State to buy new ferries

FATMA ABDU

THE Ministry of Works plans to purchase three new ferries during the current fiscal year to solve transport problems that afflict residents at Kigamboni, Kigongo, Busisi and Pangani.

The development was announced in Dar es Salaam by the Director of Ferries at Tanzania Electrical, Mechanical and Electronic Services Agency (TEMESA), Mr Japhet Masele.

“About 9.9bn/- have been allocated for the Pangani ferry and a new Magogoni ferry. Efforts are underway for the envisaged purchase of a Kigongo-Busisi ferry,” Mr Masele explained.

The government agency is responsible for supervising the operations of the existing 28 ferries countrywide, out of which only 19 are operational. He noted that despite the success achieved in the use of ferries across various water bodies there were still a number of challenges.

They include littering at landing sites in which the debris affects the engines, he noted, citing Magogoni as an area badly affected by the problem. According to Mr Masele, the major challenge at the Kigongo-Busisi ferry in Mwanza region is the trend by fishermen to lay their fishing net in the path used by the vessels.

The nets damage the ferry engines. “We similarly encounter problems in rivers due to sand accumulations on river banks as well as drying of the waterways. This is common at Ruhuhu, Utete and Kilambo,” he noted.