Govt sued over MV Kalangala ferry

By Wesley Spartan

The Commercial court in Kampala will on July 1 start hearing a case in which National Oil Distributors is battling government over the management and operation of the MV Kalangala ferry.
MV Kalangala, which plies the route between Nakiwogo in Entebbe and Kalangala on Lake Victoria, recently resumed operations after more than a year after it had been taken to Mwanza, Tanzania, for repairs.
While the ferry was still undergoing repairs, National Oil Distributors says that on August 15, 2014, it signed an agreement with the ministry of Works and Transport, where it entered into a one-year renewable contract for commercial private management of the ferry.
Under the contract, National Oil Distributors were to operate the ferry to ensure efficient and reliable services for the people of Kalangala district. Through Muwema & Co advocates and solicitors, the company says that the contract was to commence work upon the ferry’s return from Tanzania.
“That the applicant [National Oil Distributors] was issued with a commencement letter on February 25, 2015 and that the ship returned on March 6, 2015, but the permanent secretary in the ministry of Works and Transport has refused and failed to hand over the ship to the applicant.”
Instead of handing over the ferry, the company says that Alex Okello Bwangamoi, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Works and Transport, recruited other persons who are “unknown” to operate the ship, which they have been doing since March 2015.
MV Kalangala is a crucial form of transport for the people between Entebbe and Kalangala. When the ferry is not operating, passengers have to travel more than 80 miles to Bukakata, Masaka district in order to board the MV Pearl ferry to access Kalangala district.
In his affidavit, Sadala Musoke, the managing director of National Oil Distributors, says they tried to dialogue with Bwangamoi by imploring him to hand over the ferry but failed. They say that before their lawyers could write to Bwangamoi, solicitor general Francis Atoke wrote to him and urged him to comply with the contract.
Musoke asserts that by allowing some other persons to operate and manage the ferry, the permanent secretary is not acting in good faith since National Oil Distributors has fulfilled its duties and obligations under the contract.
LOSS
National Oil Distributors claims it continues to incur losses as a result of the violation of the agreement. According to court documents, the costs incurred ranged from setting up offices at Kalangala, Nakiwogo and Kampala, printing tickets, hiring and paying salaries for the required staff, renting accommodation for the staff in Kalangala, acquiring the required equipment to manage the ferry, and paying service providers.
The company wants the court to direct the ministry of Works to hand over the ferry since it is contracted to manage and operate it. Alternatively, they want court to issue an injunction restraining the ministry from managing and operating MV Kalangala.
When connected on Friday, Susan Kataike, the spokesperson of the ministry of Works and Transport, said she couldn’t comment on the matter, referring this newspaper to the solicitor general. Atoke, the solicitor general, refused to comment saying he was out of the country.
Initially, the ferry was managed by M/S Mulowooza and Brothers between 2006 and 2010. But when the three-year contract expired, the works and transport ministry took over its management. However, in 2014 government started looking for a private company to manage the ferry.