Bright Rwamirama, the state minister Agriculture, Animal Industry and fisheries has clashed with butchers in Luweero over the alleged shoddy construction of Luweero abattoir. In 2010, ministry of agriculture, animal Industry and fisheries under the National livestock productivity improvement project constructed a slaughter house in Luweero town council and a livestock market in Ngoma town council in Nakaseke. However, butchers in the district rejected the shillings 600 million facility citing shoddy work.
But Rwamirama, the state minister Agriculture, Animal Industry and fisheries has disagreed with the butcher’s claim of shoddy work. Rwamirama accuses the butchers of rejecting the slaughter house to evade taxes and resist change. He says that since the facility is fenced it makes it difficult for the butchers to operator without paying taxes. Rwamirama says that as a result, the butchers have resorted to slaughtering their animals in the bush to dodge the fees.
He explains that several other cattle market constructed by the ministry have been reached by the butchers under the excuse that they lack weighing scales. Rwamirama says that he has dispatched a team of technical staff to investigate the matter and compel the butchers to occupy the abattoirs because government spent a lot of money on them to ensure that Ugandans access meat from trusted centers.
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But the butchers in Luweero insist they will not use the facilities unless their concerns are addressed. They accuse the ministry officials of swindling the money for the works. Ibrahim Kasamba, a butcher says that slaughter slabs in the slaughter house are substandard and too small to contain a large number of animals.
He explains that in Luweero town council, they slaughter 15 heads of cattle per day and this is done before 8am but the new slaughter slab can accommodate only two animals at a time which will affect their operations. Kasamba faults the ministry for not consulting them and suspects that they connived with contractor to swindle the funds meant for the construction of a better facility. Dan Ssali, another butcher says the meat hooks used by the contractor are of poor quality because they cannot hold cattle.
Ssali also refuted claims by the minister that they rejected the abattoir to evade taxes saying they still pay money even when they operate in old and filthy slaughter slab. James Mukasa a cattle dealer in Ngoma town council says that the ministry of agriculture used poor barbed wires and weak metallic poles which can’t support cattle within the market.
The butchers and cattle traders have vowed to petition President Yoweri Museveni if the ministry of agriculture fails to compel the contractors to redo the works. Currently, the two sites are being used as grazing zones for pigs and goats..
