ENTEBBE. A total of 38 German tourists travelling to Kalangala Islands for the Christmas holiday last week refused to board the ferry in Entebbe after finding the docking site in a bad shape.
According to Ssese Islands Tours and Travel operations manager, Mr Daniel Muguluma, the tourists refused to board MV Kalangala when they found it anchored by stones and rocks in the lake.
“They feared that since there wasn’t a clear docking site, they were not sure whether the ferry was safe. So, they all decided to cancel their bookings they had made with us,” Mr Muguluma told Daily Monitor at the weekend
The raised concrete floor at Nakiwogo docking site has for several months been damaged, leaving travellers at risk of slipping and falling into the lake.
According to Mr Muguluma, the tourists were to spend a fortnight in Kalangala and had already paid $2,800 (about Shs10 million) each.
The disappointment
“We had to refund some of that money. But as a team, we have instead decided to mobilise for a specialised speed boat which our tourists can use whenever they want to travel to the islands to avoid similar embarrassments in future,” he added.
While boarding the same ferry last week, Bujumba County MP Fred Badda also expressed similar safety concerns.
Workers at the ferry led by Mr Henry Nsibambi told the legislator that many travellers fear to board the ferry when they find it tied up on rocks.
“We also fear for our lives because we are supposed to dive into the water as we look for ropes to tie so as to secure the vessel. We pray that the concerned authorities help to fix this problem,” Mr Nsibambi said
When contacted, Works State minister Asuman Kiyingi said they are in final stages of repairing the dock.
“As a ministry, we acknowledge that the docking site at Nakiwogo needs repair and it has been included in our budget. We hope that once budgeting and procurement processes are completed, the ministry will be able to fix that problem soon,” he said.
editorial@ug.nationmedia.com
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