Why is Kampala Noisy and what can we as Citizens do about it

In the last 15 years, I have lived in 4 cities both in Africa and Europe.  Kampala is by far the noisiest city (both day and night).   As a Kampalan, I am accustomed to sleeping under some limited and reasonable noise.  However, since December 2017, we have heard some intolerable levels of noise around Kiwatule and this has continued to get worse over the last 3-4 weeks.  Last night in particular was so bad that I was forced to sit up at 3.30 am and find something to do.  Unfortunately, that was no solution because this noise made concentrating impossible.  

We do have a what’s app group as a community but since, I didn’t hear any one complaining, I retreated to my house and thought that I was probably over reacting.  But on Saturday morning at about 9am, the first message came through, a neighbour was complaining about the intolerable levels of noise the previous night.  Phew, at least I was not alone.  As the day progressed more and more people came up to complain about the worsening levels of noise.  It is at this time that I decided to read about noise legislation in Uganda.  There is actually legislation and very good legislation at that.  The National Environment (Noise Standards and Control) Regulations, 2003 (Under sections 28 and 107 of the National Environment Act Cap 153) give guidelines on noise emission and how noise should be controlled during the day and night.  Current legislation is very wide ranging. It includes regulations that cover noise from vehicles and other outdoor machinery, industries, places of worship, entertainment and other sources. 

It is clear that the law was prepared with our cultures and communities in mind.  For instance, while I have heard people complain about wedding parties and other private social events in the neighbourhood, these are actually covered in the law and are permitted up to 11.00 p.m.   The other common argument, I have heard which is a fallacy is that the one complaining has to prove that the noise is beyond permissible levels.  The law is very clear on this, it is the owners of the establishments that are supposed to have monitoring instruments not members of the public.  The law further says that, it is not necessary for the complainant to show or prove personal loss or injury or discomfort caused by the emission of the alleged noise.  The implication here is that any body can complain, any time and it is up to those complained against to prove otherwise.

I was however surprised that most of the noise control legislation seems to be in the hands of NEMA.  To me this should be a local authority mandate.  They are the ones who should decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not an establishment will emit very high noise levels before issuing a licence.  They should be able to take into account matters such as how loud the noise is, the reasonableness of the activity being carried out, the time of day of the occurrence, its duration and its frequency of occurrence. For instance, while the muazzin from a nearby mosque is certainly louder than the permissible levels, but this noise is only for a few minutes (at most 3) and usually at the times when we are all up and about. To me this is reasonable noise.   Furthermore, the local authorities planning department has an important role to play in helping to prevent noise pollution.  Planning policies and decisions should avoid noise potential conflicts between communities and businesses.  

What I have learnt over the years is that living in peace with neighbours is not always a matter of law.  Sometimes, one does what is considered humane even if the law would say otherwise.  For instance, if I am aware of a patient who is intolerant to noise at my immediate neighbour’s house, I will refrain from hosting a loud party out of respect, though the law does not stop me from doing so until 11.00pm.   Similarly, on a humane level, the grant of planning or trading permission should not license the owners of these establishments to become a nuisance.  Business and Church owners should do more than just comply with their licences and permissions to avoid noise pollution. As a music lover, I recognize that smaller places of entertainment and bars usually located in residential neighbourhoods are the breeding grounds for upcoming musicians to polish their craft.  The future success of our music industry depends, in part, on a constant supply of these upcoming artists.  To that end, it is important that the venue owners carry out the necessary acoustic treatment of their establishments not to inconvenience other members of the public.  

It is important that the law strikes the right balance between those who love music entertainment and those who have concerns about it, and between necessary protections from unreasonable noise and removing unnecessary burdens on small businesses.  I believe that our law, as currently constituted, strikes the appropriate balance between managing the noise environment and considering the needs of business and our cultures.  In my view, legislation seeks to stop noise that unreasonably and substantially interferes with a person’s enjoyment of their property or damages their health. 

Armed with this information, I decided to lead a petition in our community against noise pollution. Our petition takes into consideration the need to do business and earn a living and requirement for the community to enjoy a peaceful and good night sleep.  We are not asking the authorities to close these places but we want them to compel the owners to emit noise within the permissible levels.