SHARON NYAYA
MBERENGWA- Mimosa Mining Company has embarked on a five-year project development plan to plough back to the communities where they carry out their operations as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Recently, the platinum miners rolled out a program that involved a major facelift at Mberengwa District Hospital.
The media managed to visit the new-look hospital during a media tour in Mberengwa yesterday.
The platinum mining giant assisted in the construction of a maternity ward and went on to equip it. The project was commissioned in 2022.
Near completion is a mortuary with a carrying capacity of 12 bodies, 26-bed female and male wards, laundry room and an operating theatre.
“We are grateful to Mimosa for their generosity. Currently, our mortuary which dates back to the 60s has the capacity of carrying only two bodies which is very inconvenient for a district hospital serving thousands of people.
“We have 37 facilities and all of them will benefit if all the projects by Mimosa are completed. A theatre is a great relief as it will help in saving both the lives of premature babies and mothers and saving costs as C-section cases which were referred to other health institutions like Bulawayo which far away from the district for someone suffering from labour pains.
“We didn’t have any equipped laundry room and this is the first of its kind in the whole district, we had patient congestion in our current wards so the female and male wards will help to decongest the wards,” said Mberengwa District Health Services Administrator, Takudzwa Magocha.
Mimosa General Manager, Stephen Ndiyamba gave more details on their CSR projects in the area.
“Over the years, we have invested in health, education, water and sanitation, infrastructure and sustainable development projects. Guided by a desire to create lasting legacies, recently we have been gravitating towards sustainable projects with an impact on the community.
“Envisioning a healthy nation, we have intervened to construct, equip and refurbish health institutions within the community, in the region and even at the national level. Our key interventions have been at Mondongori Clinic, Mberengwa District Hospital and at Zvishavane District Hospital where we constructed and equipped a private ward.”
In the region Mimosa refurbished and equipped the theatre and laundry facility at Masvingo Provincial Hospital.
On a national level, Mimosa have made interventions at Mpilo and Sally Mugabe Hospitals, St Giles Rehabilitation Centre and Chitungwiza Hospital where they partnered in the setting up of the Kidney Transplant Centre.
As an organization that firmly believes in education being the underpinning factor of any real economic growth, they have actively participated in the construction and refurbishment of several primary and secondary schools countrywide using mostly local indigenous suppliers.
Over and above, programs targeted at primary and secondary education, Mimosa participates in institutional development through supporting various tertiary establishments. Support rendered has been in the form of administrative equipment, learning aids, comprehensive scholarship programming as well and infrastructural development.
“At Mtshingwe Primary School we constructed and equipped two classroom blocks and the administration block while at Zvishavane Vocational Training Center we constructed a double-story girls’ hostel. Other institutions that have been touched by our interventions include Shabani Primary School, Makwasha Primary School, Dadaya Primary School, Wedza Primary School, Riverton Academy, Shonhayi Primary School and Mukwidzi Primary School. For tertiary institutions we have supported the University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, Great Zimbabwe University and the School of Mines with learning equipment,” said Ndiyamba.
Mimosa is committed to sustainable future development, growth and earnings. The implementation of ISO 14001 Environmental standard has shaped the Mimosa intervention on environmental programmers.
They have partnered with other stakeholders in ensuring environmental sustainability by reversing the loss of environmental resources, in line with the SDG development goal on the environment.
The major focus in Mimosa’s initiatives has been centred on water reticulation and the supply of clean water in and around Zvishavane as they have drilled over 70 boreholes in the community.
Ndiyamba went on to say that, some of their key sustainable projects include the Livestock Revitalization Program wherein they have donated 524 pedigree bulls and 177 heifers to the surrounding communities in addition to facilitating the insemination of 768 cows.
This will help to improve the quality of the herd. As a result, the community gets value out of its livestock thereby uplifting the livelihoods of the communities.
Their interventions include refurbishment of dipping facilities and assistance towards growing fodder.
Mimosa also supports the Government initiative to encourage people in their region to grow small grains which are more suitable for the region, so it provides various inputs to enable this program.
Widespread deforestation remains an ecological tragedy. Mimosa in collaboration with Friends of the Environment, Environmental Management Agency and Forestry Commission has established a nursery at Mtshingwe which acts as a referral Centre for seedlings and creating a culture of planting trees. They also have a robust wellness programme for employees and the community.
“At the height of COVID-19, we have partnered with local media in running an awareness campaign on the deadly disease and the Ministry of Health in providing services and resources on prevention and treatment. The result was that Zvishavane led the Midlands in vaccination figures. In 2012, Mimosa launched the Let’s Go Zero Safety/Environmental campaign. It aims to mobilize stakeholders’ support based on shared local and national goals. Drawn from our motto, “Zero Harm is Sustainable”, the campaign seeks to communicate the importance of safety at workplaces, at home and in all places of interaction. Driven by our mantra that our people are our foundation, we have also built modest accommodation for our employees in Zvishavane,” concluded Ndiyamba.