12 Oct 2015

Government is committed to enhancing the standards of safety and health at work, Minister of Health, Ms Dorcus Makgato has said.

Speaking during the Botswana Chamber of Mines intermine first aid competitions in Letlhakane on Saturday, Ms Makgato said mining carried a high degree of risk.

“Th eprimary responsibility for safety and health at work lies with those who create the risks and those who work with them,” she said.

The strategy, therefore, she said was to foster self-regulation by duty holders and improve the safety performance of their workplaces, through legislation, enforcement, publicity and training.

Ms Makgato said promotion and education were important supplements to legislation and enforcement.

“The success of safety management approach in bringing about improvement in the standards of safety and health at work depend on a large extent on the inculcation of strong safety culture among employers, senior managers, supervisors and frontline workers,” she said.

She noted that it was widely recognised that safety training for workers helped to enhance safety awareness and reduce accidents at the workplace.

Ms Makgato said safety was a shared responsibility, saying government alone could hardly bring about long term improvement in work safety.

The mining industry, she said, had certainly made considerable progress in enhancing work safety.

The challenge ahead, she said was to consolidate position and make further improvements.
ENDS