Ministry to close down unhygienic slaughter houses
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has begun a nation-wide exercise to close down unapproved and unhygienic slaughter houses across the country.
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The move is to ensure that all slaughter houses across the country operate in a clean and hygienic environment to avoid the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and other unhygienic related diseases.
A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in-charge of Livestock , Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw, disclosed this during an interaction with newsmen after addressing the third ordinary meeting of the Tano South District Assembly at Bechem, the district capital of the Brong Ahafo Region .
Dr Bisiw, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano South, stated that the exercise, which was underway, started in the Greater Accra Region and would soon be extended to Ashanti and the Brong Ahafo regions before the end of the year.
She said the exercise was being undertaken under the Public Health Act which mandated MOFA through the Veterinary Services to ensure that all slaughter houses in the country operated legally and abide by the required standard practices in the industry.
Dr Bisiw stated further that her outfit which was in-charge of livestock in the country must ensure that Ghanaians consumed wholesome meat devoid of contamination, hence the need to ensure that all slaughter houses in the country operated under the required standards to enhance public safety and health.
Addressing the assembly’s meeting earlier, Dr Bisiw pledged that she would work closely with the assembly and assembly members to push the development agenda of the district forward.
She stated that to ensure the total development of the district and meet the needs of the people in her constituency, she had decided to set up a development committee to speed up with the development of the area.
Dr Bissiw urged the assembly members to ensure that they interacted regularly with the people in their respective electoral areas to enable them identify their problems and bring them to the notice of the assembly for them to be addressed.
She called on the assembly members to discharge their duties devoid of partisan politics since at the end of the day, it was the welfare of the people that matter.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tano South, Mr Zakaria Bukari Anaba, in his address called on the assembly members to discuss issues on the floor of the assembly devoid of partisan considerations and rather be engaged with how they could work together to bring an improvement in the living conditions of the people.
The Presiding Member of the assembly, Mr Anthony Opoku, stated that the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) was not only insufficient, but its release was irregular.“This means we cannot rely on the DACF to meet our developmental needs,” he stressed; and urged the assembly members to collaborate and explore innovative ways to increase the assembly’s internally generated fund.
Mr Opoku expressed concern about the several complaints received on stray animals in the communities and appealed to the assembly to construct a pen for such animals. He said this would prevent such animals from destroying people’s properties and farms.