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Arusha meat row resolved
2006-07-09 09:43:52
By Adam Ihucha, Arusha
At last the Arusha meat company has reduced its abattoir fee from the earlier hike proposal of 97 to 25 per cent effective August 1 this year, thanks to the pressure by meat traders.
Announcing the new abattoir fee immediately after the joint meeting between the company and meat traders at the weekend, the chairman of the board of directors, Paul Lotta Laizer, said: ’’ We have agreed that from August 1, each slaughtered cow will attract a 5,250/- up from previous 4,200/-, while the fees for each butchered goat will remain unchanged 800/-’’.
With regard to refrigeration service, any trader who wishes to preserve his or her meat in the company’s refrigerator will pay 4,000/- per night, up from 2,000/-.
’’These changes of course are subject to review after three months from August 1, when we shall meet again to evaluate the reality on the ground” said Laizer, who is also the Arusha Mayor.
On his part, the Chairman for Arusha Municipality Meat Traders Association (UWANYAMA), Jackson Mwita Marwa, expressed gratitude to the management of Arusha Meat Company, for addressing their concern.
Last weekend, all meat traders in Arusha municipality staged industrial action protesting the Arusha Meat Company’s plan to increase its abattoir fee by almost 97 per cent effective from July 1, 2006, without their consent.
As a result, many residents of the municipality went without meat, as traders stuck to their guns not to supply meat anymore, should the Arusha Meat Company not address their concerns.
According to Marwa, the Arusha Meat Company has hiked the abattoir fee from 4,200/- to 7,700/- per slaughtered cow as from 1 st July 2006.
The move also increased the fee for each butchered goat at the Sakina-based major abattoir, from 800/- to 1,200/-, Marwa said, adding that the fee has had a devastating effect on their .
Addressing reporters at Sakina abattoir where the traders gathered early in the morning, Marwa said the Arusha Meat Company, the Arusha Municipal
Authority legal agent, has increased abattoir fee without consulting the meat dealers.
’’What we need from our business partner is a joint meeting where we can iron out our differences because they made decision without our consent,’’ Marwa said amid applause from the irate meat dealers.
The strikers were particularly bitter allegedly for being frustrated by a senior Arusha Municipal Council official during their joint meeting in his office.
Marwa maintained that they wouldn’t supply meat until their grievances are addressed.
Contacted for comment, Laizer said his management raised the abattoir fee to meet operation costs.
’’We found no alternative rather than to hike the abattoir fee so as to meet the high operation costs’’ he said.
According to him, the abattoir fee increase from 4,200/- to 7,700/- was relatively low compared to Dodoma and Dar-es-salaam where each slaughtered animal attracts a 10,600/- fee.
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