How safe are our beaches?

As happens every year, the police released reports of accidents and deaths that had happened around the country during this Christmas season. Sad as it is, it is something we are now getting used to. That should not, however, stop all the stakeholders from doing something about it. What was shocking though, was the number of people who drowned in the waters around Entebbe beaches during the Christmas festivities.

The Daily Monitor yesterday reported that at least 13 bodies were picked up between December 23 and 27 at different beaches within Entebbe. It was not yet known what exactly caused their death as the postmortem results had not yet been released. This has, of course, sparked off rumours on what could have killed these people. But we must wait for the official postmortem results. That aside, we must also question how safe our beaches are.

The number of beaches in the country, especially in Entebbe, have mushroomed in the last few years. Some of these include Munyonyo Resort Beach, Spennah Beach, Nabinonya Resort Beach, Serena Resort Beach, Lutembe Beach, and Lido Beach, among others. There is good to be gained out of this. Apart from increasing the spots that foreign tourists might want to visit, the beaches offer Ugandans a place to relax, have fun with friends and family and do some site-seeing.
Questions, however, abound as to whether there are strict rules on each of these beaches regarding how people can use the waters and how to take precaution when there.

The Red Cross highlights some of the rules people should follow when on the beach. These include, having young children or inexperienced swimmers wear life jackets in and around water, checking for depth and obstructions in the water before diving, and going in feet first the first time. They also state that one should pay close attention to children and elderly persons when at the beach, as well as lookout for aquatic life.

Beach owners should be at the forefront of ensuring these rules are followed, by employing lifeguards on their beaches to monitor the people and even penalising those who habitually break the rules, by for example, denying them access. With such stringent rules, it is possible that we will not lose lives so needlessly.

After the investigations into the deaths of these 13 people are concluded, there should be a drive to ensure beaches are following the rules to ensure their patrons are kept safe.