Bolgatanga, Jan. 31, GNA – The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly is compiling applications from butchers who applied to work at the newly constructed abattoir at Yorogo, a community in the Municipality.

The Assembly, in a public notice signed by management, called for applications from interested butchers to operate the abattoir, which was constructed in July 2017 at a cost of Gh¢1.2 million with funding support from the World Bank.

Even though the facility was commissioned for use in 2018 with modern slaughtering facilities and animal processing equipment, including washrooms, butchers in the Municipality declined to relocate from Bolgatanga to the new place, about six kilometres, despite several engagements by the Assembly to convince them to do so.

The action of the butchers compelled the Assembly to lock up the old abattoir for the past two weeks, forcing food vendors, especially restaurant operators to rely on abattoirs and butchers in Tamale, Navrongo and Bongo for meat.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Rex Asanga, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), said the Assembly was still in the process of scrutinising the applications received.

“We are still going through the applications. We have received quite a number of them, I have so far gone through seven. Until we are done, we cannot take any decision now,” the MCE said.

When the GNA visited some ‘chop bars’ and restaurants within the Bolgatanga township to ascertain the impact of the butchers’ actions over the weeks, it observed that food vendors, especially rice and beans sellers resorted to chicken from cold stores instead of the usual beef, chevon and mutton.

At the ‘Macclean View’ restaurant at Bukere, a suburb of Bolgatanga, Madam Joyce Abayom, the owner, said she travelled to Navrongo and sometimes Bongo, about 9.6km from Bolgatanga to buy meat to prepare her food.

She said the situation had greatly affected her business considering the cost and time spent in transporting meat from outside the Municipality, “Now I spend an extra amount of Gh¢180.00 to transport meat from these places.”

She, therefore, appealed to the butchers to reconsider their decision and peacefully move to the new abattoir so that businesses could return to normal for all the stakeholders in the catering industry to benefit.

Madam Diana Apeyesi, the Upper East Regional Chairperson of the Traditional Caterers Association, was hopeful that the Assembly would speed up the process of getting butchers to the new abattoir to ease the stress and cost involved in transporting meat from other places.

Madam Apeyesi, who is also the National Organiser of the Association, said members would have bought the animals and slaughtered them to prepare their food, “But we cannot do that because we need Veterinary officers to certify the animals.

“We need to be sure that the animals are in good health before they are slaughtered. That is why we still move to abattoirs out of the Municipality for meat,” the Chairperson said.

GNA

Bolgatanga, Jan. 31, GNA – The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly is compiling applications from butchers who applied to work at the newly constructed abattoir at Yorogo, a community in the Municipality.

The Assembly, in a public notice signed by management, called for applications from interested butchers to operate the abattoir, which was constructed in July 2017 at a cost of Gh¢1.2 million with funding support from the World Bank.

Even though the facility was commissioned for use in 2018 with modern slaughtering facilities and animal processing equipment, including washrooms, butchers in the Municipality declined to relocate from Bolgatanga to the new place, about six kilometres, despite several engagements by the Assembly to convince them to do so.

The action of the butchers compelled the Assembly to lock up the old abattoir for the past two weeks, forcing food vendors, especially restaurant operators to rely on abattoirs and butchers in Tamale, Navrongo and Bongo for meat.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Rex Asanga, the Bolgatanga Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), said the Assembly was still in the process of scrutinising the applications received.

“We are still going through the applications. We have received quite a number of them, I have so far gone through seven. Until we are done, we cannot take any decision now,” the MCE said.

When the GNA visited some ‘chop bars’ and restaurants within the Bolgatanga township to ascertain the impact of the butchers’ actions over the weeks, it observed that food vendors, especially rice and beans sellers resorted to chicken from cold stores instead of the usual beef, chevon and mutton.

At the ‘Macclean View’ restaurant at Bukere, a suburb of Bolgatanga, Madam Joyce Abayom, the owner, said she travelled to Navrongo and sometimes Bongo, about 9.6km from Bolgatanga to buy meat to prepare her food.

She said the situation had greatly affected her business considering the cost and time spent in transporting meat from outside the Municipality, “Now I spend an extra amount of Gh¢180.00 to transport meat from these places.”

She, therefore, appealed to the butchers to reconsider their decision and peacefully move to the new abattoir so that businesses could return to normal for all the stakeholders in the catering industry to benefit.

Madam Diana Apeyesi, the Upper East Regional Chairperson of the Traditional Caterers Association, was hopeful that the Assembly would speed up the process of getting butchers to the new abattoir to ease the stress and cost involved in transporting meat from other places.

Madam Apeyesi, who is also the National Organiser of the Association, said members would have bought the animals and slaughtered them to prepare their food, “But we cannot do that because we need Veterinary officers to certify the animals.

“We need to be sure that the animals are in good health before they are slaughtered. That is why we still move to abattoirs out of the Municipality for meat,” the Chairperson said.

GNA