By Own correspondent

MBERENGWA residents have commended Sandawana Mines for recently enlisting a group of 26 locals to undertake road rehabilitation work for a monthly payment.

The lithium miner has created several jobs over the past and according to local residents, hundreds of locals were once employed but ended up losing their jobs when the company responded to reduced lithium prices when they reduced significantly on the global market.

Despite a constrained operating environment, residents have commended the miner for the recent job offers after Sandawana’s move to employ 26 workers. 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 chores and even at comfortable timeframes which they decide on.

Speaking on the latest developments Mberengwa Ward 10 Councilor, Chenjerai Shoko described the company’s efforts as tilted towards community uplifting.

“Sandawana Mine's recent move to offer road 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 illicit activities where young girls 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.

The miner falls under Kuvimba Mining House expects to float more jobs and support the community with other initiatives once the internal financial situation improves.