adminMernat Mafirakurewa Business Editor
THE trend these days in industry, particularly among big international companies, is to employ safety, health and environmental (SHE) professionals to drive safety, health and environmental protection.The importance of safety and health at workplaces is recognised by these large companies, which pride themselves on their safety and health records.
High accident rates at workplaces adversely affect a company’s profitability and reputation.
Companies in Zimbabwe that have SHE departments include Hwange Colliery Company Limited (HCCL), Delta, Zimplats, Zimasco, Chemplex, Unki, Hippo Valley (Tongaat), Turnall, Lafarge, Zimplow, Olivine, Hunyani, BAT, Zisco and Mimosa among others.
Owing to the importance of SHE, the government enacted Statutory Instrument 7 of 2007, which allowed independent companies registered with the Environment Management Agency (EMA) to carry out Environmental Impact Assessment according to the EMA Act.
One such company is Bulawayo-based Environmental Guardians Services (EGS).
Promulgated in 2009, Environmental Guardians has carried out a number of EIAs and SHE audits for various local authorities and corporates across the economic spectrum.
The company is a brainchild of Michael Montana, a holder of a BSc Honours in Geography and Science with a vast experience spanning over 10 years as an environmentalist at the country’s largest coal mining firm, HCCL and later at Blanket, a gold mine in Gwanda.
Montana’s credentials also include a Diploma in Environmental Health as well as a Diploma in Occupation Health.
“I started offering environmental consultancy services as an individual after quitting Blanket Mine in 2007 after realising that I could make it as an individual instead of waiting for a salary from the employer,” he said in a wide ranging interview.
“At that time the economy was really biting as the Zimbabwean dollar was being eroded by hyperinflation almost on a daily basis and with the employer failing to cope with adjusting salaries on time I decided to go solo”.
The company focuses on environmental, safety and health issues as well as research with the aim of becoming a regional partner in sustainable development.
It employs a variety of safety, health and environmental practitioners as well as social development experts (on contract basis) with vast experience in environmental, occupational health and safety, public health and pollution.
Environmental Guardians Services’ team includes two environmentalists, two ecologists, two geologists, two archaeologists, two social scientists, a metallurgist and a wildlife expert.
“We endeavour to enable the sustainable development of industries and communities consistent with sound SHE management through the delivery of quality professional consultancy services for the best contribution to social and economic well being of Zimbabwe and its environmental health.
“Most big companies now have SHE departments but consultancy on SHE issues is done by an independent environmental consultant. Companies are increasingly being concerned with safeguarding the safety and health of their workers so an audit to this effect is done by an independent company,” Montana said.
Environmental consulting is often a form of compliance consulting in which the consultant ensures that the client maintains an appropriate measure of compliance with environmental regulations.
There are many types of environmental consultants but the two main groups are those who enter the field from the industry side and those who enter the field from the environmental side.
Montana said the country had made significant strides in addressing safety and environment issues at workplaces as well as communities.
“As a country we have gone very far in addressing safety and environment issues with lobby groups as well as regulatory bodies taking the lead. However, most company executives don’t realise the importance of protecting the environment in which they are working in,” he said.
“They take issues to do with environment secondary to issues such as occupation health. Occupation health issues have been addressed since the late 70s but environmental issues only started in 2003 when the EMA Act was enacted thus EMA needs to vigorously address issues of awareness especially to company executives.”
A number of manufacturing companies and mines in various parts of the country have been closed for failure to adhere to standing rules and regulations pertaining to safety and environment issues.
“There are a number of companies that have been closed down for failure to comply with environment and safety regulations. There is a need for our companies to work towards attaining and adopting ISO 14 001 environment management systems, which is an international standard that can be achieved in a strict environment set-up and these are certified through the Standard Association of Zimbabwe,” Montana said.
ISO 14 001 is an international environmental standard awarded by an independent body (the International Standardization Organisation, ISO). It ensures that the site (manufacturing, logistics, commercial or office) has set up a system to manage its environmental impacts: the certified site must implement an environmental policy, action plans, controls, corrective actions and management reviews. ISO 14 001 certification is awarded after an audit has been carried out by an accredited body.
Environment Guardians Services has carried out numerous EIAs for local authorities and both gold and coal mines.
It recently carried out a coal mining EIA for China Africa Sunlight Energy and is also doing an EIA for the setting up of a power station by the same company.
China Africa Sunlight Energy is set to be the biggest coal mining concern in the country with downstream industries such as fertilizer manufacturing, methane gas extraction and brick moulding.
An EIA is a formal process used to predict the environmental consequences (positive or negative) of a plan, policy, program, or project prior the implementation decision, it proposes measures to adjust impacts to acceptable levels or to investigate new technological solution.
Although it could lead to difficult economic decisions, strong political and social commitments, it
protects environment which is the basis for effective and sustainable development.
“We usually face challenges during stakeholders’ consultative meetings with most institutions failing to forward their complaints in time for the reviewing of the EIA by EMA,” Montana said.
He also said most environment consultancy firms in Matabeleland were being overlooked to carry out EIA for proposed projects in their area of jurisdiction.
“When tenders are flighted for work to be carried out in Matabeleland we tend to be overlooked and we believe there is regionalism in awarding government project tenders as companies from Harare usually get the nod at our expense.
“For instance the EIA for the Zambezi Water Project was awarded to a Harare company but if it were to be given to a company in Matabeleland it would have been good for empowerment which is of course enshrined legislatively. This syndrome of thinking that everything from Harare is the best should come to an end,” Montana said.
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