Government admits loosing taxes to unregulated slaughtering of cattle

The local government in Yei River County and the municipality has admitted that it is loosing taxes to butchers who randomly slaughter their cattle in the town.

“For us we are suffering because of this random slaughtering, we are unable to collect our taxes,” John Ponsiano Loro, the town block director told the media in an interview.

“Because they are asking if there is government, why don’t they give us a place so that we can slaughter in and taxes can be collected,” he added.

Currently, some butchers are slaughtering their cattle in the locally constructed government butchery along Yei-Kaya road.

At the same time, butchers say many of their colleagues slaughter their own cattle in the town with some cattle not being inspected for diseases.

The butchers who spoke off record lamented that the coming rainy season would worsen their work if the authority does not build good abbatoirs for them soon enough.

They also complained that the government collects five pounds per cattle and goat and yet it has not constructed permanent slaughter place to ease their work.

Consumers have expressed worry that delay to speed up construction of proper abbatoirs will possibly cause diseases and consumption of unclean meat.

“Those who are responsible on this should do it faster because it is we the consumers to suffer. We don’t know if it is clean, without disease or killed in a clean place but it is seen through the absence of killing places,” said Mawa Moses, a consumer who bought meat on Tuesday.

Kenyi Patrick, a health official says eating uninspected meat will cause diarrhea and brucellosis, among other dangerous diseases. He said some butchers even slaughter sick or immature animals due to lack of inspection services.

“There are many unknown places where these animals are slaughtered. Someone can just slaughter what you cannot expect and at the end it will cause diseases,” he said.

The health official observed that butchers wash meat at Yei River which causes water pollution and warns that it may result to health problems. He said meat should be kept a temperature of 2?c to 8? to remain fresh and free from contamination.

However, Mr. Ponsiano says meat inspection is going on, with some butchers slaughtering in the local government-constructed place, confirming that health officials regularly examine animals before and after slaughter.

“Meat inspection is going on because we have the public health officers who are inspecting those areas,” he said.

He revealed that the local communities had given three slaughtering places to the municipal authority to construct permanent abbatoirs to foster healthy slaughtering of cattle in the town.

The director outlined that areas in Ronyi, Pakula and Gimunu have been identified by the chiefs for the construction of more butcheries but said construction will take time.

Early last year, meat inspection was halted when the then mayor issued a local order banning activities under the county authority.

Milton Ishmael, the county assistant commissioner for animals’ resources and fisheries noted that butchers slaughter cattle on the bare ground, which mixes with the soil and causes some stomach complications.

He stressed the need for pre- and post-slaughter inspection of animals and meat, before taking to the market. The officer underscored plans to train butchers on meat handling in the future.

“This meat should be inspected because some of these animals are sick,” Ishmael said on Monday. “We plan to give them (butchers) training because meat handling is very important.”