Top ferochrome producer, Zimasco has spent just over US$134 000 in various projects aimed at assisting Kwekwe towards combating the spread of the Covid-19 scourge.
Speaking Tuesday at the official handover ceremony of various projects which were being undertaken by the company in assisting the city combat the scourge, company CEO John Musekiwa, said the best way to fight the scourge was to maintain high standards of personal and communal hygiene.
“During this year 2020, Zimasco carries several corporate social responsibility projects in the City of Kwekwe for the benefit of the community in general.
“We purchased a refuse compactor to assist in garbage collection, drilled and equipped four boreholes in Amaveni, ME, Mbizo 6 and Mbizo 3, and our engineering staff at the Kwekwe smelter fabricated and installed, 12-foot operated hand washing facilities across the city at strategic locations including Kwekwe General Hospital,” he said.
Zimasco has also been installing and repairing tanks of water reticulation systems in council owned clinics and the hospital.
“These projects have been successfully implemented at a cost of just over US$134 000,” he said.
He said the facilities which were being handed over to the local authority were aimed at augmenting the provision of a cleaner environment, access to clean water and encouragement of hygienic practices such as hand washing.
“All are some of the key elements in minimising Covid-19 infections in the community.
“In addition, the support provided to clinics in the area of water supply has given these critical facilities a competitive edge, to be better able to protect and maintain the basic health of clinic staff and patients,” he said.
Musekiwa said Zimasco as a company acknowledged that sustainable value creation and the long term viability of the company’s chrome mining and smelting business depended on, among other initiatives, a continuous improvement in matters of safety, health and protection of the environment.
“This has become more important with the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, in the early months of this year, and as Zimasco, we immediately recognised the need for us to lend a hand to the best of our ability, to assist in protecting the community from this pandemic.
“The best strategy in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is to maintain high standards for both personal and communal hygiene.
“In recognition of this, Zimasco focused on making portable water available and accessible across the city, at strategic locations and in enhancing general cleanliness of the environment,” Musekiwa said.
The company’s initiatives earned plaudits from government.
Speaking at the same event, Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Larry Mavhima said Zimasco’s interventions in Covid-19 fight were highly commendable.
“Zimasco’s corporate social responsibility interventions have really shown the company’s commitment to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 within the city,” Mavhima said.
In addition to the projects which were handed over to Kwekwe City Council, Mavhima said, “Zimasco also donated Covid-19 prevention support interventions such as (sanitizers, surgical masks and gloves amongst others) and fuel for district Covid-19 taskforce of Kwekwe Clinics and Redcliff Municipality.”
He added that one of the major factors which supported hygiene in the context of Covid-19 prevention strategies was constant supply of water and availability of water.