migrate to digital broadcasting — from the need for consumers to install set-top boxes, to harmonization with neighbouring countries. But it is also seen as having great potential in supporting the country’s social and economic development.

Growth area

According to ITU data, in July 1999, Uganda became the first African country — and only one of a dozen in the world — where the number of mobile users surpassed that of fixed-line subscribers. And analysts Pyramid Research anticipate that over the next few years, Uganda will experience Africa’s second highest percentage rise in mobile subscriptions (after Cameroon), and that by 2014, more than 70 per cent of Ugandans will have mobile phones. Pyramid Research also foresees rapid growth in fixed and wireless broadband access to the Internet. The future looks bright for Uganda’s communications sector.