The Affirmative Repositioning (AR) has criticised Thursday’s announcement that dried meat of cloven-hoofed animals is now eligible to be moved into the foot-and-mouth disease free zone, as only a partial reform.
“While we view this exemption as a step forward in dismantling the economic and spatial injustices created by the redline, AR firmly maintains its position: the veterinary cordon fence – infamously known as the redline – must be abolished In totally,” AR co-founder George Kambala said in a statement on Monday.
The Directorate of Veterinary Services has maintained that while dried meat of cloven-hoofed animals may now be brought into the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free zone, raw meat not produced under commodity based-trade may not.
This is due to the fact that FMD survives in animals’ tissues, including lymph nodes and bone marrow even after freezing.
AR is urging the government to remove the restrictions entirely, arguing that the barrier is a colonial tool undermining the constitutional principle of equal market access and equal access to economic resources for all Namibians.
They state that removal of the ‘redline’ would reduce hunger and poverty, create employment opportunities, and create growth in the meat industry.
“The time for half-measures is over. Dismantle the redline. Open up the country. Let the people trade,” Kambala stated.
