By Alois Vinga
INHABITANTS of Mberengwa in Midlands province have commended Sandawana Mines for recently enlisting a group of 26 locals to undertake road rehabilitation work.
The lithium miner has created several jobs over the past and according to local villagers, hundreds of locals were once employed but ended up losing their jobs when the company responded to reduced lithium prices on the global market.
Despite a constrained operating environment, stakeholders have commended the miner for the recent job offers after Sandawana’s move to employ 26 locals. The newly recruited group is tasked with the responsibility to work on the dust road for a monthly payment on very flexible terms.
Information obtained by our publication from the workers shows that they are allowed to attend to the road after completing their daily household chores and even at comfortable timeframes which they decide on.
Speaking on the latest developments on the sidelines of the Silveira House organised district impact assessment dialogue, Mberengwa Ward 10 Councillor, Chenjerai Shoko described the company’s efforts as tilted towards community uplifting.
“Sandawana Mine recent move to offer the roads rehab jobs to youths was a noble gesture. The initiative has significantly eased drugs and substance abuses.
“The funds they are earning are also going a long way to fend for their families and shore up the local economic activities as they end up supporting downstream economic activities,” he said.
Shoko also revealed that just recently, the company supported two awareness campaigns on sexual harassment and Gender Based Violence (GBV), which have gone a long way to eradicate vices whereby boys in the community were chasing after the young girls.
Fetty Gumbo, the headman for Mawovere Village, also commended the company for the people centered initiatives.
“The company’s pro-people approach continues to spread across the breadth and length of the Midlands Province, serving as a good example of best practices to fellow miners.
“The initiative has gone a long way to revamp infrastructure while empowering the community at the same time,” he said.
Sandawana is a member of Kuvimba Mining House and is expected to float more jobs and support the community with other initiatives once the internal financial situation improves.