Africa-Press – Uganda. Local leaders and traders on the island district of Buvuma are excited about news that the area is to receive a second ferry.
The new ferry, MV Palm, which currently docks at Luzira Port Bell Pier in Kampala, is bigger than the existing MV Buvuma.
Buvuma District chairperson Adrian Wasswa Ddungu said the new ferry will boost trade on the island, which recently embraced growing of oil palm.
“We are happy to get a second ferry and we expect the President to commission it in April,” He said in an interview on Monday.
Unlike MV Buvuma , Mr Ddungu said the new ferry will be taking only 25 minutes to sail from the mainland in Kiyindi, Buikwe District, to Kirongo in Buvuma compared to the current ferry which takes one hour.
“Our people have been wasting a lot of time waiting since the current cannot accommodate all of them. This new vessel is going to give us an opportunity to improve trade, businesses and safety on the water,” he said.
Past experiences
Mr David Ssenyonjo, a farmer in Buvuma, said many farmers in the area have been registering huge losses because the current ferry could not transport their produce to markets on the mainland.
“Some traders could get stuck with their perishable produce for days because the current ferry, which is in poor mechanical condition, could not take heavy cargo at once; we hope the new ferry will address all that,” he said.
Procurement of the second ferry followed complaints from islanders that their agricultural produce was taking long to reach the market on the mainland due to perennial transport challenges.
Buvuma, which is on Lake Victoria, comprises 52 islands.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) through the National Oil Palm Project (NOPP) with funding from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) contracted Sorongo Marines Shipyard in Mwanza, Tanzania, to design, build and deliver MV Palm Uganda.
The new ferry, whose 519-passenger capacity doubles the existing MV Buvuma ferry, cost Shs12.5 billion. It also has the capacity to carry 25 vehicles.
The existing MV Buvuma, which was procured in July 2020, has a capacity to carry a maximum of 300 passengers and 12 vehicles. It had started worrying passengers as it continued to break down often in the middle of the journey to the island, sometimes prompting islanders to use risky canoes and cargo boats for transport.
Challenges
Despite her numerous lakes and rivers, Uganda’s water transport network remains one of the most forgotten sectors in the country. Most boats on Ugandan lakes are obsolete, unlicensed or uninsured and the landing sites are in deplorable state.
This unregulated water transport has resulted in many fatal boat accidents due to unchecked overloading, sailing on undesignated routes and use of defective boats and canoes. Statistics from Lake Victoria Basin Commission reveal that 5,000 people die yearly in Lake Victoria as a result of drowning.
What they say
Adrian Wasswa Ddungu, Buvuma District chairperson: “Our people have been wasting a lot of time waiting since the current cannot accommodate all of them. This new vessel is going to give us an opportunity to improve trade, businesses and safety on the water.”
David Ssenyonjo, a farmer in Buvuma: “Some traders could get stuck with their perishable produce for days because the current ferry, which is in poor mechanical condition, could not take heavy cargo at once; we hope the new ferry will address all that.”
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