Butcher's shops in city to reapply for licence - KCCA

PIC: State minister for Kampala Benny Namugwanya addressing journalists during a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre on January 19, 2018. (Nancy Nanyonga)

KAMPALA - State minister for Kampala Metropolitan affairs Benny Namugwanya has said all butcher's shops in the city will have to reapply for licences, before they are allowed to operate.

This is intended to ensure that all meat is fit for human consumption.

The shops will apply for suitability of premises certificate from the directorate of public health and environment so that inspection is done to ensure that all requirements are met and this will help in documentation and surveillance.

In this move, only butcher's shops who meet the required standards will be allowed to operate their businesses.

Namugwanya said a database of meat traders in Kampala will be established and updated regularly for proper regulation.

She made the remarks during a press conference at the Uganda Media Centre on Friday, where she revealed that the veterinary section will co-ordinate with division health inspectors.

City abattoirs slaughter between 350-400 head of cattle daily.

She said KCCA in collaboration with the agriculture ministry, Uganda National Bureau of Standards, health miistry and National Drug Authority will regularly collect samples from supermarkets and butcher's shops to be tested the government analytical laboratory.

"The butcher's shops that will be found with contaminated meat will be closed and owners prosecuted in court," Namugwanya said.

According to the KCCA veterinary and health inspector, Dr Emillian Ahimbisbwe, any butcher's shop found operating near sewerage will not be given a licence.

He added that health inspectors have been attached to every division to ensure that meat consumed is safe human consumption

KCCA meat ordinance 2006
According to KCCA, a butcher's shop should have tiled walls and floor. It must have space of about two to three metres, a mirror to prevent dust from entering the shop and a fly proof to prevent insects from accessing and contaminating the beef.

Water is also a must-have at butcher's shops. But sadly, all the butcher's shops which KCCA inspected recently did not meet the minimum required standards.

Recently, KCCA arrested butchers and impounded 157kg of beef around the city and destroyed it for being contaminated and unfit for consumption.

KCCA officials said meat samples will be regularly collected from butcher's shops and meat sections in supermarkets and tested for chemical residues in the five divisions of Kampala.

In their recent inspection, KCCA impounded 29 half litre bottles of local chemicals concoction under the name of Tsumani and closed 149 butcher's shops.
Recently, media reports showed that several butcher's shops in the city use chemicals to preserve their beef and prevent flies from contaminating it.

Media reports also revealed that sodium metabisulphite, which is whitish, is easily available at several chemists in Kampala and is then mixed with water and sprayed on the meat to maintain its reddish hue and to create the impression that it is still fresh.

Reports also indicated that some butchers were using formalin, a chemical used to preserve dead bodies.

Meanwhile, during a council meeting, the KCCA acting director health services, Daniel Okello, said they have discovered that the drugs are accessible at any outlet in Kampala.

He revealed that KCCA has joined hands with the National Drug Authority, agriculture ministry and UNBS to ensure that the chemicals are put off shelves.