Govt directs MV Kalangala operator to stop overloading

Tthe Ministry of Works and Transport has ordered National Oil Distributors Ltd (NODL), the operator of MV Kalangala, to ensure that only 300 passengers are aboard the vessel on a single trip.
This followed numerous complaints from marine police and local leaders in Kalangala District that the operator has been overloading the vessel, risking lives of passengers.

MV Kalangala is the only public vessel plying the Entebbe-Kalangala route daily.
In a meeting with the Works and Transport minister, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, managers of NODL, local leaders from Kalangala in Kampala on Tuesday,  it was also resolved that the vessel stops selling alcohol to passengers on board as it compromises their safety.

“In the meantime as we wait to get a bigger vessel, the operator of MV Kalangala should carry a maximum of  300 passengers and eight vehicles declared on a single trip, selling beer on a passenger vessel is not a good practice and it should be stopped immediately, ” a sourced quoted Gen Katumba as saying .
The meeting followed a January 13 petition by leaders led by the district chairperson, Mr Rajab Ssemakula, where they raised  several issues about MV Kalangala operations.

NODL signed a contract to manage the vessel in April 2015. However, servicing and repairing of the vessel remained the Ministry of Works and Transport’s responsibility.
In their petition, the district leaders claimed that despite NODL getting Shs5.4 billion from the government  every year as a subsidy for running the vessel, little is done to offer  better services.

They claim the vessel, which is licensed to carry only 100 passengers, instead takes between 250-650 people on a single trip, leaving many of those on board congested, exposing them to Covid-19 .
“The loading of excess passengers’ tantamount to overloading the vessel whose capacity and insurance cannot cater for in case of any eventuality,” the petition reads in part
Even when the vessel loads an excess number of passengers, the local leaders allege that NODL officially records only 100 passengers, a figure it submits to the government.

They further claimed that NODL staff sometimes issue fake receipts to passengers thus causing a financial loss to the government.
However, Gen Katumba, who chaired the meeting ,according to sources , clarified that the government contributes Shs4.19 billion to NODL as subsidy to run the vessel, not Shs5.4b , adding that reports of fraud by the vessel operator were  unfounded.

Mr Ssemakula, who  attended the meeting, told Daily Monitor that despite the government allowing MV Kalangala to carry  200 extra passengers, it should expedite the process of procuring a bigger vessel for Islanders .
“Overloading MV Kalangala cannot be a solution. Government should think about procuring a bigger vessel given the increasing number of passengers connecting to Kalangala daily,” he said.

 Government procured MV Kalangala in 2005 to link Kalangala islands to the mainland through Entebbe transporting both cargo and people with a limit of 108 passengers including crew members, 140 tonnes of cargo,8 saloon cars. 
This was in fulfilment of President’s Museveni’s 2001 campaign pledge to the islanders.
MV Kalangala , which charges relatively lower fares compared to private vessels plying the same route , was first managed by the government before contracting Mulowooza and Brothers Ltd who was later replaced by NODL.

Last year, Kalangala received a new passenger vessel, MV NODL Victoria, which has a capacity of 200 passengers and is expected to operate alongside the existing MV Kalangala .
The government has not yet cleared it for operations .
There has been an increase in the number of travellers going to Kalangala Islands daily over the past five years. 

Operator speaks out
Mr Sadala Musoke ,the executive director NODL, the operator of the vessel, said loading excess passengers is usually prompted by the huge turn out of passengers at a particular trip. “But we usually do it [overloading ] after consulting onsite engineers who assess and give us a go ahead,” he said.