Who Legislates Uganda’s Speed Limits?

In Uganda, more than 3,6001 people lose their lives in a road crash every year. Data shows that speed is among the leading causes of these crashes, yet the legislative pathways to addressing speed limits have remained unclear to policymakers and civil society advocates. This report seeks to examine existing legal and regulatory frameworks related to the prescription of speed limits in Uganda as a road safety measure; interrogate whether local government authorities can enact a bylaw or ordinance to prescribe speed limits for different categories of roads, urban areas, or specific kinds of vehicles; identify the relevant laws in Uganda that govern speed limits; and ascertain who is responsible to regulate and prescribe the speed limits in Uganda. Top-line findings reveal a complex web of policies that sometimes lack a clear directive for ownership of speed prescription and enforcement. That said, our analysis has identified lines of authority and key guiding policies to legislate on road safety at the national and sub-national levels:

• The Roads Act, 2019 is the guiding legislation that governs speed-related road safety policy. Prior to its enactment, speed was regulated by the Traffic and Road Safety Act 1998, and the regulations therein empowered the Minister of Works and Transport to prescribe speed limits

• While the provisions of 1998 legislation that empowered the Minister of Works and Transport to legislate speed were repealed, other elements of the Roads Act, 2019 state that the Minister of Works and Transport does, in fact, have the power to prescribe speed limits
• Further, the Directorate of Engineering and Works within the Ministry of Works and Transport is responsible for the implementation of the Roads Act, 2019, including guiding the Minister in prescribing and enforcing the speed limits in Uganda; however, the Minister of Works and Transport has not operationalized the Roads Act, 2019, and exercised their authority to set limits
• The Minister of Works and Transport may under sections 33 (2) and 52 of the Roads Act delegate this power to roads authorities in accordance with the Regulations made under the Act; “roads authorities” include Uganda National Roads Authority, designated local governments, and the Kampala Capital City Authority. If delegated, the road authorities may prescribe the speed limits applicable to roads within their jurisdictions in accordance with the Roads Act, 2019 Regulations. On the date of this report’s publication, these powers have not been delegated.