By Charles Tjatindi
WINDHOEK
Farmers and meat vendors have expressed reservations about newly implemented legislation governing the handling of meat products within the boundaries of the City of Windhoek.
At an information-sharing meeting in the capital last week, concerns were raised about the legislation, with farmers and others in attendance questioning the practicality of the legislation.
The new by-laws, which came into effect in March last year, set out rules concerning the handling of meat products within the City of Windhoek. Those who bear the brunt of these rules are informal traders, who will now have to conform to strict standards before being allowed to trade in meat and meat products.
The law requires that all meat for the informal trading sector should be slaughtered at an approved slaughterhouse, accompanied by certificate proving procedures were followed and transported in an approved vehicle.
Various traders New Era spoke to voiced concern about the new rules. Many reasoned that as part of the informal sector, they needed to keep their overheads as low as possible.
“Such things will just raise my cost. We already face tough competition, how will we cope if we have to buy special cars to transport the meat to Windhoek,” asked Johannes Mathias, a meat trader in the informal sector.
Another concern was the rule regarding the transportation of meat for own use. The regulations state that people intending to transport meat into the City of Windhoek for own use have to obtain a permit. Farmers attending the meeting expressed concern about the practicality of the new requirement. One farmer noted that it is not always possible to plan to slaughter an animal in advance. He said an owner might sometimes have to slaughter an animal if its sick or it has broken a leg.
The farmer would then not be able to transport the meat to Windhoek because of failure to obtain a permit in advance.
“You just wouldn’t know. You come to the village and you find a cow with a broken leg, what do you do then? If you slaughter it without obtaining a permit beforehand, you will be prohibited from entering Windhoek with it,” the farmer worried.
The City of Windhoek’s Section Head for Food Safety, Francois Adonis, maintains that although the legislation was enacted last year it is still being refined.
“The legislation’s main objective is to ensure the safety of food, in particular meat and meat products at all food premises and industries,” he noted
“We are open to consult with any stakeholder on the issue, that is why we held this meeting,” he added.
City officials also noted that the slaughter of livestock within the boundaries of the City of Windhoek, other than at an approved abattoir, is prohibited.
Also, GN of 1969, Regulation 39 stipulates that meat for own use can be imported into the City without having been slaughtered at an approved slaughterhouse with a restriction of one identifiable carcass of a specific animal, or processed meat not exceeding 50 kilogrammes.
Representatives from the Municipality of Windhoek, the City Police, the Meat board of Namibia, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, and the Abattoir Association, attended the meeting.