Élevage : Immersion dans le vétuste abattoir régional de Labé

Located north of the city of Karamoko Alpha on the edge of the Labé – Mali prefectural road, the Labé regional slaughterhouse now resembles a giant garbage dump.

In addition to the lack of fencing and the glaring lack of water, the premises are regularly flooded by runoff, which carries all sorts of filth into every room of the building during this winter period. Added to this are the unsanitary conditions and the complete lack of maintenance, which are immediately apparent, as observed on site by the local news team.

Historic regional slaughterhouse in Labé!

Built in 1990 thanks to a French partner who was the head of training at CFEL (Livestock Training Center), namely Philippe Chedan, the slaughterhouse has not since benefited from any renovation, as explained here by Dr. Mamadou Kalifa Diallo, the prefectural director of livestock in Labé.

“This Frenchman often liked to buy his meat here. When he saw the state of the slaughterhouse and the efforts I was making here every day, he told me he was ready to find French partners through the cooperation aid fund to build a slaughterhouse. He urged us to put together the project, and we did it together.”

It was submitted and this slaughterhouse received funding. So, the work started in 1990 and ended in 1992. Since 1992, we have been here, but unfortunately, there is no maintenance,” he laments.

Current state of affairs

More than 30 years since its construction, the regional slaughterhouse in Labé continues its descent into hell year after year, according to Boubacar Kanté, the president of the management committee.

“During this rainy season, let me tell you that the slaughterhouse is sinking more and more each day. Every time it rains, runoff water floods the entire building.”

And every morning, we have to start by dredging, collecting the water drop by drop, then cleaning the place dry before slaughtering an animal. Otherwise, there are no activities. Otherwise, we make sure to maintain this place regularly, but with the rain, it’s impossible because the water carries mud, waste, and all sorts of filth to dump it here,” he insists.

Due to a lack of water, the slaughterhouse workers are very often forced to use water from the nearby stream for all their needs. They do this fully aware of all the risks involved. “We don’t have a well and we don’t have a borehole to supply us with drinking water.”

“Currently, we shouldn’t be using runoff water to clean the meat. It’s not normal because it’s unsuitable due to the microbes that flow into this stream. We have nowhere else to get water except this stream. If we had a well, we wouldn’t be using this water,” admits Boubacar Kanté.

Scope and revenue of the regional slaughterhouse

In addition to the urban commune of Labé, the slaughterhouse in question also supplies meat to the prefectures of Mali, Tougué, Koubia, and Lelouma, according to information obtained by the local Guineenews editorial team. This information was confirmed by Boubacar Kanté.

“This is the only slaughterhouse in the entire urban commune of Labé. So, we must do everything to maintain it in the same way that we take care of the hospital. Because people are only running around looking for something to eat. Everyone consumes meat. So, this is a common problem,” he believes.

For his part, Dr. Mamadou Kalifa Diallo also addressed the issue from another angle: “I can give you two sequences. The first sequence (August, September, October, November, December, January and February), we have an average of 20 slaughters per day.

Now, from March, April, May, June, July, sometimes there are zero slaughters. This is because animals are scarce and generally breeders don’t sell their animals when they are not in satisfactory condition.

Before continuing: “It’s a regional slaughterhouse. As I speak to you, you may have seen a pickup truck here; these are people from Pita who have come to collect meat. The meat, which is consumed in Tougué, Koubia, Mali, and Lélouma from March to July, comes from Labé.”

“Today (July 30, 2021, editor’s note), we slaughtered about 10 animals because cows are becoming increasingly rare; otherwise, in normal times, we have to slaughter between 20 and 30 animals to relieve the entire population. But with the current crisis, sometimes we only find 5 animals (…). It’s linked to the market,” explains Boubacar Kanté of the management committee.

Furthermore, the slaughter tax is the only tax paid at the slaughterhouse. This tax, amounting to one kilogram of meat per head, goes exclusively to the municipality, according to a municipal councilor. The municipality has established a management committee, which handles all taxes. The revenue is deposited into the account of the urban municipality of Labé at the Central Bank.

Faced with the numerous and varied problems plaguing the slaughterhouse, the chairman of the management committee is requesting everyone’s support for the swift rehabilitation of the infrastructure. “The municipality and the state must help us acquire a yard and a well. We are also asking them to help us create a clean and secure facility, as it is essential to provide the population with clean and healthy meat from a clean and sanitary environment,” he concluded.

Credit: guineenews