Prime
Govt probes Shs10b ghost cattle holding grounds
Cattle dealers load cows on a truck in Kyalulangira Sb-county, Rakai District, on December 19, 2019 PHOTO/ AMBROSE MUSASIZI
What you need to know:
- It is alleged that veterinary officers in the cattle corridor districts connived with business people to transport animals from infected areas in Tanzania to abattoirs dotting Uganda.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal industry and Fisheries has commenced investigations into a Shs10 billion project that was meant to establish cattle holding grounds in Rakai District.
During the 2017/2018 financial year, district officials received the funds and were meant to procure land where animals from neighbouring countries such as Tanzania are supposed to be secluded and screened,
“It’s unfortunate that they simply decided to hire the grounds. We want to know where this money went,” the Minister of Agriculture, Mr Frank Tumwebaze, said on Monday.
The government had planned to erect two cattle holding grounds on its porous border with Tanzania. One of them was supposed to be at Mutukula border in Kyotera District and another in Kamuli – a small village in Rakai District.
With nothing tangible on the ground, livestock farmers — especially those at Mutukula and Bugango border posts — freely cross the porous Uganda-Tanzania border in pursuit of water, pasture and cattle markets. This has in turn exposed livestock to diseases, with the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease a case in point.
Mr Patrick Kisekuulo, the chairperson of Kyotera District, said he only heard about the project.
He also confirmed that “it did not take off” and that if the money had been disbursed “I could have been in the know.”
Mr Edward Kamya, the Rakai District acting deputy chief administrative officer, pleaded ignorance as well.
He went on to express doubts about “whether [Agriculture] ministry officials are sure of what they are talking about” and that “we have not at any time in the past years received such an amount of money for such a project.”
Mr Kamya revealed that he only remembers a gentleman identified as Godfrey Karamuzi who is believed to have leased his piece of land to an unidentified UPDF general for use as a cattle holding ground.
When contacted, Mr Karamuzi confirmed having hired two acres of his land in Kibanda (Rakai District), but insisted it was a private arrangement .
“Those people still owe me some money, but I won’t tell you their names and how much it is. It has now taken around three years without paying me,” he said.
It is alleged that veterinary officers in the cattle corridor districts connived with business people to transport animals from infected areas in Tanzania to abattoirs dotting Uganda.
Issue
Veterinary doctors under their umbrella body — Uganda Veterinary Association (UVA) — have severally warned that rampant outbreak of zoonotic diseases stem from the collapse of veterinary services.
