Crackdown on dirty city abattoirs in offing

By Andrew Ssenyonga & Juliet Waiswa

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) is determined to stamp out traditional and privately owned city abattoirs that fail to meet hygiene and food safety standards.

KCCA head of veterinary department, Dr. Emilian Ahimbisibwe, made the statement after on spot inspections of a number of city abattoirs on Monday.

Ahimbisibwe warned the abattoirs to upgrade their slaughter places to maintain hygiene or face closure.

"This is the last opportunity given to the defaulting abattoirs to adhere to the required norms by making the rooms air-conditioned and maintaining hygiene within six months else face closure by the authority," he said.

He explained that a number of slaughter houses were operating without licences and were discharging untreated waste.

"Many abattoirs were extremely dirty. Their products also lacked quarantine seals and were improperly transported to urban markets," he added.

He noted that the move was aimed at providing the public with clean and safe meat.

"We have discovered that many abattoirs serve the public with unfit meat product something that has increased the spread of diseases in the capital," he said.

No change

Denis Omodi, the KCCA supervisor health inspectorate, said the inspectors had warned and closed slaughter houses in the past, but the situation and standards had not improved.

"Inspectors had supplied the abattoirs with dozens of warning notes to improve the hygienic transportation of the meat, but the owners have vehemently refused to implement the technology into the facility's operations.

This time we have given them ample time to renovate and improve their facilities before closure," he noted.

Omodi also noted that large amounts of dung remained uncollected as their demand from customers had diminished.

"In addition to worn out infrastructures, water logging was building up in the slaughtering area at many abattoirs.  We are also inconvenienced uncollected piles of cow dung," he said.

New standards

Recently KCCA, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, and the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) came up with standards which slaughter houses in the city and elsewhere are expected to follow.

Some of the minimum standards the slaughter houses should have include enough water, washable walls, coolers and enough light to see the defects on the meat; proper waste disposal, an incinerator, and a clean washable place for animals to rest for at least 12 hours before they are slaughtered.

"The inspectors will continue their inspections in the upcoming days and would submit recommendations to close slaughterhouses that did not meet the required standards," Omodi said.

While touring a modern Egypt- Uganda Food Security, abattoir factory in Bombo recently, the city boss Jennifer Musisi said that soon Kampala beef traders would be required to meet the set up standards otherwise their substandard beef will lose market for poor hygiene.

Nsooba Slaughter house director Capt. Denis Saazi said he had noted areas of improvement adding that this would be done before the end of the grace period.

"The authority has tour my house and found out that the place was up to the standards required but there were a few loop holes which I promise to work on in the shortest time possible," he explained.

The other abattoirs visited include Kishita young farmers at Kalerwe a city suburb and the city abattoir along Port bell road in Kampala.