08 Mar 2015

Kanye Administrative Authority chairperson, Mr Tlhomamo Dibeela says concerted strides have been made to create a lucrative environment for poultry projects.

Speaking during a council meeting recently, Mr Dibeela said an environment had been created in particular for broilers to penetrate the market.

“These projects were not doing well as they were unable to sell their products because they were no designated slaughter points in the sub-district, and the expensive nature of chicken feeds made business undertaking difficult for emerging businesses.”

Mr Dibeela said it was upon this background that the government relaxed import restrictions by allowing farmers to import chicken feeds wherever they would find it profitable. He briefed the council that Ramatea had been identified to be used by small farmers to slaughter their chickens.

Mr Dibeela, who is the councillor for Dilolwe ward, encouraged institutions such as schools and the Kanye Seventh Day Hospital to support the chicken industry and procure their products. He also expressed happiness that 622 commercial licenses were issued in December 2014 compared to 278 in 2013.

The development, he said, called on government departments, private and non-governmental organisations to support local businesses.

He, however, noted that any given support should be done without compromising neither quality nor value for money, and that suppliers must ensure they produce quality products that would be able to compete in the market.

Still on business, Mr Dibeela told fellow councillors that a public private partnership between the Southern District Council and a private developer for the development of a recreational park in Kanye has been finalised.

He was optimistic the park would contribute positively in both the health and recreation of constituents.

He said many projects done through PPP were underway and would go a long in way creating job opportunities for many people. ENDS