Salima Slaughterhouse Sanitation Scandal: A Stench of Negligence
Market users have expressed their concerns about the unhygienic conditions at the slaughterhouse.
Salima, Malawi-In a shocking revelation, the Salima District Council and the Salima Butchers Association are embroiled in a blame game over the deplorable hygiene conditions at the Salima Main Slaughter House, writes Alinafe Jimmy Mkwezalamba.
A recent visit to the facility exposed uncontrolled cow dung disposal and an unbearable stench from overflowing disposal pits.
Hoffman Kapichira, chairperson of the Salima Butchers Association, which rents the slaughterhouse, accused the district council of neglect.
“The disposal pit at the facility has been filled to the brim for years, and there’s no sign of a replacement,” Kapichira lamented.
“We’ve been without water for over four years now, but the council does nothing.”
Kapichira further revealed that they resort to outsourcing water from nearby facilities, an extra cost he believes should be footed by the district council.
He pointed out a broken door, saying, “The district council can’t even fix the doors for us. They only care about the fee we pay, not how we are operating here. It is a very pathetic thing.”
In response, Lyton Chinoko, an environmental officer at the Salima District Environmental Office, argued that it’s the tenant’s responsibility to maintain the slaughterhouse as per their contractual agreement.
“This problem is not a result of our negligence but that of the users,” Chinoko defended. He added that they had previously intervened to partially fix a completely blocked septic tank at the facility.
Chinoko warned that if no positive changes were seen after their last attempt to engage with the association, they would issue a closure warning on environmental grounds.
The Kamuzu-era slaughterhouse, despite its forty years of service and potential for more years ahead, is now a source of unpleasant odour affecting the nearby market located just 20 metres away.
Market users have expressed their concerns about the unhygienic conditions at the slaughterhouse.
“With the cholera pandemic amidst us and the rain season approaching, we are really afraid that we may catch diseases from this place," a resident decried.
The situation at the Salima Main Slaughter Market reflects a wider problem of poor sanitation management.