Meat has not been sold in the Bolgatanga market for the past two weeks as a result of the refusal of butchers to relocate to a new abattoir.
The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly in the Upper East Region in a bid to solve the problem has called for applications from butchers to operate the newly constructed abattoir at Yorogo, a Community in the Municipality.
The call came after butchers at the old abattoir declined to relocate to the new abattoir after several negotiations with leadership and members of the Bolgatanga Butchers’ Association.
The abattoir was constructed in July 2017 with funding support from the World Bank and was commissioned for use in 2018 with modern slaughtering and animal processing facilities, lavatories, and a pavilion.
Following the decline by the butchers to relocate, the Assembly has locked up the old abattoir for the past one week and issued a public announcement to recruit butchers to operate in the new facility.
In an interview with the GNA, the Chief Butcher at the old abattoir Tindaazok Koldo, said prior to the construction of the new abattoir, management of the Assembly did consult the leadership of the Butchers Association.
Mr. Koldo said apart from the lack of consultation, the new abattoir cannot accommodate the about 400 butchers who operated in the old abattoir, adding that there is no livestock market near the new abattoir at Yorogo to keep them in business.
He said if the Assembly moves the livestock market to Yorogo they would also move to the new abattoir.
Contrary to the issues raised by the Chief Butcher, the Municipal Chief Executive, Rex Asanga, said the Assembly had held series of meetings with the butchers and even signed a Memorandum of Understanding to address their concerns.
”The butchers would have to relocate to the new facility before the livestock market can be relocated. The butchers only consumed about 40% of the livestock, while the remaining 60% was transported to Southern Ghana and patronized by the public.”
