By Najib Mulema
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has apologized for the laxity and incompetence exhibited by immigration staff at Entebbe International Airport.
The ministry has also promised to punish whoever was responsible for the shameful sight and put in place measures to ensure that incidences of such nature do not reoccur.
This follows a complaint by Great Lakes Safaris boss Amos Wekesa on Monday morning after 21 empty counters greeted passengers arriving from Nairobi.
Only one immigration officer attended to the 100 plus passengers.
“This morning we arrived from Nairobi a plane full and only one counter out of 22 counters was working,” Wekesa posted on his Facebook page.
The tourism enthusiast cited a tourist who had paid for a visa online but spent over 45 minutes standing in front of an empty booth yet there were over six immigration officers ‘hanging around’.
“The lady was so angry I apologized on behalf of Uganda,” he added.
“Under PIRT, we advocated for many stations and expected that this rubbish wouldn’t happen! There are some very good immigration officers at that airport but these ones must be told how their actions affect the country. Countries like Singapore we so admire, it will take you 15 minutes from the time from the time you leave your plane to your waiting car.”
The post that has since gone viral forced the Internal Affairs management to reveal that they have commenced investigations and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against immigration officers who will be found culpable.
“We have put in place new measures to ensure that incidences of this nature do not reoccur at Entebbe International Airport,” Management said.
“The Ministry reiterated its commitment to continued smooth facilitation of travelers, as we strive to be the model of excellence in Immigration Service Delivery,”
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