Showgrounds sale pens remain closed

Deputy Minister Douglas Karoro

GOVERNMNENT has said it has no intention of re-opening the Bulawayo show grounds cattle sale pens and advised farmers to establish dedicated sale pens with proper sanitary measures to curb disease outbreaks.

Cattle sales at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) show grounds in Bulawayo were suspended in April 2015 after foot-and-mouth disease was detected in three beasts that were being sold at the show grounds.

Before the suspension of cattle sales in Bulawayo, between 450 and 500 cattle were being sold per week.

Lands, Agriculture, water, Climate and Rural Resettlement deputy Minister 8 told legislators in the National Assembly on Wednesday that the show grounds cattle pens would remain closed.

“There is no intention to reopen the Bulawayo show grounds for cattle sales. The reason for this is that show grounds are for the exhibition of healthy animals. Situations have arisen in the past when outbreaks of contagious diseases have led to difficulties in accepting other healthy animals for exhibition and without risking further spread to other areas,” said Cde Karoro.

The deputy Minister was responding to a question from Umzingwane legislator Retired Brigadier-General Levi Mayihlome on the reasons for the continued closure of the Bulawayo show grounds cattle sale pens for weekly auctions since 2015.

Cde Karoro said stakeholders are strongly advised to establish dedicated sale pens where sanitary measures can be implemented without affecting activities involving other spheres of livestock activity. 

“Control of highly contagious diseases is a public activity at State expense and these diseases are interested to limit the expense to the State especially when resources are scarce,” he said.

Rtd Brig-Gen Mayihlome, who is also a livestock farmer, asked the deputy Minister to explain the lack of consistency in applying this policy saying other towns like Gweru and Masvingo were not affected.

“The particular case we are talking about is Bulawayo, appeals have been made several times that there are other facilities within Bulawayo that are not at the show grounds. For instance, we have the Khami Road sale pens that were also closed in inexplicable circumstances. Farmers that were using these facilities are suffering not just from Bulawayo but across the whole of Matabeleland. Can it be explained why there is no policy consistency across the country,” he said.

Cde Karoro could not respond to the question and asked Rtd Brig-Gen Mayihlome to put it writing as it was a specialised question which needed experts to come up with plausible explanation on why it seems as if Bulawayo is being singled out. 

Before the suspension of cattle sales in Bulawayo, between 450 and 500 cattle were being sold per week.

Over the years, livestock farmers in Matabeleland have expressed displeasure over the continued closure of cattle sale pens saying this seriously affected thousands of commercial and communal farmers who survived on cattle ranching.

The farmers said they tried to engage the Government to no avail resulting in them selling their cattle to individuals and butchery owners at low prices.—@AuxiliaK