Uganda National Road Authority is hunting for over 100 million shillings to overhaul Bukakata Luku ferry, days after it broke down paralyzing transport to and from Kalangala district.
Bukakata Luku ferry is the only means of public transport between Kachanga landing site in Masaka and Bugoma landing site in Kalangala. It plies the 45minutes journey four times daily before docking at Kachanga landing site at around 8pm.
The ferry broke down two weeks ago, leaving several passengers stranded without an alternative means of transport. The ferry resumed operations last week, after undergoing repairs for close to one week.
Dan Alinange Kitakule, Uganda National Road Authority Spokesperson says that the ferry is operating temporarily. Alinange says UNRA is hunting for over 100million Uganda shillings to overhaul the entire engine of the ferry at Luzira.
He says that they only carried out emergency repairs but UNRA has plans to replace the entire engine ferry by the end of this year to avoid its frequent breakdown. He says that the ferry is current dilapidated and cannot operate four months without repairs.
However, plans by UNRA to take the ferry for repairs have been criticized by residents.
Fred Badda, the area Member of Parliament advices government to buy a new ferry instead of wasting money on repairing Bukakata ferry. He explains that government has spent huge sums of money repairing the same ferry but it keeps breaking down.
Last year, Government also grounded Marine Vessel Kalangala, the other alternative means of transport between Kalangala and Entebbe for engine overhaul which paralyzed businesses in Kalangala. It took about six months to have its engine fixed.
