By Staff Reporter
ZAKA – Butcheries in Zaka and across Masvingo Province are reportedly selling meat from sick
and dead animals, with a popular butcher in Jerera accused of using agents to buy dead and sick
animals at very low prices and making a killing from people’s desperation.
Sources who spoke to TellZim News said many no longer buy meat from butcheries in Jerera,
which have become notorious as January Disease continues to ravage the district.
The death of animals in past years has greatly reduced the herd in the district, making it difficult
for butcheries to find healthy animals for slaughter.
Efforts to get a comment from Zaka Rural District Council Chief Executive Officer David
Majaura for comment on the council’s measures to curb the vice, were futile as his cell went
unanswered several times.
However, a source at the council said the local authority currently has no Environmental Health
Technician, so they rely on the Ministry of Health to inspect meat.
“We don’t have an EHT at the moment as council. However, we rely on the Ministry of Health
and Child Care to inspect the meat in Zaka and Jerera,” said the source.
Contacted for comment, Zaka District Environmental Health Officer Ephison Chikomo said the
mandate to inspect meat was within the Ministry of Health, and they were doing all they could to
inspect meat, but there could be ways people were selling unfit meat.
He said the local authority had no abattoir, so people were slaughtering animals on their own and
would invite personnel from his office to inspect the meat.
“At law, the meat is inspected by the EHT. Zaka District has no abattoir where butcheries can
use to slaughter cattle, and we inspect from there. So those who run butcheries do call us to
inspect their meat upon paying requisite fees,” said Chikomo.
He said there were few cattle in the district, and they sometimes spend a week without receiving
any call to inspect meat. He did not rule out the possibility of some selling already dead meat or
slaughtering sick animals.
“We try our best, but we cannot rule out that some could be selling uninspected meat. That is
unlawful, and anyone caught will be prosecuted,” said Chikomo.
Sources said in Jerera, most people were no longer buying meat from butcheries, preferring those
in other business centres in rural areas.
“We no longer buy meat here. I prefer to buy in Chivamba or Gumbo. There are butcheries that I
trust there,” said a source.
This reporter posed as a seller and spoke to one butcher who said they could not buy dead
animals but could buy sick ones.
“Yakafa hatitori, dai iri mhenyu ichirwara hayo ok. We don’t buy dead animals; if it was live but
then it was sick, that’s okay,” said the butcher.
This mean they were buying sick animals and sell to unsuspecting locals posing a health risk to
the people.
The issue is not unique to Zaka, as most butcheries are buying sick and dead animals across the
province.
