Mimosa Mine shines at NFCA competitions
SHANNISE DZOBO
MASVINGO – One of the biggest mining concerns in the country, Mimosa Mining Company bagged the first prize in the National Fire competition which was organized by the National Fire Control Association (NFCA) recently.
The competition, which was hosted by Masvingo City Council was held in Mucheke Stadium and 17 teams from across the country competed in the fire hydrant, fire extinguisher and squad drills.
The teams that took part in the competitions include Delta with 12 units from across the country (Delta Chibuku Chinhoyi, Delta Chibuku Kwekwe, Delta Lagers, Delta Transport Bulawayo, Delta Belmont, Delta Maheu, Delta Transport Harare, Delta Bonacord, Delta Lagers DBC, Delta Coca cola Graniteside and Delta Kwekwe Maltings), Petrozim Mutare, Petrozim Harare, ZPC Hwange, Megapack, ZPC Munyathi and the eventual winners, Mimosa Mine.
In his speech, NFCA chairperson, Webster Mahohoma said that these competitions are essential in all companies that we have in the country so that people are equipped with skills and knowledge to mitigate the causes of unwanted fires and how to put them out.
“I believe that these competitions are essential in all the companies that we have in this country so that people are equipped with skills and knowledge to mitigate the causes of fire accidents that happen untimely and also for them to have knowledge on how they put out the fire”, said Mahohoma.
The guest of honour, Principal Admin Officer- Advocacy and Liaison, Department of Civil Protection, Olivia Chibgwe-Badza, who was present on behalf of the Minister of Local Government and Public Works Winston Chitando, said that the competitions are very important so that companies guard their valuable properties from unwanted fires through the knowledge and skills that they are being taught.
“Early warning preparedness is key to disaster risk management and reduction and these competitions help the industries get much more equipped in skills and knowledge on how to mitigate such accidents”, said Chibgwe-Badza.
“The ministry of Local Government and Public Works recently commissioned the first batch of 23 out of a total of 133 fire tenders acquired from Belarus which will be distributed among the 92 local authorities and this demonstrates the nation’s serious commitment to disaster risk management”.
Caroline Dyora from Mimosa Mine won the Best Female Fire Fighter Award and encouraged other women who want to become firefighters to believe in themselves and break the gender bias.
“I am happy to have won the Best Female Firefighter award because it’s not an easy task but any woman can become a firefighter as long one believes in themselves and breaks the gender barrier since firefighting is termed to be a man’s world”, said Dyora.
Watson Chiwara, who is the commander of Mimosa Mine won the best Commander Award and walked away with US$50.
Chiwara expressed joy to have won the title and the first prize as best squad. He encouraged other industrial players to join in with these initiatives so that they are always prepared for such accidents.
Insurance Council of Zimbabwe (ICZ) risk surveyor, Herbert Chiwara representing the association that bankrolled the awards encouraged other industrial players in the country to come in numbers and compete with others so they are able to learn new skills and knowledge to extinguish fires that emanate from different spheres.
“All companies should come and participate and have fun at the same time so that they learn new skills and knowledge to extinguish fires that emanate in different spheres”, said Chiwara.
Mimosa Mine won the first position and went home with US$525 after getting 1440 points, Megapack with 1438 points took the second place and got US$375 home. Third place went to Delta Chibuku Chinhoyi with 1338 points and went home with US$300.