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Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter

THE National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has honoured businesses and organisations that have successfully implemented occupational safety and health programmes at their workplaces.

Safety and health have become the in-thing in modern industrial trends where scores of workers are either injured or succumb to accidents, some of which are a result of neglect or lack of proper occupational health and safety (OHS) policies.

Government is also crafting the Occupational and Health Safety Bill whose objective would be to make it mandatory for companies to implement such policies to create a good working environment for workers and customers.

The awards were handed over on Wednesday night during the Safety and Health at Work (SHAW) 2022 conference in Victoria Falls.

NSSA divided the country into six regions namely Bulawayo, Harare, Gweru, Masvingo, Mutare and Chinhoyi and companies in these provinces competed in five categories namely agriculture and forestry, mining, commerce and distribution, construction and manufacturing.

These are key sectors of the economy.

The awards were categorised as sectoral, provincial and national and were dominated by mining, energy, cement making and beverages companies.

These are usually the most compliant when it comes to OSH.

Schweppes were the gold winners while Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company/Chiadzwa and Unki mines were silver and bronze winners respectively.

Several other awards were given to other companies in different categories

Officiating at the event, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima who was guest of honour said the future of the country lies in the innovation of young entrepreneurs.

He said OSH should guide future programming.

“It is our own responsibility as young Zimbabweans to shun partisanship on issues that are national. This is a generational call we are making and we should embrace it, let’s do that as we sit as tripartite partners.

“Why can’t this generation give us economic independence? So, the awards you are receiving are not for your company but symbolise excellence this country can achieve through collective responsibility,” he said.

NSSA deputy board chair Mrs Marjorie Chinyemba said the social security parastatal seeks to celebrate and incentivize companies that did well in OSH in 2021 as industry reopened following Covid-19 lockdown.

She said as a tradition NSSA goes to industries to assess how they perform and implement OSH.

About 1 225 enterprises were assessed in 2021 although this was a decrease from the previous years.

Mrs Chinyemba said they used 22 competitive elements such as having an OSH policy, training, hazard identification, accident prevention strategy, wellness programmes, and emergency preparedness among others.

Companies that attained 75 percent and above qualified for the awards.

“Over the years the industry would not satisfy most of these requirements but of the 1 225 assessed, there was great improvement from the 25 percent over the last five years. This increased to an average of 35 percent performance compliance and although it far from, satisfactory, this is better,” she said.

Schweppes national OSH coordinator Ms Bongani Mathuthu said the beverages manufacturer won because of its life-saving rules and policy of deviating from the culture of blaming shop floor workers for mishaps.

-@ncubeleon