The labour ministry granted permission to the Whale Rock Cement, also known as Cheetah Cement, to resume its operations on Monday, 23 May 2022. The ministry initially ordered operations to cease on 10 May 2022 due to health concerns after a team of occupational safety, health and labour inspectors concluded the company’s plant was an unsafe working environment.

The stoppage affected all production activities at the grinding station, cement mill area, rotator pack area and cement warehouse.

A labour ministry statement, issued by acting executive director Lydia Indombo points to numerous contraventions in terms of occupational health and safety regulations. This included employees not provided with suitable personal protective equipment, failure to maintain good housekeeping on site and within the cement mill, cement storehouse and elsewhere where applicable; failure to provide adequate sanitary conveniences and canteens to employees; failure to provide first aid and emergency arrangements; to provide health and safety statutory structure on site by not establishing a health and safety committee. Also, Cheetah Cement never investigated and identified the hazards and risks attached to the work, and never employed appropriate measures to prevent or minimise risk thereof; does not have health and safety policy and programmes in place; failed to provide employees with necessary information and training to work safely and without a risk to their health. 

In the statement, Indombo added that the mining trucks are operated without proper tyre handling tools and machineries and the company further has no safe work procedures for tyre handling. Also, there was deemed to be insufficient lighting in the workshop area.

“The ministry has conducted verification inspections on 16 and 20 May 2022 to evaluate the compliance on the identified shortfalls and is satisfied with the level of compliance as well as arrangements thereof and thus recommended for resumption of production activities,” Indombo stated.

Meanwhile, immigration officials recently deported eight illegal Whale Rock Cement workers back to China. A Namibian court sentenced the Chinese nationals to deportation and fined them N$6 000 each.

This was after Namibia Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF), uncovered the illegal practices. Whale Rock Cement has since reportedly launched its own legal action against NEFF for trespassing.