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Tobias Mandoreba, Business Correspondent
MINING companies in Zimbabwe have been urged to include safety as a top priority in their annual budgets as neglecting that critical component of operations has a huge potential of hampering efficiencies within the sector.
The call was made by Pump and Steel human resources manager Mr Ernest Jackson while officiating at the 2018 South Zone Chamber of Mines First Aid Competitions held at the Zimbabwe School of Mines in Bulawayo recently.
“Organisational leaders within mining companies in Zimbabwe must also in their annual budgets include safety as top priority as loss of life, shift time, injuries and damage to equipment have a big impact on production and most importantly company costs. Safety excellence is a panacea for high performance which in turns leads to high productivity and positive bottom lines.
“Mechanisms such as accident investigations, safety committees, safety action item tracking systems, hazard analysis, behaviour observation and feedback should be in place and vibrant in all mining entities,” he said.
During the competitions, Murowa Diamonds ruled the roost in the Surface category with 1103 points while Zimplats (Ngwarati) came second with 920 points and Mimosa Mine came third with 919 points. Hwange Colliery came fourth with 852 points.
Murowa also had the Best Captain in that category.
In the Underground category, the glory belonged to Zimplats (Mupfuti) who amassed 958 points to take top spot. Zimplats (Ngwarati) was second with 834 points while Hwange Colliery came third with 812 points. Vumbachikwe Mine came fourth with 738 points. Other mining entities that took part in the competitions are Blanket Mine, Bulawayo Gold Mine (formerly How Mine), Zimbabwe School of Mines, Favic and Renco Mine.
The national competitions, featuring top five teams in each category from Southern Region, will be held in September.
Online Reporter