Bad week for KAT

THE slaughterhouse of the Karas Abattoir and Tannery (KAT) near Keetmanshoop was brought to a standstill by a mechanical failure and a water shortage last week.

KAT’s Managing Director, Willem Swartz, said the breakdown and water cut caused a severe delay in the slaughtering process. He said only 814 sheep were slaughtered on Wednesday instead of the planned 1 546.On Thursday, only 1 394 sheep were slaughtered.At full capacity, the abattoir slaughters an average of 1 500 sheep a day.Swartz said a conveyor belt failed on Wednesday but was repaired the same day.However, on Thursday NamWater suspended the abattoir’s water supply, again stopping the slaughtering process.According to Swartz, NamWater cut the water supply because of maintenance work on the pipeline supplying water to KAT.”What makes things worse is that NamWater did not bother to inform us about the water supply cut in advance,” he said.KAT was recently forced to lay off workers to make ends meet.The company’s financial statements for 2004-2005 recorded a loss and forecast a further loss for 2005-2006.He said only 814 sheep were slaughtered on Wednesday instead of the planned 1 546.On Thursday, only 1 394 sheep were slaughtered.At full capacity, the abattoir slaughters an average of 1 500 sheep a day.Swartz said a conveyor belt failed on Wednesday but was repaired the same day.However, on Thursday NamWater suspended the abattoir’s water supply, again stopping the slaughtering process.According to Swartz, NamWater cut the water supply because of maintenance work on the pipeline supplying water to KAT.”What makes things worse is that NamWater did not bother to inform us about the water supply cut in advance,” he said.KAT was recently forced to lay off workers to make ends meet.The company’s financial statements for 2004-2005 recorded a loss and forecast a further loss for 2005-2006.