PARLIAMENT- Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has tasked the Ministry of Education and Sports to explain why they have defied the presidential directive to have the Marine school established at Namasagali university and opted to have the school built at Busitema University.
Kadaga made the remarks during the Tuesday plenary session where she questioned the motive behind the decision to have the maritime training facility established in Busitema, a place with no water body, in total regard of Namasagali that is near Lake Victoria.
She said: “When I hear that it is going to Busitema where there is no water. The Maritime School should be near the river, that’s why it should be in Namasagali. It doesn’t make sense to take it to the mainland in Busitema where there is no water unless they’re going to river Malaba. So I want the Ministry of Education to tell us when they’re implementing that directive.”
It should be noted that the directive was issued by President Yoweri Museveni four years ago to locate the school at Namasagali university to train specialists in water transport issues, but to date, the project hasn’t taken shape over bickering on where the school should be located.
Kadaga’s remarks come after the tragic accident that occurred on Lake Victoria where a boat capsized leading to the death of over 33 people.
The Speaker also called for timely implementation of the Maritime School saying it would end dependency on Tanzania that’s currently providing Maritime services in Uganda.
Kadaga said that Uganda is in high need of the Maritime training school in order to produce its own technicians in water transport machines with residents in islands having decried the costs of repairing water vessels as the equipments has to be transported to Tanzania for a service which causes delays in this transport system to the people who use it, with Kadaga wondering how long Uganda has to rely on Tanzania.
