Africa-Press – Uganda. Leaders of Obongi, Moyo, and Adjumani districts in Madi Sub-region have rejected the Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra) decision to suspend operations of Laropi Ferry.
On January 19, Unra issued a circular, suspending the operations of Laropi ferry that connects Adjumani to Moyo on grounds that it was due for maintenance.
The suspension period is from January 29 to February 5.
During this period, Unra scheduled to execute the necessary maintenance activities in order to ensure the continued safety of the ferry operations, the circular stated in part.
Unra also directed the public to alternatively use Karuma-Pakwach-Arua-Koboko route.
Earlier, in a July 9, 2020 letter to Obongi leaders, Ms Allen Kagina, the Unra executive director, suspended the operations of Obongi-Sinyanya ferry due to increasing water levels, which she said posed a threat to free navigation from Obongi to Sinyanya Landing Site in Adjumani.
After nine months of inactivity, Obongi leaders have since written to Unra inviting them to send a team of experts to study two alternative sites, Angaliacini-Liri and Aliba-Offu, to relocate the grounded ferry.
Unra said whereas the Aliba-Offu site was a strategic position and enables the ferry to make at least 11 trips a day, improving it was expensive and they resolved to take a cheaper alternative of Angaliacini.
The decision sparked controversy among authorities and communities in Madi. Unra officials came up with two other alternative routes, including Indilinga-Ofu and Angaliachini-Liri, with a final assessment indicating Angaliacini-Liri route as the best alternative.
The relocation would be in two months at approximately Shs200m.
However, a section of the business community and leaders from Obongi petitioned Unra to protest the plan.
The petitioners said the decision to transfer the ferry to Angaliacini was not unanimously agreed upon, saying it would systematically sabotage the economic progress.
Mr William Anyama, the Moyo District chairperson, in a letter to Unra stated: “Unra should have provided another ferry to permit free movement of people, goods, and services without any major interruption during the maintenance because that entirely frustrates business in the region.
“We and the people of Moyo will not honour any directive to shut down the operation of Laropi ferry without a standby ferry for a number of reasons.”
He said Moyo hospital makes major medical emergency referrals to Lacor hospital in Gulu, Mulago, and other Kampala hospitals.
But Mr Ben Anyama, the Adjumani District chairperson, said the Obongi leadership should have consulted their counterparts before the petition.
“The ferry itself is a critical pillar of development here. If the technical engineers recommended having the ferry relocated then it has to be relocated so that it provides the services for which it was brought other than having it idle,” he said.
Mr Anyama warned that the decision not only cuts off service delivery by humanitarian agencies to the refugee community in Palorinya, Bidibdi, and other settlements, but also affects parents and learners who are still reporting to school.
In May 2018, the increasing traffic on the Obongi-Sinyanya route prompted local leaders to request for a second ferry on the route.
In the April traffic report of 2018, the €2.2m (Shs8.6b),120 horsepower ferry had carried 63,246 passengers, 42 buses, 936 lorries and trucks, 2,240 cars, and pick-up trucks, 2,714 motorcycles, 2,782 bicycles, and 616 animals.
Mr Herbert Mutiaba, the head of ferry services at Unra, said the absence of the Obongi ferry had a direct impact on the Laropi ferry operation as it was then compelled to handle the additional traffic. He added that they are still monitoring the increased water levels that halted the operations of the Obongi ferry before they can make a decision to resume services.
Mutiaba said due to traffic, the ferry works past the stipulated hours, although he was quick to add that routine maintenance is made every week.
Background
In 2021, the Laropi ferry made 5,094 trips instead of the standard 4,320 trips per year. It also carried 76,560 vehicles and 766,776 passengers over River Nile.
In December 2021 alone, the ferry made 467 trips instead of the normal 360 trips, according to statistics obtained from Unra.
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