Leaves Bitter |
The City of
Kigali's decision to permanently close down SATRA abattoir, commonly
known as "Kwa Didi," has been greeted with mixed reactions from business
operators and other stakeholders such as persons who have been working
with the entity.
Last week, the City
of Kigali shut down SATRA abattoir in Nyakanda Cell, Niboye Sector in
Kicukiro District, which has been one of the three biggest facilities in
the city that slaughter animals for meat processing and immediate
consumption.
In a November 23
letter, the City directed the suspension of all the slaughterhouse
activities, saying it was part of ongoing effort to close facilities
that operate in wetlands.
But the affected
business proprietors claim that the City of Kigali had never warned
them, despite the city contending that they had alerted them beforehand.
When The New Times
visited the facility last week, business people were stranded as no
activity was going on. By Tuesday, still there was no activity, but five
policemen were deployed to guard the facility.
According to William Didi, one of the proprietors of the business, the directive came as a surprise.
He argued that there was a contradiction in the reasons cited for the closure of their business.
Originally, Didi
said, the City ordered the closure of the facility for operating in a
wetland, but later they sent a different letter citing poor hygiene
conditions.
"Initially, City
officials instructed us to close, saying that we were operating in a
wetland, but the next day one of the City officials brought us a letter
informing us that the hygiene standards of the facility were not met.
They are giving us contradicting reasons," he explained.
Didi said that they don't know what exactly the city officials want them to do.
The New Times has
obtained copies of letters exchanged between the proprietors and the
City of Kigali, one of which is dated November 23 in which the City
suspended all the slaughterhouse activities, as well as another that the
proprietors sent to the City officials indicating that they had all
relevant documents certifying that the business was not operating in a
wetland.
"But until now, we
haven't received any response from them. We attached all the land
titles, copies of the contracts of the cleaning company we work with,
and we requested to meet them to explain our position," said Xavier
Rugondo Mugabe, the director of the slaughterhouse.
This newspaper also
obtained copies of the land titles, contract between the Ubumwe
Cleaning House - which caters for cleanliness of the slaughterhouse -
and the certificate of the environment impact assessment from Rwanda
Development Board (RDB) awarded to the enterprise.
But when contacted,
Patricie Mukangarambe, the director of public health and environment at
the City of Kigali, said that multiple assessments had pointed to the
reasons cited for the closure.
"That facility has
had hygienic problems and we have frequently informed them of changing
their operations. As the City, we conduct regular inspections and we
suspend activities that do not comply with the environmental
guidelines," she said.
"They may have
acquired the environment impact assessment certificate, but in the
implementation process they fail to comply with the guidelines," she
added.
Mukangarambe also
said most of the waste from the facility could go direct to the wetland,
which she said would put peoples' lives at risk.
"Actually such small-scale establishments have dedicated areas of operations," she noted, without mentioning which areas.
Local business people speak out
Clementine
Byukusenge, a businesswoman who has been operating a butchery near the
facility, said the City's decision has dragged them into losses.
"We came to work on
Friday only to find that Police had cordoned off the place. All the
activities had stopped and when we tried to ask we were told that the
entire business had closed," she told The New Times.
Byukusenge said
that she had five cows at the facility that were lined up for slaughter
that day, but that she had to incur extra transportation costs to take
them to another facility where she had no option but to sell them
cheaply.
"I have lost about Rwf200,000 in that process but what is more annoying is that the business has also closed," she said.
Shakira Uwimbabazi, who also sold beef around the facility, is concerned about the unexpected decision of closing the facility.
"The closure of the
facility has affected all of us. I had contracts with clients but I
don't know what's next now. I have kids at school, I have a bank loan,
and this is the business that has been helping me," she said.
Uwimbabazi is among
the over 40 workers and businessmen and women who have been working
directly with the facility, according to the proprietors.
The slaughterhouse
has been operating since 1997 and, according to the owners, it is the
first time that the City of Kigali has taken "such a decision without
prior information."
"We were not
informed about closing the business, and seriously if they wanted us to
relocate, they would have given us time to move. You cannot destroy a
business like that in one day. The truth is, if they don't want us to be
there, they would give us time and we leave," Mugabe said.
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