Lupane – UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Zimbabwe, Mr. Edward Kallon, on Saturday, described the ZRBF funded Jotsholo Abattoir as a successful case study of a public private partnership. Kallon was on a two-day tour of Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund projects in Matabeleland province.
The Jotsholo Abattoir was established through a partnership between Outback Safaris (Pvt) Ltd and the Jotsholo Community Trust, in 2020. The partnership was facilitated by DanChurchAid, the lead partner in the ZRBF-Sizimele consortium. Each partner contributed 50% of the total cost of the construction of the abattoir.
“This is a very good project that demonstrates effective partnerships and has a very strong sustainability focus,” said Kallon, who presented his credentials to the President last week.
The Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund is a long-term development initiative implemented by the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development funded by the European Union (EU), Government of Sweden, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the increased capacity of communities to protect development gains from hazards and disasters.
The Grade B abattoir is the first of its kind in Matabeleland North, which is among the most underdeveloped regions in the country. The project was designed to facilitate value addition at grassroots level, bringing the market to the people. The district has an average cattle population of 107,000 and close to 600 cattle were previously slaughtered every month, in Bulawayo. This deprived cattle farmers of up to US$50 in transport costs. In addition, distortion in market prices meant farmers were not realizing the true value from their cattle sales.
“We saw an opportunity to establish a project that would not only benefit the community today but continue to do so for generations to come.” Said ZRBF-Sizimele Project Lead, Mr. Diego Matsvange.
The local community is represented through a multi-stakeholder registered Community Trust to ensure local empowerment of the community through active participation. In its first year of operation, the abattoir provided the local community with a livestock market for 3,065 cattle and 423 goats/sheep, injecting over US$1.5m into the rural community.
The abattoir is one of a few in the country paying cattle owners 100% in United States Dollars.
Since the maiden slaughter on 8 March 2020, 15 people have been employed at the abattoir earning a total of US$1,880 per month. Furthermore, the Trust receives 10% of all slaughter fees (currently US$2 per beast) as an indefinite entitlement. The community Trust has to date received a total of US$6,130 as passive income to cater for community development projects in the district.
Priority community projects undertaken include road rehabilitation, livestock pass on gifts and roofing of schools.
