Councillors ask district officials to account for cows, goats sold

Rukungiri District councillors have expressed concern over the sale of animals from the district stock farm without accountability.
They say the district sold cows and goats, but efforts to have the farm restocked have not yielded results.

“It is very unfortunate that the district’s top leadership has disregarded the district council resolutions because during our previous council sessions, we instructed the district top leaders to restock the farm but nothing has been done. This means that the Shs78m, which was raised after the sale of 40 cows and 45 goats cannot be accounted for,”  Mr Mathias  Mwesigwa Rwabugumi , the district councillor for Nyarushanje Sub- county, says.

Apparently, there are only 52 cows in the stock farm out of the more than 200 that the farm had at its initiation.
Mr Albert Rwamugata, the district councillor representing Buyanja Sub-county, says selling animals without replacement will deplete the farm.
“In our last council meeting in May, we directed the district production office to restock our district stock farm but he hasn’t heeded our calls,” he says.

Mr Brain Bantu, the councillor for Nyakishenyi Sub-county, says the people of Nyarushanje sacrificed their land for the government to establish a stock farm but it is unfortunate that they have not benefited from it.
“In 2022, the current district leadership sold cows worth Shs46 million. This year they have sold 16 cows but the issue of restocking has been left out. This shows how the current leadership is treating matters of importance. If this is not addressed, a lot of problems await in the 2026 General Election,” he says.

Mr Michael Byarugaba, the secretary for production and natural resources, says they have secured funds to restock the farm.
“The money we raised after the sale of the cows was transferred to the central government and we  requested it back to allow us to restock the farm, so, take heart we have not ‘eaten’ the money as some of you think,’’ he says.

The Rukungiri District chairperson, Mr Geoffrey Kyomukama, says the executive committee discovered that the supplier had poor breeds and that’s why they have delayed to restock the farm. 
“We are still looking for good breeds that will be of great value to the district in future,” he says.
The Chief Administrative Officer, Mr Masokoyi Wasswa, says the matter is being sorted.

“If we are to get cows , we have to be careful where to get better breeds that can give 10 to 20 litres of milk on a daily basis, so we are in the process of procuring them. People should know that procurement is not done in a single day, it takes time,” he says.