TENDAI BHEBE IN BULAWAYO
The Bulawayo City Council (BCC) is working towards attaining the occupational health and safety management system certification as it seeks to create a safer work environment.
BCC’s acting town clerk, Dictor Khumalo, said the local authority values the safety, health and wellbeing of its employees.
“I am glad that council is working towards being ISO 45001 certified, an occupational safety and health management systems council adopted in January 2022, “ Khumalo said at a ceremony to celebrate the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on Friday last week.
He said the city has adopted the systems approach in doing business in a bid to realise vision zero where there are no accidents, injuries and work-related illnesses.
“Our workers in various council departments and services such as water sanitation and hygiene buildings and road construction among others face these challenges. On a daily basis in a bid to achieve a leading smart and transformative city by 2024.”
The NSSA’s occupational safety and health officer Absolom Zimuto said a safe work environment is not one that is based on production without safety, but one where there should be safety with production.
“Safety first, and then we produce,” he said.
“(We are implementing this system) on a daily basis in a bid to achieve a leading smart and transformative city by 2024.”
The development comes at a time when official data obtained from NSSA shows that at least 75 workers died in 2022 while more than 4 800 were injured at work in Zimbabwe.
In 2017, more than 5 000 workers were seriously injured with 65 fatalities recorded. At least 434 injuries and six deaths were recorded in 2018.
