Uganda's railway network once extended to Lake Victoria, with railway tracks running to the water's edge at Port Bell and Jinja. From there, railway wagons could be rolled onto ferries and carried across the lake to Mwanza in Tanzania and Kisumu in Kenya, where cargo would rejoin the railway systems leading to Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. This system allowed Uganda, a landlocked country, to access the ocean and international markets. The lake was, in effect, part of Uganda's railway, facilitating the transportation of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of cargo annually.
The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) operated the lake's marine assets, including three major wagon ferries: MV Kaawa, MV Kabalega, and MV Pamba. These ferries were acquired in the early 1980s, with MV Kaawa built in 1983, MV Kabalega in 1984, and MV Pamba in 1985. In addition to the ferries, URC owned a dry dock, a service launch, a small passenger ferry, and a motorised lighter. The corporation also operated passenger services for island transport on Lake Victoria, using two motor vessels to serve communities near Jinja.
The construction of the Lake Victoria ferry system was part of a broader effort to rehabilitate Uganda's economy after the breakup of the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation in 1975. A 1979 Commonwealth Team report noted that Uganda had previously used the lake as part of its route to the ocean and recommended increasing the rail-wagon ferry capacity on Lake Victoria. A Belgian firm was contracted to provide floating dry dock facilities at Port Bell, which would be used to assemble and maintain the ferries.
The Lake Victoria ferry system was designed to be a seamless rail link around the lake, allowing cargo to be transported from Uganda to the ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa. The system was rebuilt in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with a significant investment of 393 million shillings. However, by 2005, the system was facing significant challenges, including the sinking of MV Kabalega on May 8, 2005. The wreck of the ferry remains on the lake floor, and its value was written down to 1,000 shillings in 2021/22.
Despite the decline of the Lake Victoria ferry system, the Jinja Pier, where Uganda's marine system was based, remains operational. URC still lists Jinja Pier among its marine facilities and provides marine services at both Port Bell and Jinja Pier. The pier is used by vessels transporting roll-on, roll-off cargo, and URC lists the Jinja-Jinja Pier railway section as part of its network.
A Treasury Memorandum dated June 30, 2021, revealed that URC's non-current assets included Shs5.76 billion attributed to MV Kabalega, which could not be established due to the ferry's submersion and lack of retrieval. The memorandum highlighted the challenges in tracking the assets of the Lake Victoria ferry system, which have largely disappeared from the available URC asset trail.
The story of Uganda's Lake Victoria railway-ferry system serves as a reminder of the challenges of maintaining and managing public assets. The system's decline has had significant economic and social impacts, and efforts to revive or replace it have been slow to materialize. As the country looks to the future, it is essential to learn from the past and develop strategies to manage and maintain critical infrastructure.
Key points
- The Lake Victoria ferry system was designed to be a seamless rail link around the lake, allowing cargo to be transported from Uganda to the ports of Dar es Salaam and Mombasa.
- The sinking of MV Kabalega on May 8, 2005, marked a significant turning point in the decline of the Lake Victoria ferry system.
- URC still lists Jinja Pier among its marine facilities and provides marine services at both Port Bell and Jinja Pier.
