Council to divest St James Abattoir
Published:Friday | July 8, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The cash-strapped St James Parish Council says it is looking at a divestment plan for the operations of the municipal abattoir into private hands; nine years after its closure and a $3.8-million reburbishing project.
According to Mayor Charles Sinclair, divestment is the main option being pursued for the slaughterhouse, which he says requires major capital outlay to meet its high operational and maintenance costs.
"I am looking at different options which include divesting the abattoir to persons, including the butchers who could take on that type of investment if it serves them," he told The Gleaner. "They would put in the requirement of the Scientific Research Council and operate it according to the standards that the council set."
Wastewater system
The council has also struggled to fund a wastewater system designed by the Scientific Research Council (SRC) five years ago, which would connect the facility to the National Water Commission's (NWC) structure.
Sinclair indicated that based on the municipal's assessment, it would take a major capital injection to acquire and connect the facility to the NWC system.
"I have been told that the Scientific Research Council developed a system specific to the St James Abattoir, on behalf of the St James Parish Council four to five years ago but it seems that it was not implemented," explained NWC community relations manager for the western region, Ava Marie Ingram.
"The NWC's wastewater system operates under specific standards and will only accept effluent treated to that standard."
In the meantime, butchers in the parish have been forced to slaughter animals at satellite stations across the parish with the closure of the facility, as confirmed by Dr Alexander Konstantinov, technical officer in the Western Regional Health Authority.
"The butchers slaughter their animals on a specific day of the week at the satellite stations and the public health inspectors are present to inspect the meat and affix the appropriate stamp," he said.
He was unaware if other locations and uninspected meat was being offered for sale across the parish.