Amid sector ‘rot’, vet agency seeks more funding to restore sanity

By Steve Umidha

Strengthening compliance to livestock farming policies and the lowest budget in years, Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB) is now turning to the National Treasury for help in opening seven new regional offices across the country to meet its obligations.

Its Board Chairman Christopher Wanga said on Monday that the board was seeking up to Sh250million to help it wade off quacks that have assaulted the subsector with the inspectorate offices to be used in enhancing scrutiny.

“Our aim is to strengthen the current laws to help us effectively deliver on our mandate. We are also facing a big problem with quacks that have infested this sector. Our small budget however, is making this almost impossible. We are seeking more funding to help us achieve this,” said Mr. Wanga will addressing journalists at the Board’s head office.

Presently according to the board’s chief executive Dr. Indraph Ragwa, it is estimated that the country has over 2,900 registered veterinary surgeons and over 9,000 registered paraprofessionals in the profession with a good number not in its registry believed to be operating without legal credentials – putting the lives of livestock and humans at risk.

The board has further listed a host of recommendations and proposals of amendments to veterinary surgeons and veterinary paraprofessionals (VSVP) Act of 2011, which among other things seek to offer clear cut mandate of the two cadre of professionals.

He was speaking in the wake of #RedAlert expose which was broadcasted on a local television on Sunday 14 July 2019 which highlighted the malpractices and shortcuts unscrupulous dealers and suppliers are using to extend the shelf life of meat and poultry products.

The expose had revealed how such greedy individuals were cutting corners while putting lives of millions of consumers at risk with boiled matumbo, minced meat and chicken liver said to be some of the most contaminated meats being sold in some Nairobi supermarkets to unsuspecting customers.

Certificates obtained from the National Public Health Laboratory Food Safety and Nutrition Reference Laboratory results indicate that some outlets have been selling meat laced with a preservative that should not be detected in meat.

Following revelations that some meat sellers were harming buyers in their use of preservatives, the Health ministry analyzed 40 samples of meat last week from random establishments.

The minced meat samples, for instance, were found to have sodium metabisulfite whose levels were 31 times higher than what is accepted by law.