Meat Board probes levy to cut through bureaucracy at veterinary services
The Meat Board of Namibia has started a consultation process to formulate a proposal to support the Directorate of Veterinary Services with the funding of essential services to enable the execution of export certification faster.
This entails establishing a levy specific for this purpose by the Meat Board, paid by all the components in the value chain and managed by the Meat Board. The first round of consultations regarding the levy proposal is finished and more consultations are envisaged.
According to the Meat Board, it was confronted by a shortage of funds which were allocated by the Ministry to the Directorate Veterinary Service, which in turn aggravated the slow release of funds needed by the Directorate, because of the bureaucratic processes of the government.
“A shortage of funds can hamper the efficiency of the Directorate (of veterinary services) which can potentially lead to restrictions on marketing,” the Meat Board noted.
