Some of the pigs that were rejected
Lwengo district authorities have rejected 100 piglets supplied under Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) because of the failure by the contractor to provide proper documents detailing the delivery.
Apart from the delivery form highlighting the number of piglets, the contractor – Alsalam Logistic Company, did not have a movement permit and vaccination schedule of the piglets among other requirements.
Apollo Jjuuko Kasiita, the Lwengo Resident District Commissioner, says the piglets were delivered at the time of the Foot-and-Mouth quarantine without the required documents.
Much as it is a government Programme, Kasiita explains that the lack of proper documents creates doubt whether or not the pigs came from a district under quarantine.
He explains that the interception of the piglets was meant to curtail the spread FMD from one district to another as well as to establish whether the distribution sheet tallies well with the quality and weight ordered by OWC.
According to Kasiita, the majority of farmers in the recipient districts are left out of the Programme since the distributors do not buy the items from their area. He noted that the distributors usually inflate the prices of items bought outside the recipient district.
Aggrey Mulimira, the Lwengo Chief Administrative Officer, says that the OWC procedures usually encourage buying and distribution of seeds and animals from the locality where the beneficiaries are found. He explains that this is done because animals and crops or seedlings are used to the environment and can easily cope with any situation within the locality.
Ponsiano Matovu Balikka, the OWC coordinator in Lwengo says that several farmers in different groups applied for the piglets and they are waiting for the contractor to present the necessary documents to district authorities so that the distribution can start.
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