Irimari blames abattoir closure on markets

Oshana governor Elia Irimari says some of the abattoirs within the Northern Communal Areas (NCA) are still not operational, leaving local farmers without access to lucrative markets. Consequently, the livestock sector’s performance has been significantly affected within the NCA.Irimari, speaking at Ondangwa yesterday at a meeting with farmers, said the abattoirs are critical because the NCA is home to more than 70% of the country’s population, who depend directly on livestock for their economic well-being and food security.War veterans through their company Kiat Investment Holding were running the Outapi, Eenhana and Oshakati abattoirs, which closed down in 2016.The abattoirs closed along with the Katima Mulilo abattoir in 2016, as a result of the withdrawal of MeatCo from the NCA.The Oshakati abattoir was temporarily opened in July 2020 by the war veterans and subsequently closed after the company found itself in financial trouble.Kiat then partnered with Ningbo, a Chinese company, for financial support and the abattoir reopened in November 2020, but that too proved futile.Last year the president of the Namibia National Liberation Veterans Association (NNLVA), Ben Shikongo, said running an abattoir is not child’s play and they were running at a loss and had no choice but to shut down again."The livestock sector is also affected by low and variable annual rainfall, poor agronomic conditions, inadequate animal husbandry practices and significant market restrictions, mainly due to the presence of foot-and-mouth disease," Irimari said.Shikongo said at times they went two to three months without slaughtering, yet service providers continue to charge them regardless.He said the Outapi abattoir was still not operational because the contractor has not finished the renovation work.Shikongo complained about the contractors brought by the ministry of agriculture, blaming them for the delays. Sometimes the contractors claimed not to have received their payment, and some were just incompetent, he said.The association owes the Northern Electricity Distribution (NORED) close to N$500 000, while its NamWater debt stands at close to N$100 000."So, we put a stop to the abattoir operation so that we don&#039;t just accumulate more debts at the expense of the ministry," he said.Shikongo added that the Eenhana abattoir is the only one operational, despite its various challenges.- tuyeimo@namibiansun.com

Irimari blames abattoir closure on markets

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-21

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Irimari blames abattoir closure on markets

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-21

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