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Kayunga ferry failure forces travellers to risk canoe trips
Alternative transport. Passengers get onto a canoe to cross from Kayunga to Kamuli on River Nile on Monday. PHOTO BY FRED MUZAALE
What you need to know:
Problem. Unra spokesperson Mark Ssali says the ferry engines got damaged and they are uncertain how long the repairs will take.
Travellers between Kayunga and Kamuli districts have resorted to using canoes to cross River Nile.
The ferry, which used to provide transport, suffered an accident last week with at least 45 passengers on board surviving death.
According to witnesses, the ferry had docked at Izanhiro Landing Site in Kamuli District with two trucks loaded with rocks, when its front part broke off. The accident was blamed on overloading.
The Shs3b ferry that provides a shorter route to the eastern parts of the country was commissioned in June 2014 by President Museveni nearly 30 years after the previous one was decommissioned.
The ferry has free services.
However, since it broke down, travellers now use risky boats overloaded with goods.
“I spend Shs90,000 on fuel when I use the ferry to Kamuli Sugar factory, but when I pass via Jinja I use fuel of Shs180,000,” Mr Ibra Lutalo, a truck driver, says.
The canoes belong to local fishermen who charge Shs1,000 per passenger and Shs2,000 for a motorcycle and Shs1,500 per sack of maize or charcoal.
This has increased the cost of doing business, traders say.
The risk to lives of travellers has increased as they do not wear life jackets.
The Kayunga Resident District Commissioner, Ms Margaret Mwanamwoiza, said the problem would be fixed and operations would resume.
“I share the pain with travellers, but we have to bear with the situation,” she said.
Capacity
The ferry carries both passengers and goods on a daily basis. The Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) says it carries an average of 7,000 passengers and about 65 vehicles a day.
Unra spokesperson Mark Ssali said the ferry engines got damaged and they are uncertain how long the repairs would take.
“We are yet to get a specialised equipment from the Ministry of Works to be used in fixing the ferry. The repairs would take a little longer than we anticipated,” Mr Ssali said.
Other ferries operating on navigable waters include one at Laropi in Moyo District on Albert Nile, Masindi Port on River Nile, Buvuma/Kiyindi on Lake Victoria, Nakiwogo/Buwaya on Lake Victoria and Wanseko on Lake Albert.
Others are MV Pearl and MV Ssese at Bukakata /Luuku on Lake Victoria linking Masaka to Kalangala operated under private partnership with Kalangala Infrastructure Services (KIS), Kyoga 1 and Kyoga 2.
Ferries
Other ferries operating on navigable waters include one at Laropi in Moyo District on Albert Nile, Masindi Port on River Nile, Buvuma/Kiyindi on Lake Victoria, Nakiwogo/Buwaya on Lake Victoria and Wanseko on Lake Albert.
Others are MV Pearl and MV Ssese at Bukakata /Luuku on Lake Victoria linking Masaka to Kalangala operated under a private partnership with Kalangala Infrastructure Services (KIS), Kyoga 1 and Kyoga 2.
