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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Sep 2009 : 20:24:44
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THE PRESIDENT, THE KMC MAYOR AND THE BUTCHERS
By Pateh Baldeh
In his speech shortly when Muslim elders met him as a traditional occasion in the Gambia every year after the Koriteh or Eid-ul Fitr the president of the Republic of The Gambia disclosed that when he was consulted on the issue of meat by the KMC Mayor he offered the Municipality 21 cattle to be slaughtered and sold.
However he mentioned that to his disappointment the same mayor called him and informed him that he could not get any Gambian butchers to sell the meat so that he could pay back the money and did not consider it prudent to rely on the foreign butchers.
The Views of the Mayor
When contacted the Mayor of KMC Mr. Yankuba Colley explained that he saw the need to consult the President for his municipality to benefit from what he said the BCC had benefited from. He said this was why he called on the president and made an appeal for his municipality to get some bulls for slaughtering for the Koriteh. He said after consulting some butchers he could not find any reliable Gambian butcher to shoulder the responsibility and had to call the president to stop the transportation of the bulls. He however admitted that the imported meat which was sold by KMC was sold by Gambian butchers. Major Colley also reveled that his council is ready to continue in the business of selling meat as the law grants them authority to invest in any legal business. He told this reporter that his council is also in consultation with the department to identify those who want to become butchers.
The Views of the Butchers
Our reporter visited some markets in the Municipality to get the version of the butchers.
At Serrekunda Market the first butcher who spoke to this reporter was Madikey Faal who said he is a bonafide citizen of this country and has been involved in the profession for many years. Another butcher Kolley Barry also a Gambian in the same market revealed that the mayor is only correct to say that he feared the loss in profit that he would incur, as the price of meat per kilo is very low compared to the whole sale price.. He said the main problem they are facing is lack of profit after slaughtering a bull and selling the meat since they are getting their bulls from Senegal. He said there are approximately 26 Gambian butchers in the KMC who are actively taking part in the business. He explained that copies of the certificates of many butchers are at the municipality. He said there are two categories of butchers, that is, Gambians and non Gambians.
At Bakau Market the president of the Banjul/Bakau Butcher’s Association, Mr.Sulayman Jallow also said that he is a Gambian and have many of his brothers who are involved in the profession. He said in the market all butchers are Gambians except two. He however requested Foroyaa to send a reporter to Senegal to asses the price of meat in that country where he said most of the cattle come from and compare it to the price in the country.
Both Ousman Dumbuya and Kaba Konteh, Gambian butchers, explained that they were not happy with the information received. Dumbuya explains that he had experienced some difficulties last year when he was given a cow to slaughter and sell at a price of D7, 500.00 and end up recovering only D7200.00 while losing an amount of D300.00 which he had to pay. He said the mayor could have explained that he could not find people who may take the responsibility and end up losing.
In Latrikunda Market Abdoulie Faal, Wally Jahabeh and Bachi Faal, Senegalese butchers, explained that they have been living in the country for years and once married to Gambians and are now with families. They said they should not be seen as untrustworthy foreigners. They claim that no responsibility would compel them to abandon their wives and children. They said some of them have been in the country since the 1970s and know very little about Senegal and have been contributing to nation building in the Gambia.
They called on the authorities to stop the use of the words foreigners and citizens and focus on those who are ready to serve the interest of all.
All the butchers we spoke to, irrespective of origin, explained some of their constraints, among which is lack of capital to buy bulls and high whole sale prices set by cattle owners/dealers. They said most of them depend on credit buying from dealers and if they default in paying the full amount as agreed due to the price fixed by the executive they end up being dragged to court, which they are now avoiding as much as possible because of their status as responsible people.
Source: Foroyaa Online
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