Essential Ndubuisi
By Chukwuemeka Modilim
Anambra State House of Assembly has passed a bill for a law to prohibit and abolish open and normadic Cattle and other livestock grazing and rearing in Anambra State, to establish Cattle and other livestock Ranches in the State.
The bill provides that a person or group of persons shall not ,after the commencement of this law,engage in open normadic livestock herding or grazing in any part of the state whether day or night outside the permitted ranches.
The Bill made it clear that any person or group persons who contravens sub-section one of this section commits an offence and shall, on summary conviction,be liable to 2 years imprisonment or two hundred and fifty thousand naira fine or both.
Where such contraventions causes damage to farm,crops or property of any person the owner or manager of such livestock shall after evaluation of the damage by the management committee, pay the current monetary value of the farm crops or property damaged to the owner.
The Bill outlined procedure for establishment of a ranch,ownership of ranch by indigenes, status and revocation of lease and ranching permit,establishment of livestock special task force,establishment and membership of the Local government advisory committee amongst others.
Speaker of the House, Right Honourable Uche Okafor commended the House for painstaking passing the bill and read out the bill for passage, while the lawmakers supported it through a voice vote.
In his remarks, the former speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Dom Obiekie applauded the House for passing a bill that will arrest open grazing in Anambra State.
At the plenary, the House invited the Director, Estate Services, Anambra State Housing Development Corporation, Mr. Anthony Nwaofo to appear before it on the 21st of October, 2021 to explain why he did not carry out their directives .
