Dr Bashiru acts tough against the management of Buzirayombo Livestock Market

GEITA: THE Minister for Livestock and Fisheries, Dr Bashiru Ally, has expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation, management, and operation of the Buzirayombo International Livestock Market Project in Chato, Geita Region, worth over 4bn/-, citing several shortcomings that are affecting the project’s efficiency.

The minister made the statement during his visit at the market and directed officials from the ministry to ensure that all shortcomings facing the project are addressed immediately.

The Buzirayombo International Livestock Market Project began in 2020 and was completed in 2022 at a cost of more than 4.8bn/-.

Additionally, Dr Bashiru mentioned the shortcomings at the project as poor market conditions, the operation of livestock trading without adherence to established procedures, including the failure to use weighing scales during livestock sales, a situation that deprives both sellers and buyers of their rights.

Dr Bashiru noted that despite the government incurring high costs to procure the weighing equipment, it is not being used properly.

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“This is unacceptable for a strategic national project. A lot of things are going wrong here and have to be fixed, including the shortage of water at the large livestock trading centre,” he said.

Emphasizing, the minister said that water is a basic requirement for the operation of the market.

As a result, he gave officials from the ministry an ultimatum of two to three days beginning today to ensure that the market has water.

“The water tank is in place, the infrastructure is sound, the water source exists, and there is a reserve underground tank, yet there is no water,” the minister wondered.