17 Dec 2013

The Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Meat Commission (BMC) Dr Akolang Ntombale says training courses for Public health Inspectors should bring about solutions to the challenges faced by the beef industry.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Meat Industry Training Institute (MITI) recently, Dr Ntombale said the training should ensure Botswana beef remained a global first class.

Dr Ntombale said meat products for both export and local consumption needed to meet world standards. He pointed out that BMC was the largest export abattoir in Africa, slaughtering about 2000 cattle a day at peak production. He said the abattoir exported meat and meat products to important markets such as the European Union, Hong Kong, the Middle East and the Southern African Region.

He said BMC had set stringent requirements to ensure that only healthy and wholesome meat and meat products reached its consumers. Dr Ntombale also explained MITI was reviewing the curriculum for the meat inspection course from which the participants were graduating. He also said that the reviews aimed to incorporate emerging issues related to meat health and hygiene, animal handling and welfare.

The institute will also upgrade the course to higher diploma level which would bring it to par with equivalent programmes offered by the Botswana College of Agriculture (BCA), he said. This years’ class included five students from the Republic of Malawi sponsored by the Government of Botswana which Dr Tombale said was testimony to the quality of the training.

Dr Ntombale urged graduates to utilise the newly acquired skills to the best of their abilities adding that they have the responsibility to ensure that only the safest meat reached consumers. Dean of Faculty of Agriculture at BCA Professor Elimeno Khonga said the graduation was the second since BCA took over Lobatse Campus in April 2002.

He said cabinet’s September 2013 approval BCA to be transformed into a university of agriculture and natural resources would allow it to compete with world universities. “This is the beginning of the fulfillment of the BCA vision to be an agricultural university of international repute and processes are now underway to ensure that the college is transformed into a university”, he said. ENDS