Tough laws to regulate artists and entertainers in the offing

January 16, 2019, 1:02 PM @ugandaonline

These are some of the offences and the penalities 

The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is in advanced stages of rolling out tough laws that will govern performing artists, group of artists, public entertainers, event organizers and promoters in Uganda.

In a meeting held yesterday at the Ministry headquarters in Nakasero, the rules and regulations governing the entertainment industry were introduced.

These are some of the laws; 

1. No person shall perform unless he/she is registered with the Ministry responsible for Culture in Uganda as a performing artist

2. An artist or entertainer shall submit their works for documentation and approval by the Uganda National Culture Forum.

3.  For an artist or entertainer to perform, they must have a valid practicing certificate to stage a play or public entertainment.
 

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4. No artist can perform on a public stage after taking drugs that are prohibited by laws in Uganda.

5. Indecent dressed performers are not allowed to step on any stage or public entertainment. The artist and the director will both face disciplinary action.

6. All entertainers shall sign the ethical code of conduct with all the event organizer/ promoter/ directors of the group which should indicate the penalties for breach of the code of conduct.

7. Performing artistes or a group of performing artistes shall not enter into other Public Performance Contracts on the same day at different venues, unless such other performances shall be held at least four hours after the end of the preceding performance. This provision shall form part of the performance Contract between parties.

8. Any artist or public performer shall ensure proper hygiene before public performance or entertainment.

According to the ministry, the regulations are to curb indiscipline in the entertainment industry. 

In neighboring Tanzania, BASATA is the government regulator of the entertainment industry and just last year alone, three of Diamond Platnumz songs were banned.

Matters were made worse when he tried performing a banned song at the Wasafi Festival, the BASATA crew responded with a ban on international performances.

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