By Godfrey Muhumuza
Ferry services on the Panyimur–Wangseko route resumed at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, following a week-long suspension caused by mechanical issues. The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) halted the ferry’s operation on October 28, 2024, to address what it described as “minor mechanical conditions.”
UNRA Public Relations Officer, Allan Sempebwa, confirmed the resumption, stating, “The technical teams from UNRA assessed the condition of the ferry within the period of one week and worked on it, and today it started its first route at 8:30 a.m. to Wangseko.”
The week-long halt affected local commerce, with transportation costs doubling as private water transporters capitalized on the gap. Paul Kinobe, Chairman of the Panyimur Business Association, noted, “Within a week when UNRA suspended the ferry services on Panyimur-Wangseko, the private water transporters increased transport fare from shs 5,000 to 10,000.”
He added that the suspension “didn’t only affect the transport cost but also caused the price of foodstuffs to increase in Panyimur, as traders from Buliisa District, who accessed the Panyimur market via ferry, faced higher transportation costs.”
The halt also impacted local food vendors, such as Agnes Anita from Panyimur Town Council, who relied on ferry-based customers. She said, “For the period of the one-week ferry shutdown, my food business was highly affected because most of my customers were travelers who use the ferry services.”
Anita shared that she usually earned around 200,000 UGX per day when the ferry was running, but she had to suspend operations during the shutdown due to low customer turnout. Now that services are back, she expressed relief, saying, “Since the ferry services on the Panyimur-Wangseko route resumed, I’m very happy and I will work to reclaim the week I lost my business due to poor turn-up of customers.”
Not everyone was impacted negatively by the suspension. Local boat transporter Bob Ocungi remarked that the disruption provided rare opportunities for local operators. “Within one week, I was able to operate four trips a day from Panyimur to Wangseko with a motorized boat engine, earning shs 1.5 million for the whole day, depending on the number of passengers,” he explained.
Reflecting on the suspension, Ocungi said, “I don’t regret one week of ferry service suspension on Lake Albert. Though others made losses, that was a rare opportunity for the local transporters, and opportunities like this come once in six months.”
