Maravi

Vets agree to form regulatory council

Vets agree to form regulatory council
By Gift Chanda
Tue 06 Mar. 2012, 11:00 CAT

VETERINARY practitioners in the country have agreed to form a council to regulate their profession.

During a Veterinary Association of Zambia (VAZ) Extraordinary Annual General Meeting held last Friday, the veterinary practitioners ratified the VAZ constitution to accommodate the veterinary and para veterinary Act, which would see the establishment of the Veterinary Council of Zambia.

According to minutes of the meeting attended by over 100 veterinary doctors and para veterinarians drawn from the public, private and academic circles, the formation of the council had been necessitated by the influx of foreign vets operating in the country at the expense of local experts.

"It is not possible, for a example, for Zambian vets to go and operate in South Africa without going through rigorous exams and other procedures but the converse does not hold here," the minutes read.

On the new structure of the merged Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the veterinary experts present said the issue of them reporting to junior officers who were in the positions of district as well as provincial co-coordinators would not be feasible.

They said merging of the two ministries had led to a bulk of the agriculture funding going towards Farmer Input Support Programme and the Food Reserve Agency (FRA), masking the livestock and fisheries components.

The meeting proposed that separate divisions run by permanent secretaries would suffice.

Agriculture permanent secretary Dr David Shamulenge, who is also a veterinarian and a former Provincial Veterinary Officer of North Western Province, hailed the planned formation of the council.

He said the move would instill a sense of pride in the profession.

Dr Shamulenge also urged Veterinary Services director Dr Joseph Mubanga to be conversant with the PF manifesto so that he is able to articulate PF's policies to his juniors who are the implementers of government programs.

Labels: CATTLE DISEASE

posted by MrK @ 4:19 PM