BY JAMES KANDOYA, THE GUARDIAN, TANZANIA.
25th May 2015
Butchers
at Mazizini Abattoir in Dar es Salaam have threatened to hold
demonstrations against the Ilala Municipality for its failure to take
appropriate measures to maintain hygienic conditions and reopen the
facility within 14 days from 25 May, 2015.
The
slaughter house has remained closed for over three weeks now due to
unhygienic conditions rendering over 700 city dwellers jobless.
In
an interview with ‘The Guardian’ at the weekend, the butchers said if
the municipal council will fail to reopen the slaughter house within
that period, they will stage protests to the municipal offices.
The
announcement has come to put pressure on the municipality to address
the problem particularly in view of the fact that there is no abattoir
operating in Dar es Salaam at the moment.
Dar
es Salaam Region has a population of 5 million people, but relies
mainly on two major abattoirs – Vingunguti and Mazizini – all in Ilala
Municipality, which are temporarily closed on unhygienic grounds. This
has left room for the small ones to operate, and unofficial butchers to
mushroom in various corners of the city.
Speaking
on behalf of other butchers, Juma Mwaipopo, said they want the
municipality to take stern measures against its officials who are
mandated to check pollution and environment.
Mwaipopo
explained that their negligence has led to unhygienic conditions at the
abattoir, hence leading to closure of the facility. According to him,
despite collecting huge sums of money from abattoir operators,
unhygienic conditions has been one of the long term challenges facing
the facilities leading to their closure from time to time.
He said the closure, has left some 700 people that used to work within the abattoir jobless.
The butcher said apart from the 700 people, the abattoir also employees hundreds of other people indirectly.
“We
don’t have any operating abattoir in the city, but meat is readily
available in many butchers. We are not sure whether such meat is
approved by veterinary officers. I call upon the municipal councils to
ensure that all meat sold is fit for human consumption,” he said.
The
butcher said during the 2014/15 financial year, the municipal council set aside
195m/- for infrastructure development at the abattoirs but nothing has
been done todate.
He
noted that it is surprising that the municipality is failing to address
the challenges at the abattoir despite collecting 2,500/- per every cow
slaughtered. On average, 400 cattle are butchered at the abattoir.
For
his part, the Ilala Acting Agricultural and Livestock Officer, Dr
Audifas Sarimbo said the revenue of 2,500/- on each cow goes to the
Municipal Development Fund as per regulations.
"The
money is used for various developmental activities within the municipal
council including construction of water infrastructures within the
abattoirs,” he said.
Ilala
Municipal Council Public Relations Officer Tabu Shaibu told ‘The
Guardian’ in a telephone interview that the cleaning and renovation of
the abattoir is in progress.
According to her, the work is expected to be completed within the coming seven days.
She
noted that a team of experts from the Municipality will today pay a
visit at the Mazizini abattoir on the outskirts of the city to inspect
the ongoing work.
The
Mazizini abattoir was closed on May 3, 2015, this year only few days after
TFDA and other responsible institutions visited the facility and
discovered that it was filthy.
Since 2013, two abattoirs in the city have from time to time been closed down on unhygienic reasons.
Meanwhile beef prices are reportedly high due to reduced and unstable supplies.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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