Rössing Uranium scooped the Chamber of Mines of Namibia’s Inter-Mine Safety Competition Award for operating mines (Division A) in the country. This was announced by the Chairperson, Health & Safety Committee, Barcelona Tsauses, on Wednesday, 30 August, at the Chamber of Mines of Namibia’s Mining Expo and Conference.
Rössing Uranium, Health, Safety and Environment Manager Jacklyn Mwenze accepted the award on behalf of the mine, for the third time, in the past five years.
In her acceptance speech, she said, it is a privilege to be recognised for our contribution to the success of creating a safe work environment for all who walk through the gates of Rössing Uranium Limited. “Rössing accepts this prestigious award with grace and humility knowing that with safety no one really arrives. We are all on a journey founded on sound values and a sheer commitment to the safety and wellbeing of everyone who works at Rössing, and we do not rest on this journey, as every second is precious in terms of preservation of human lives,” she said.
“We all know that great achievements are possible only with the cooperation of many minds sharing a common vision and working toward a common goal. The teamwork of more than 2000 people working at Rössing allowed us to reach these great heights of excellence in safety performance to which we received your recognition.” Using Simon Sinek’s “starting with the WHY” analogy; putting safety management as a priority in a business is like starting with the “WHY” and the Rössing Uranium answer to that why is – because WE CARE, “We care for our people’s safety and wellbeing, and we care for the environment in which we operate. This is the core value that drives our efforts.
“It is our shared responsibility to ensure that every worker can go home safely every day. As an industry, we must all commit ourselves to making our workplaces safe for our workers because every life is precious,” she said, adding that there are various strategies at Rössing Uranium, on how the mine manages safety, and that there is no silver bullet. “The fundamental principles in how we do it can be narrowed down to two things: namely, Ownership and Partnership with a dash of technological innovation added to it.”
“Ownership speaks to leaders that walk the talk by setting and upholding workplace health and safety policies and ensuring that everyone actively owns and participate in the programs and initiatives. Partnership for us speaks to our own efforts that are aimed at workforce engagement and encouraging participation to extend beyond the workplace. Using innovation enables us to go beyond the status quo and keeps us finding new ways to work safer and smarter while at the same time highlighting unsafe conditions / situations to the right people for timely response,” she said.
Mwenze concluded by saying, as we celebrate this achievement, let us be reminded that this award is not just about recognition for being a company with top-class practices in safety. It is about looking after our people. As the Namibian community, let us unite and work together to make Zero Harm a reality and get each one of our workers to return home safe and healthy every day. Their families need them
Minister of Mines and Energy, Honourable Tom Alweendo handover the Inter-mines safety award to Rössing Uranium Health, Safety and Environment Manager, Jacklyn Mwenze.
Rössing Uranium Health, Safety and Environment Manager, Jacklyn Mwenze received the mine’s inter-mines safety award.
Issued by:
Daylight Ekandjo
Manager: Corporate Communications
Rössing Uranium Limited
Enquiries:
Kaino Ilovu
Advisor: Corporate Communication
Tel: +264 520 2436
Fax: +264 520 1506
Cell: 081 316 2885
Email: Kaino.Ilovu@rossing.com.na