Zimpapers Logo

Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]

THE National Social Security Authority (Nssa) Workers Compensation Rehabilitation Centre (WCRC) in Bulawayo has become a beacon of hope for employees who would have suffered serious injuries while at work as it provides them life skills to be productive again.

Situated next to Mpilo Central Hospital, the facility offers different services to workers who would have been injured while on duty. This includes physiotherapy treatment to help affected workers recover from their injuries as we as counselling sessions.

Apart from physical treatment, WCRC teaches vocational training to injured workers who would have suffered a certain degree of injuries and not be able to return to their previous jobs.

The facility teaches poultry, carpentry, metal fabrication, and dress making projects among other life skills to workers whose injuries inhibit them from rejoining their crafts.

Mr Simon Magagani (above) and Mr Givemore Makumika (right) undergo therapy at the Nssa rehabilitation centre in Bulawayo recently

A Zambian delegation visited the country last week to learn on how Zimbabwe was dealing with the rehabilitation of workers and was impressed with the WCRC facility and what it offers.

Nssa acting director in charge of occupational safety and health, Dr Betty Nyereyegona, said through WCRC, injured workers are given a second chance to productivity and financial independence.

“The rehabilitation process aims to regain whatever independence that that person can have regardless of the state they are in,” she said.

“It also aims to get them to some level of productivity and it is an important part of the healing process for somebody who would have gotten ill or injured in the workplace,” said Dr Nyereyegona.

She said the services offered at the WCRC were of world-class standard and among the best in Africa. “One of the things that we do here is provide a return to work service so our rehabilitation process is very purposeful.

“We have a journey that we want to take an individual from. From the time that they are admitted to the point when they are discharged there is a certain path that we want to follow,” she said.

“It’s a unique type of rehabilitation, which is the reason why the Zambian colleagues are coming to benchmark us on,” said Dr Nyereyegona.

“As Zimbabwe, we are privileged that we have this within our social security system where we are able to help workers who would have been injured in the workplace.”

She said the metal fabrication industry is now dominating sectors where workers get injured while at mainstream mining sector is now recording reduced work-related accidents.

“However, in those sectors like mining that is where we get serious injuries. The serious injuries where people will get spinal injuries we get them from road traffic accidents, mining accidents and at times agriculture,” said Dr Nyereyegona.

She said men were the major victims of work related injuries largely because they dominate the workplace.

Zambia’s Workers Compensation Control Board committee chairperson, Mr Anthony Dumingu, said they were impressed with how the WCRC was run.
“The lessons are very clear and the rehabilitation centre is a very important component of the whole cycle of work-related injuries right from prevention. We are cognisant that accidents do happen even as we try as much as possible to prevent them,” he said.

“The rehabilitation centre helps people get back to work and those who are injured back to good health. It’s a very important component because in Zambia we do not have such a facility.

“What we do for those who would be needing physiotherapy, we outsource from the private sector and it becomes expensive as these facilities are not in one place like we see here, which we want to take back home,” said Mr Dumingu.

He said vocational training is also a good model to adopt as they were only encouraging those who were injured to pursue academic training and start new careers.
Mr Dumingu said the Zimbabwean skills training approach encourages selfreliance as opposed to job seeking that comes with pursuing academics.

“This is also a take home and the other thing is the building of houses with relevant social amenities such as a toilet, which is an easy access, a ramp and those things that we need on a daily basis,” said Mr Dumingu.

“These people who suffer work related injuries had been okay at some point and when you have an accident, it has quite a lot of impact on you,” he said.
“You will not be the same person, your capacity to earn, your capacity to take care of your family is actually reduced or removed for some persons. So, with a rehabilitation centre like this, injured workers are given a form of hope as these people are rehabilitated and integrated back into society.” -@nqotshili