The long awaited engines for the ferry at Paraa, Murchison Falls National Park finally arrived in the country. They have been fixed and the ferry is now efficiently making its routine trips with loads of peop-le and vehicles between the south and north banks of the Victoria Nile, thanks to the EU support Programme!

The original ferry was donated to UWA by the GTZ project which supported UWA in the 1990’s.

The European Union -Uganda Wildlife Support Programme (EU-UWASP) commenced in December 2005 and ended in June 2008. The Programme aimed at promoting private sector oriented capacity building and programme development at the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The total support to UWA was about UGX 1.6 billion.

The engines were procured from a UK firm, Bakkavor Ltd. through an International Public Bidding Process. The local agent in Uganda, Sunshine Projects Ltd, was at the forefront of ensuring that the engines get to Uganda in time and in good condition, get installed and commissioned. The National Authorizing Office also extended tremendous support throughout the project cycle.

The UWA Executive Director, Mr. Moses Mapesa, was the main force behind all these efforts, working with all relevant UWA staff, but especially the Director Conservation, the Partnership Coordinator, and the Chief Mechanical Engineer. He ensured all activities were implemented as agreed. Of course all UWA’s labors would not have borne fruit if not for the steady support of Ms. Celine Prudhomme, the EU Programme Officer Private Sector and Tourism, who guided the whole process.

We hope that the frequent ferry engine breakdowns will now be a thing of the past. We appreciate the patience of the general public and our tourists who were inconvenienced by these breakdowns.