Vets lament unemployment, uncontrollable quacks
BY ALBERT TONUI
Transmara region veterinary practitioners ask the government to consider recruiting more officers in the field arguing that there is acute shortage in the region.
The officers who addressed Kass digital in Farmers hotel in Kilgoris town blamed the Narok county government for neglecting them even though most of them are fully accredited veterinary officers.
According to the chairman for the Transmara for veterinary practitioners association Richard Kirui there is an acute shortage of the specialist veterinary officers and thus there is need to more to be recruited.
Kirui at the same time decried a high rising number of quacks who cause a lot of losses to farmers and creating unnecessary competition with them.
He asks the government to help weed out such untrained personnel insisting that anyone purporting to offer veterinary services should be registered with a concerned board.
”The government should consider employing a good number of us. We have vast experience yet there is acute shortage of veterinary practitioners in different sectors.
Another big challenge is the quacks who masquerade as vet officers and cheating innocent and unsuspecting farmers.
They should be gagged completely and we are calling on the government body in charge to deal with them accordingly.” Kirui said.
The sentiments were echoed by other members who said most of them have used a lot of resources to study yet the government cannot employ them.
“These quacks are a real threat to our profession and farmers are easily tricked and they end up incurring losses.
The employed veterinary specialists are very few. The Narok county governor Patrick Ntutu should intervene and save the situation.” Andrew Lempasi and Maritim said.
