War vets blame abattoir closure on lack of funds

TUYEIMO HAIDULAOSHAKATIWar veterans blame the closing of northern abattoirs that were handed to them by government on a lack of support and funding.President of the Namibia National Liberation Veterans Association (NNLVA) Ben Shikongo defended their unsuccessful takeover of the abattoirs, saying it is no child’s play and they were left to figure it out by themselves.Shikongo made the remarks on Saturday at Embandu. He said government did not provide financial support and they received no money from the bank.The Oshakati abattoir was temporarily opened in July last year by the war veterans and subsequently closed after the company found itself in financial troubles.Shikongo said the agriculture ministry’s support is crucial.He said the ministry can help to vigorously market the abattoirs both locally and internationally. Moreover, the ministry could assist to identify future joint venture or partnership and enforce the Cabinet decision to support local products and businesses. “The other way to support us is to source financial assistance from both local banking institutions and from direct investors,” he stressed.Steep billsShikongo said the Oshakati abattoir’s monthly electricity bill stood at N$58 000 per month and the outstanding water bill for the Eenhana abattoir is close to N$60 000 while the electricity bill stands at N$400 000.The Outapi abattoir racked up close to N$50 000 in water bills and electricity is around N$400 000.“Workers need to be paid. It was impossible to run it. Both water and electricity at the abattoirs closed down. You can run it on the generator but you cannot run an abattoir without water,” Shikongo said.He stressed they “cannot produce that amount from our operations because when we took over the abattoirs, it was drought, then Covid-19 hit. We need government to inject money into the projects for them to survive.”He said African Meat Supply pay N$1 150 per head of cattle and for kapana sellers they charge N$350 per head.ChallengesThe war veterans through their company Kiat Investment Holding were running Outapi, Eenhana and Oshakati abattoirs, which were previously closed in 2016, after Meatco withdrew from the Northern Communal Areas.Kiat has now partnered with Ningbo, a Chinese company for financial support of the Oshakati abattoir, which re-opened in November.Omusati governor Erginus Endjala said the abattoir in Outapi closed in 2016 as well and reopened in 2018 but closed again in 2020 for the same reasons as the Oshakati one.Endjala said this was because the farmers did not have enough stock to supply the abattoir as they have been affected by the drought. Subsequently the pandemic also threw a spanner in the works.“It became difficult to import even from other regions like Omahee who were equally hard hit by the drought. Kavango was a better choice but the resources proved futile,” he said.

War vets blame abattoir closure on lack of funds

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-21

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War vets blame abattoir closure on lack of funds

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Namibian Sun 2025-02-21

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