Windhoek
The Arandis Emergency Management Response Services (EMRS) operated at the B2 turn-off to Arandis since the start of the Festive Season.
At the start of the holidays, Rössing’s acting manager Safety, Health, Environment, Communities and Protection Services, Johannes Silvanus, handed over a cheque of N$21 000 on location to representatives of Eagle Ambulance and Rescue Services, who are the coordinators of the safety project in conjunction with the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVA) – and Arandis Town Council (ATC), the drivers of the initiative.
“We place great importance on safety issues in all areas of our operations and we continuously focus on making the workplace accident-free. We believe all incidents, injuries and illnesses are preventable, and thus, our goal is zero harm.
“Our safety aims and objectives intend to encourage our employees, partners and stakeholders to behave in ways which project a positive and proactive attitude towards safety.
“Our hope is that this donation will assist the important effort of effectively responding to road accident emergencies as well as spreading road safety awareness and extending this attitude to road users visiting the central, coastal areas this festive season,” said Silvanus at the handover.
In accepting the donation, Terence Ward, head coordinator of the EMRS on behalf of the MVA, said : “The funds will go toward the repair and upkeep of the ambulance used to respond to road accidents up to 40km east and/or west of the Arandis turn-off.
“Our aim is to respond within 10 minutes of being notified of an accident to give accident victims the best, possible chance of survival.
“We need our equipment to be in excellent running condition to realise this aim and Rössing’s assistance makes this possible. We wish to extend our sincere gratitude to the entire Rössing Uranium Mine for helping us to make a difference through providing quality emergency response services to road accident victims. ” Ward added that calls to the EMRS are directed through the MVA call centre on 081 9682.
Erastus Nakathila, acting chief executive officer of the ATC, said: “The Council directed the pilot of the emergency response centre programme in 2015 with the aim of saving precious lives by improving the area’s emergency response effort during peak periods in the Namibian holiday season, whether in December or April – during the Easter weekend rush to the coast.
“An important component of the programme involves creating a community first responder hub in Arandis. Twenty Arandis volunteers have already been trained and will assist the response teams in their duties. Eventually the plan is to train 200 volunteers, including police officers and fire teams.
“Arandis Town Council remains committed to serving our people and partnering with key stakeholders in developing and uplifting our community for the betterment of the bigger coastal society,” Erastus noted.
Rössing’s community relations specialist, Amanda Horn, who oversaw the donation to the EMRS, said: “We are aware that our operations impact the communities and society in which we operate in various ways. We regard the responsible management of our community and stakeholder relationships as being as necessary to our business success as the management of our operations.”
In 2015 Rössing committed just more than N$18 million towards the implementation of community initiatives and activities. This is over and above the direct and indirect economic benefits we created through local employment and procurement of goods and services from local businesses.
Rössing strongly supports Namibia’s national socio-economic development priorities. We align our community and social investment focus with the requirements of Namibia’s key Government policies such as Vision 2030, the National Development Plan and the Harambee Programme.