12 Jun 2014

Dr Joseph Golekane of the veterinary services says Serowe council abattoir does not meet basic health requirements.

He was addressing an on-going Serowe sub-council meeting on the status on June 11. The abattoir, which is classified as a medium throughput and supposed to slaughter 500 herds of cattle or below per week, is reported to be slaughtering only 20 herds at the moment, making it difficult for business people to meet the demand from the consumers.

Dr Golekane said the abattoir did not meet basic requirements such as adequate supply of hot water and detergents, adequate proof from insects and birds, a room for detained and condemned animals. He said as a result, the abattoir was unhygienic, hence slaughtering 20 herds of cattle.

Councillors had mixed reactions on the issue. Councillor for Botalaote, Mr Mpho Kooreme concurred with Dr Golekane and said the council  should come up with ways of ensuring that they met the requirements especially that they had been advised to do that in the past.

He said the veterinary department which is responsible for issuing abattoir licenses has been lenient with the council abattoir and issued them with temporary permits but they failed to do what was required from them.

Specially Elected councillor, Mr Lesedi Phuthego concurred with Mr Kooreme that operating an abattoir which did not meet set standards was not good as that might compromise the health of consumers. He said it is up to them as authorities to ensure that they move with the times and do what is needed to protect the health of the consumer.


For his part, Councillor Bahiti Ratora of Mogatsapoo wanted the veterinary personnel to explain why they have in the first place allowed the abattoir to operate without proper structures in place. Other councillors said the veterinary department could have advised the council authorities on all that was needed when the abattoir was first built.

In response, the veterinary officer, Mr Benjamin Ntesang explained that the abattoir was built in the early 70’s when most of the health regulations were not yet in place and as a result the council must ensure that they adhere to required standards. ENDS