Kampala — ALTHOUGH the Jinja pier is slowly crawling back to life, as George Bita found out, it still has a long way to go to regain its past glory

THREE tall structures made of steel shoot out into the sky by the lakeside to the south-west of Jinja town. One of them holds giant floodlights that keep the surroundings well-lit at night. These used to shunt the level of rails to ensure effective offloading of ferries at the Jinja pier.

It seems the rails have not been pushed about for ages since trains have not moved to this landing stage for sometime now. Vegetation has in places overgrown onto the railway tracks that lead to Jinja railway station on the eastern side of town.

The grey metallic tank used for stocking fuel for ships now lies abandoned at the waterfront. Its raised base now accommodates two pigs belonging to workers. The smell of petrol has already been replaced by the putrid stench of swine dung.

According to a rusty signpost positioned in a potato garden, the port is currently referred to as the Jinja wagon ferry pier.

A building adjacent to the gate serves as the sleeping quarters of the in-charge, George Manyatta. He shares the premises with armed guards from Security Group.

At the dockside are four boats belonging to Lake Victoria Fisheries Organisation (LVFO). These are used to patrol the Lake as well as river Nile waters to ensure fishermen are abiding by fishing guidelines.

A level scale station at the site helps experts determine how much water volume is running out of the lake. Eskom (Uganda) Ltd that operates the Nalubaale (formerly Owen Falls) dam further downstream takes daily readings from here.

Although I can't spot any train wagons, there are trucks parked by the quayside near a Tanzanian registered vessel, MV Mwanza.

Heavy-set men, sweating in the midday heat, struggle to lift merchandise from the four barges towed into port by MV Mwanza. Some of the sacks are torn and cotton seeds drop as they are ferried into waiting trucks.

Manyatta explains that the seeds are destined for a Jinja-based company called Agroways where they are used for manufacturing soap and cooking oil.

"The cotton seeds are imported from Tanzania.

At times beer is also brought in through the pier," he adds. In the early 1980s, the Obote II government purchased marine vessels that transported coffee and cotton which became a common sight at the Jinja pier.

Loaded with train wagons, a locomotive would simply roll to the dock and pull them out to their destination via the railway station before replacing them with empty ones.

Most of the industries in the vicinity still have the railway lines that simplified transportation of their raw materials as well as finished goods.

Rift Valley Railways (RVR) now manages the dock which in the 1970s changed hands from East African Railways & Harbours (EAR&H) to Uganda Railways Corporation (URC).

History has it that this terminal, then called Rippon pier, became operational in 1900 and was linked by lake steamers to Port Florence (Kisumu today) in Kenya, Port Bell and Mwanza in Tanzania.

It got the name from the splendid water rapids; Rippon Falls just a few metres downstream that marked the end of the lake waters and onset of the mighty river Nile.

When the Busoga railway, connecting Jinja to Namasagali port was opened in 1912, the Rippon pier became the sole export point for mainly cotton from northern and eastern Uganda.

It is ironic that the very cotton that used to go out, now finds its way back into the country through the Jinja pier. Manyatta says since February 2009, the Jinja terminal has been struggling to get back on its feet.

"Even though wagon ferries no longer dock here, MV Mwanza travels every fortnight to deliver cargo. It takes the ship about 24 hours to make the voyage although turbulent weather conditions could make it much longer," he says.

The casual labourers, about 120 in number, keep track of the ship's movements and are present whenever needed to offload.

Their day starts at 10:00am and ends at 5:00pm. They usually take about four days to offload the cargo from the barges.

Manyatta observes that the contents of a single barge can load 13 Fuso trucks hence drivers make numerous return trips to empty the dockside.

When the offloading is completed, a set of other trucks bring in exports mainly soap and cooking oil from BIDCO factory. The loaders again get back to work filling up the barges for the return trip to Tanzania.

However, the absence of any formal office leaves me wondering whether Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) or immigration department for that matter monitors the tax obligations of those who use this terminal.

I spot several women being lifted onboard the MV Mwanza. Some go below deck as a couple settle on plastic chairs on the upper level joking and drinking wine with the crew.

"Women of the night are common whenever foreign vessels dock here. They raid the place like ants with a number of them sleeping over in the captain's cabin," says Manyatta.

A long electric cable leads onto the incomplete boat where a worker is welding metallic panels onto the captain's cabin. Eng. Stephen Mukisa, of African Minerals Company discloses that MV INDI-Jinja docked nearby is one of their products.

"The time taken to complete one vessel is between nine months to one year. But it all depends on the weather and availability of manpower," he adds.

But with infrastructure built solely to handle wagons, management has a daunting task of revamping the establishment to accommodate every type of water vessel.