The Kisumu slaughterhouse in Mamboleo is lying idle in a sorry dilapidated state despite the county government’s pledge to modernize the facility. The government promised to start exporting meat products to regional and international markets in May 2014.
County Agriculture, livestock and fisheries chief officer, Mr. Ben Angir said the abattoir was allocated 10 Million in 2014 and 15 Million in July 2015. He said the ministry has not completed the tender evaluation process to identify a contractor who would take up the modernization task.
“The 10 million allocated for the facility in the previous year was under a different office. In this financial year, 15 million was set aside in July and local bidding contractors are being identified for the work.” Said Mr Angir.
The former County Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries executive, Dr Stephen Orot said the Mamboleo slaughterhouse had been modernized in readiness to export animal products. He said they had secured a market and airline to export the products from Kisumu to Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and European countries.
“We have successfully negotiated uptake of meat products, vegetables and eggs from Kisumu International Airport,” Orot said.
Incumbent county executive Agriculture, livestock and fisheries, Philip Obade has said he does not understand the circumstances under which the information had been issued by his predecessor who was dismissed under unclear circumstances alongside other members of staff in the ministry.
The slaughterhouse is rated the third largest in the country after those of the Kenya Meat Commission. Its capacity to handle 200 bulls, 300 goats and sheep including 400 birds per day puts it on the league of potential profitable economic ventures in the region.
A visit to the abattoir found out that only 30 goats and sheep were in the holding pens that can house more than 500 bulls, 1000 sheep and goats and 1,000 birds awaiting slaughter. On Madaraka day only 10 animals had been slaughtered and there were no bulls in the pens.
The abattoir’s cold storage is dysfunctional hence rendering it devoid of certification by the Export Promotion Council.
The meager staff at the facility said the saws for splitting meat have had been vandalized. Poor handling of slaughter byproducts raise questions on hygiene, a certification prerequisite.
It was discovered that the manure separation lagoon system is faulty with flies feeding from blood and fat soiled butcher aprons dumped in the facility’s filthy cleaning sinks.
The timeframe the ministry required to complete tender evaluation was unclear as they were unable to promise when the modernization would kick off.
Close intervention revealed that fencing the slaughterhouse had been the prioritized by the tendering committee with further renovation lying in ambition.
Mr Orot told the press in April 2014 at his office that the county government will allocate more funds to build slaughterhouses in the seven sub counties in Kisumu.
The county veterinary services director Mr Evans Odhiambo has dismissed the prior reports saying the ministry has no plans to have more slaughterhouses.