28 Jul 2013

Botswana Ash (BOTASH) has been applauded for achieving five million fatality free man shifts, a first for the mining industry in Botswana and an important milestone in the history of occupational health and safety.

The Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Mr Edwin Batshu said at a celebration to mark an achievement that has been in the making for the last 17 years by the soda ash and salt miner on Thursday in Sowa Town.

Mr Batshu noted that the mining industry, with its complex equipment, presented a high risk not only to the safety and health of employees, but also to the safety of the very expensive plant and machinery used in production. “It is therefore pleasing to note that your organisation has invested heavily over the years to reduce the risk of injury,” he said.

This, he stressed, had resulted in a decreasing number of work place injuries over the years. “I am happy to learn that the number of serious injuries in the Botswana mining industry that are reportable to the Department of Mines has reduced from 73 in 1998 to 16 by mid-2013,” he added.

He said that the number of fatal injuries had decreased from 10 to 2 in the same period. This reduction, he mentioned, is even more impressive as employment in the industry increased by 25 per cent over that period.

The minister commended all stakeholders in the mining industry, boards of directors, management, employees, unions and the Chamber of Mines for the great efforts they were putting in place to foster a safe and healthy work environment for employees.

Mr Batshu noted that the decrease in injurious incidents was indeed commendable but cautioned against complacency. He added that one minor incident is one too many, because such an incident may in future lead to more serious incidents.

Consequently, he noted that it had been recognised that elimination of fatalities in the work place could not be adequately addressed through a general safety programme. He said programmes are thus designed to also prevent minor injuries. “The very low frequency of fatal and severe injuries means the fatalities can be easily lost amongst statistics, hence the need to address them separately, based on a severity criterion,” he asserted.

Mr Batshu said that special protocols to address fatality risks were the best way to reduce the incidence of fatalities in the work place. He also stressed that commitment to safety and health should be as much a part of the culture as is dedication to making profits.

The minister explained that government had since the early 1970s shown commitment to the promotion of occupational safety and health through the enactment of various statutes, such as the Factories Act, the Mines, Quarries, Works and Machinery Act, the Atmospheric Pollution Control Act, the Agrochemicals Act and the Radiation Protection Act.

All these laws, he highlighted, bear testimony to the position of government towards safety and health. On other issues, he noted that government would continue to work with the private sector to improve and put in place the right instruments to support business in the country by promoting safety and health in the workplace.

Botash management was praised  for the five million fatality free man shifts and urged to take time to reflect on their accomplishments as a team.

The managing director of Botash, Mr Montwedi Mphathi applauded the employees and all stakeholders for having played a part in the realisation of such a feat and promised that the company was committed to setting new records in all spheres of the mining industry.

However, Mr Mphathi pointed out that one of the biggest barriers to operating a successful business in Botswana was transport, which he singled out as the biggest barrier to trade and development. ENDS