Gov't Questions Contractor Over Failure to Provide Alternative Vessel

The Ministry of Works and Transport is seeking an explanation from Nation Oil Distributors Ltd-NODL over its failure to provide an alternative vessel as MV Kalangala undergoes routine maintenance. 

NODL operates MV Kalangala on behalf of the works ministry. The ferry plies between Nakiwogo (Entebbe mainland) and Lutoboka (Bugala island in Kalangala). 

Bageya Waiswa, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Works says that he has received complaints from islanders that NODL has not provided an alternative marine vessel to operate the Kalangala-Entebbe route for one month MV Kalangala will not be operating.

MV Kalangala suspended its operations on February 25 2022 to allow the ferry to undergo a scheduled docking survey and maintenance. 

Bageya noted that the alternative ferry would depart from Kalangala at 8 am and from Entebbe at 3 pm on weekdays and at 10 am and 2 pm respectively on weekends. 

Kyamuswa County MP Moses Kabuusu and Kalangala LCV Chairperson Rajab Ssemakula say NODL has failed to operate an alternative ferry for two weeks now. They now want the works ministry to intervene because frequent travelers and businesspeople are spending over shillings 35,000 per trip using private vessels such as MV Nathalie, MV Vanessa, MV Brovad, and small boats compared to shillings 10,000 and shillings 14,000  each trip on MV Kalangala.

Sadala Musoke, the Chief Executive Officer NODL, says the company was expected to operate its new ferry dubbed MV NODL as the alternative marine vessel but the new ferry has not yet acquired the prerequisite approvals.

He says  MV NODL will also complement MV Kalangala to meet the increasing demand due to the increase in passenger numbers over the years particularly during the festive season.

MV NODL has been in the pipeline since 2018. It was initially expected to commence operations in December 2018 to serve Kalangala's outlying islands. All the major water vessels dock at Bugala Island. MV NODL was expected to commence operations last December.

Aisha Musoke, the Manager MV NODL, says the new ferry was built and completed mid-2021 and is ready for operations, but the Ministry of Works is yet to provide a route chart for the ferry.

“We will pick and drop passengers from Port Bell, Luzira, Nakiwogo, and Lutoboka. The ministry has not yet given us a route for this. It only provided for Entebbe-Kalangala," she says.

General Katumba Wamala, the Minister for Works and Transport, recently said the government plans to launch another marine vessel along the Kalangala-Entebbe route by 2024.