Is it graft or politics killing transport in Kalangala?
Residents on the island district of Kalangala have resolved to take four courses of action in order to draw government’s attention to their growing transport difficulties. MV Kalangala, the ship that used to operate between Kampala and Lutoboka in Kalangala, broke down stifling transport for over a month now. Writes Michael J. Ssali:-
The situation is not helped by allegations doing the rounds that it might not be fixed soon because, thanks to corruption, it was not properly serviced two years ago as per the manufacturer’s recommendations.
It is alleged that when the MV was taken for servicing at Mwanza, the officials who accompanied it shared among themselves a big chunk of the dollars. Instead of a complete overhaul, they just did a little whitewashing and some cosmetic repairs.
It has to be taken yet again for proper servicing and money to carry out this is reported to be a big issue.
That problem has been aggravated by the appearance in The Uganda Gazette an agreement signed between a private company, Kalangala Infrastructure Service (KIS), and the Ministry of Works and Transport.
According the agreement, the only ship which has been plying between Bugoma on Bugala Island and Bukakatta in mainland Masaka District without charging any fees, is to be withdrawn.
Introducing charges
It will then be replaced with two modern ferries provided by KIS which will charge money from all users.
The free transport service between Bugoma and Bukakkata has been one of the few remaining good things for which the people have always remembered President Idd Amin Dada whose government granted it to them in the early seventies to ease transport.
It has also since then served as the next alternative major outlet to the islanders. Before that time the most common form of transport was by canoe. The ferry, managed and operated by the Ministry of Works, has been taken as part of the public transport network for which ordinary people are not directly charged money to use.
Bujumba MP Fred Badda chaired the out-door meeting of perhaps 500 people who came up with four resolutions. The meeting which was attended by RDC Deo Nsereko, District Chairman Daniel Kikoola and several other district leaders and opinion leaders, took place under a tree at Kalangala District headquarters on September 14.
It was resolved that a protest letter is written to the Minister of Transport expressing their concern that the government was taking too long to repair MV Kalangala - the ship that linked the islanders to Kampala - and that the people of Kalangala still needed the ferry on the other side of the district which provided free transport between Bugoma and Bukakata.
Demo coming up
If the letter does not cause the desired effect the people resolved that a delegation is sent to meet President Museveni. If the President will not listen, they resolved to carry out a demonstration.
Mr Nsereko assured them during that meeting that he would also join them in the demonstration. And if the demonstration still did not yield positive results they resolved to drag the government to court.
The Director of Ssese Islands Beach Hotel, Ms Joyce N Kikomeko, told the meeting that the hotel industry in the district was one of the most hit since the ship broke down because the tourists that used to visit the islands have increasingly cancelled their trips due to lack of lowcost safe transport.
The few who go there have to hire speed boats which are expensive. Others complained of raised general transport costs since, for them to go to Kampala or Entebbe, they had to first make the journey to Masaka.
High transport costs had resulted in increased prices of commodities on the islands.
According to the Ferry Licence Agreement signed on December 18, 2009, KIS will charge individual passengers Shs3,500 to use the ferry across the eight-mile-stretch between Bugoma in Kalangala and Bukakkata in Masaka.
Motorcycles will be charged Shs6,000, standard cars Shs20,000, pick-up trucks, Shs23,000, PSV light omnibus, Shs30,000, PSV medium omnibus, Shs63,000 and heavy trucks, Shs100,000.
The existing Bukakata ferry (CDP3503) will be withdrawn from service. KIS will be free to change the charges every six months if operational circumstances so warrant.
And for the eight years during which the agreement will be in force, no person or company will operate a competing service.
Third parties may provide ferry services using new ferries on routes between the islands surrounding Bugala Island and Bukakkata provided they do not stop at Bugala Island and are provided comparable terms.
The agreement carries many other clauses totally disagreeable to the islanders. Kalangala Mayor Sulait Lutakome, like many others in the meeting, felt it was unfair for the government to enter into such an agreement with a foreign company without any input from the concerned local people.
Kalangala District comprises 84 islands only 64 of which are inhabited by a projected population of 57,000. It has problems typically unique to itself.
For example, all the inhabited islands ideally should have a school, a hospital, clean water, electricity, and all the other amenities enjoyed in many other parts of Uganda. But some islands do not have enough children to fill up a school or even to keep all the teachers busy.
Often children must cross the water on canoes to attend school and the sick must use canoes to access healthcare provided in some 12 or so dispensaries available to the entire district.
There is no hydroelectricity in Kalangala although wired poles have been standing over much of the Town Council for years. Piped water, Mr Museveni’s old presidential pledge, is a very recent development on the island and Kalangala Town Council has been the first and is so far the only beneficiary Eager to improve service delivery to the islanders, the government has always encouraged NGOs and investors to go to Kalangala and supplement its development efforts. Iceland, an island country, has for year provided support to develop literacy among the people and to improve hygiene and sanitation on the landing sites and fishing villages. BIDCO, an oil and soap manufacturing company, has sunk millions of dollars into an oil palm growing venture on the island attracting criticism from environmentalists for turning thousands of hectares of natural forest and grassland into oil palm tree fields.
In 2003 the UK-based company, INFRACO (Infrastructure Company), came on board offering to invest about $46 million to provide electricity, piped water, a road network, and ferry transport in the district. INFRACO acquired the local name, KIS.
Fees rejected
“We welcome all the other services promised by KIS,” said Mr Badda in the meeting. “But we totally reject the removal of the free ferry transport service between Bugoma and Kalangala.”
Mr Daniel Kikoola, the District Chairman, asked the people not to direct their anger at KIS, represented at the meeting by the Managing Director, Mr John Opiro, but rather to the Ministry of Works. He assured them that President Museveni would listen to their complaints and resolve the matter. Mr Opiro was not given a chance to address the meeting despite many calls from the people to do so.
However, in an interview with Sunday Monitor, Mr Opiro said that Mr Badda and many other people who had spoken at the meeting knew the truth but had chosen to introduce politics into the matter just to appear to be very concerned about the people’s welfare ahead of the impending general elections.
“The charges you see in that agreement are actually to be met by the Ministry of Works, not by the individual travellers. And Mr Badda and all the others doing the talking know it,” said Mr Opiro.
“But since time for politics and vote catching is here, a big meeting such as this has been organised so that everyone can understand that the politicians are really struggling to help the suffering ordinary Ugandans,” he added.
“KIS is here as an investor with over $45 million investment and it has to charge money for the electricity and piped water that we are about to provide. We are not a charity to offer free service. The ordinary people in Kalangala were not party to the agreement because it will not be them to pay.”
Mr Rajab Ssemakula, who intends to stand as an independent against Mr Badda, also alleges that the MP has knows everything happening about MV Kalangala but is only turning around now just to gain political capital ahead of the general elections.
However, Mr Badda totally denies any prior knowledge about the KIS agreement with the government. “I landed on it by accident and I decided to blow the whistle immediately,” he insisted.
