26 Feb 2019

Assistant general manager at Jwaneng mine, Mr Sedireng Serumola has called upon mine employees to exercise responsibility for their health.

Speaking at the Triple Zero Relay awards recently, Mr Serumola said the company’s workforce was an integral part of production, and that as the leadership, they were committed to ensuring their safety and welfare. “The company is committed to ensuring that welfare issues are taken seriously even though we are bound to have challenges,” he said.

He urged them to report potential hazards before they turned into incidents. He also underscored the need to avoid reporting for duty while unwell, saying it was likely to cause accidents.

He said the triple zero concept was possible if all employees pulled together towards achieving zero harm. He also noted that since the launch of the project, they have improved from 93 per cent to 98 per cent.

“It is possible for us to ensure that we mine our diamonds safely, and we do not have to wait for safety meeting to address safety issues,” he said.

Head of the Department of Safety and Sustainability Development, Ms Mpho Mosate said the various safety campaigns were designed to motivate employees to uphold the highest safety standards in the workplace and beyond. “The overall objective is to see all employees leave the mine safely to their families,” she said.

She emphasised the need to take personal responsibility, saying every employee was a safety leader who should point out risky behaviour without fear or favour.

For his part, Mr Partington Mtatabikwa, who is a victim of a workplace incident in South Africa, urged employees to change their mindset and attitude toward work and be pro-active. He said as masters of their own safety, employees should be aware of silent risks and not wait for accidents to occur.

“I have realised that fatigue is one of the factors that cause incidents, and therefore I encourage you to always do risk assessment because accidents decline the quality of life as you can see my situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Remote Drilling Services were awarded first position for upholding the highest safety standards in the mine’s business partner category, while their employee, Mr Lesole Maseko received the golden hat for emphasising safety in his everyday duties. ENDS