Nuusita Ashipala

OSHAKATI – The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) will further revamp the Oshakati Eloolo small abattoir so it adequately supplies pork to inmates in the northern correctional facilities. Currently, the pork from Eloolo feeds Oluno, Elizabeth Nepemba and the Divundu Correctional facility as well as police stations north of the red line.

Commissioner General Raphael Hamunyela said NCS has already invested N$402 000 in renovations after the facility was declared unfit for operation. Before the takeover, NCS used to spend at least N$15 000 for the slaughtering of 60 pigs monthly.

Hamunyela said NCS will in the near future sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Oshakati Town Council so that NCS can rent and operate the facility for the next 10 years. “After we renovated it, we agreed to enter into an MOU with the Oshakati Town Council for us to operate the abattoir. The agreement is yet to be signed. We are now operating on an interim basis because we need pork for our inmates,” said Hamunyela.

He said there is, at the moment, no abattoir in the northern regions to slaughter pigs. Hamunyela further said the abattoir would continue to assist the community, which has been using it to slaughter their cattle.

The issues to be fixed at the abattoir include broken windows, which poses a health risk because birds fly in and out of the facility. Hamunyela said other areas that need to be fixed include tiling the floor, fixing the kraal as well as repairing the cooler room so that meat can be stored at the facility.

Currently, there is no operating cooler room at the facility. The NCS’ plan for the abattoir is to bring it to a standard where even the businesses community can utilise it. Hamunyela said there is no budget provisions made for the renovation of the abattoir but that NCS will see if they can access money on its renovation budget to upgrade the abattoir.

- nashipala@nepc.com.na