The Vice President, Jessica Alupo, has directed all vehicles stuck at Pakwach due to floods to pass through the Murchison Falls Park from the Tangi gate free of charge. On Wednesday, the River Tangi, which is near the Pakwach Bridge, burst its banks, cutting off traffic flow along the Olwiyo-Pakwach road.
This left several passengers and vehicles destined for Kampala and the West Nile stranded for hours. Paul Eseru, the Pakwach Resident District Commissioner (RDC), told URN that the district has been receiving heavy rains over the past two days, which made River Tangi burst its banks.
He says the Vice President’s office intervened to clear vehicles from West Nile districts heading to Kampala through Murchison Falls Park from Tangi Gate via Paraa and connect to Masindi through Kafu to Kampala without paying the park fees. “The vice president cleared all vehicles heading to Kampala to pass in the park for free because the water levels are still high and violent,” he noted.
In the absence of such an emergency, the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) charges 25,000 shillings per adult and 10,000 shillings per child to enter the park. Lorries and buses are charged Shillings 200,000, saloon cars Shillings 20,000, mini-buses Shillings 30,000, and pick-ups Shillings 30,000 when they use the newly built road through the Murchison Falls National Park that connects to Masindi.
Robert Omito Steen, who is in charge of the Pakwach LC V, says that flooding near the Pakwach bridge is getting worse and that the Uganda National Roads Authority should find a long-term solution.
“This year alone, there have been three incidents where the river Tangi burst its banks and cut off traffic along Olwiyo-Pakwach Road. “UNRA needs to urgently find a solution to this challenge,” he said. Safiy Okuyo, who regularly travels from Arua to Kampala, says that the government should consider permanently waiving the entrance fee at the park since they have failed to fix roads.
“Why is the government taking so long to address the issue of flooding on the Olwiyo-Pakwach road?” “Let them just stop charging us fees until the problem of floods is fixed,” Okuyo said. The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) has advised motorists to use the newly constructed road through the Murchison Falls National Park in a statement posted on its official Twitter handle.
“Olwiyo-Pakwach Road is currently cut off towards the bridge. “Motorists from Pakwach and beyond can still use the newly built road through the Murchison,” reads part of the statement. This is the third time this year that floods have cut off Olwiyo–Pakwach Road. On September 3rd and 16th, floods cut off traffic flow and left several passengers stranded.
