New audit exposes gaps in public ferry services 

A new audit has exposed glaring gaps in provision of ferry services on various water bodies across the country.

Conducted in October 2022 by the Auditor General, the value for money report reveals that ferry services still fall short of demand, and a section of Ugandans who need such services are not served under the current arrangement.

“This impacts on the efficiency of ferry service provision, and limits the ability of the populace to safely access important services. Some islands in Kalangala and Buvuma districts, with total populations of 33,800 people and 50,600 people respectively, are not reached by ferries,” the 49 –page report reads in part.

The report further discloses that in some instances, ferries operate without seaworthiness certificates, insurance, adequately qualified staff, rescue boats, or accessibility for persons with disabilities. 

These safety and accessibility gaps could result in exclusion of PWDs, loss of lives and/or financial loss to the government in case of accidents.

“The observed incidences of delayed servicing, non-functional meters, inadequate maintenance schedules and use of fast deteriorating engine oil pose risks to the safety of the ferry equipment in terms of breakdowns and faster wear and tear, as well as the passengers utilising the ferries,” the Auditor General said.

According to the audit report, the ferry support infrastructure is also still inadequate with none of the existing ferries having the minimum requisite infrastructure at the time of the audit.
 
“Specifically, no ferries had docking sites that incorporated high and low water levels, four of 12 ferry sites lacked site offices, and only four had adequate waiting sheds. Others were either too small, under construction, or non-existent.

All ferry crossings , according to the report, lack adequate signage to provide direction and information on schedules of ferry trips.

“On some routes to the ferry crossings, the signages were either faded, had outdated/ inaccurate crossing schedules or none at all, or were lacking direction guides on some or all junctions. This hinders access to the ferry crossing,” it read.

The audit established that in the period under review (2018/2019 to 2021/2022), the Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda National Roads Authority (Unra), and Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) did not come up with comprehensive, countrywide plans for the provision of ferry services.

“This has led to gaps in demand projection and needs assessment, unclear basis for establishment/prioritisation of ferry routes, failure to establish appropriate ferry support infrastructure, and gaps in ferry designs.

“There were also no mechanisms in place to determine differences in ferry service efficiency, and optimise available resources/equipment. Failure to adequately plan for provision of ferry services denies the Ministry of Works and Transport , Unra and URC the opportunity to fully benefit from optimisation of ferry service provision.

Response
Ms Suzan Kataike , the spokesperson Ministry of Works and Transport, said the ministry is aware of the gaps  and blames it on meagre funding . 

“Numbers [of ferries connecting to different islands]  can only be determined by the availability of funds which  government  has not secured. As a  ministry, we are  still pushing for more funds to ensure more ferries are provided because they are extensions of roads,” she said.

She said plans are also underway to set up a training centre for personal manning vessels, who are currently trained in Tanzania.

“We are still facing a challenge in skilling our labour because we don’t have the skilling services in Uganda, but we are working hand in hand with the Ministry of Education to bring the services in Uganda,” Ms Kataike said.

Unra is currently undertaking the construction of 12 ferries under the Government of Uganda development budget. When completed, Ms Kataike said these ferries are expected to increase the passenger and cargo carrying capacity by at least 1,570 passengers and 990 tonnes, and will reach some of the currently unserved areas.