John Muyamba

RUNDU – After years of delay, the Rundu abattoir construction and set up now stands at 98% completion. The long-awaited facility will serve as a market for cattle and goat farmers in the two Kavango regions. The abattoir was supposed to be fully completed by January 2017 after the groundbreaking was done in 2014 but financial constraints and postponements delayed the process. 

In February, the abattoir was supposed to be completed and handed over to the ministry but it was postponed once again. “The Rundu abattoir is 98% complete. Contractors are busy with final finishes, after which commissioning and trial slaughter will commence,” said the ministry’s spokesperson, Jona Musheko.

The slaughter capacity of the Rundu abattoir is expected to be at 80 cattle per day, aimed to enhance the cattle and beef value chain in the northern communal areas (NCAs), specifically in Kavango East and Kavango West regions.

“As a ministry, we are just maintaining the status quo of increasing developing facilities of this nature in the NCAs; the more we have, the better – to assist our farmers in marketing their livestock. This will boost the economy of the region and country,” Musheko noted.

Kavango farmers have been knocking on the ministry’s doors for the completion of this abattoir, which will create a market for them, as they currently rely on a mobile abattoir, operated by Meatco, stationed at Matumbo Ribebe quarantine camp, some 70 kilometres south of Rundu.

In December, the ministry of agriculture said they have granted approval to Meatco to operate the multi-million Rundu abattoir and that a state veterinarian was also appointed for the abattoir. Meatco is Namibia’s largest exporter of prime beef.

- jmuyamba@nepc.com.na