Speeches Archive

MANAGING DIRECTOR’S SPEECH ON ISO 14001 CERTIFICATION –  5 NOVEMBER 2012

I am delighted with this wonderful achievement where we, as Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe, celebrate our ISO 14001:2004 Certification. This is a special event for the organisation as it marks a key milestone for us in reaffirming our commitment to sustainable development.

Significant discussions, the world over, have been taking place on the importance of greening the economy and on this day we, at Lafarge, are pleased to be sharing this momentous occasion with you our customers, suppliers, communities and, indeed, all our valued stakeholders.

At Lafarge, we believe we should pay special attention to all the aspects of our business that impact on our stakeholders and the environment.  This certification is therefore a natural progression arising from our commitment to a clean and sustainable development that is not only mindful to the economic consequences of our existence, but to the social and environmental imperatives.

Although we have had environmental management systems within our business for sometime now, we embarked on the ISO 14001 journey in order to improve and buttress the systems we had in place. We have been able to integrate the ISO 14001 system into our management practices which include safety, quality and overall performance culture.

We are however cognisant of the fact that this certification is a journey and therefore the ability to maintain the system is the real test for our teams. Special focus will remain on reducing dust emissions and reducing our carbon footprint.

I am particularly pleased that we have been able to achieve this certification today and thank our management and staff, SAZ and all stakeholders for their participation and cooperation that made this a reality and look forward to continued partnership in the days to come.

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MANAGING DIRECTOR’S SPEECH

PARTNERS IN BUILDING – OUR COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING QUALITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR - 29 NOVEMBER 2012

Allow me to welcome you once again to this event as Lafarge Cement, continues to demonstrate its Corporate Citizenry, and full integration and participation within our communities.

As a major producer of cement and allied products and key player in the construction sector in Zimbabwe, Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe is proud to be associated with this programme which has been crafted with the desire to improve quality in the construction industry and more specifically to equip and encourage women to participate in the construction industry to truly reflect our diversity.

Whilst women have made some gains in occupations traditionally occupied by men, construction trades remain overwhelmingly male dominated. Therefore with this unique group graduating today, we will see the notable contribution of trained women in our construction industry and we should all take great pride in such an achievement.

It is common knowledge that the construction industry contributes extensively to the development process of any country, and the outcomes of construction processes provide the necessary physical structures for many productive activities.  Therefore, the construction industry is not only important for its finished products, but also an employer to a large number of people both directly and indirectly. It is clear that Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe recognizes this significance and continues to engage in strategies that create value for society at large.  

The Partnership in Building programme is one of the important programmes under the Lafarge’s Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. In this context, we recognize that this programme presents suitable opportunities for building capacity for well-qualified individuals to contribute effectively to the economy.

Indeed, the programme creates opportunities for the individuals to continue to develop income generating options and improve their livelihoods.

From the Group level, our goal is to help every human being regardless of income, culture or geography and this is not mere philanthropic in any way. It is clearly about defining what we recognise as our role towards society while at the same time creating value for our communities. In essence, we are appreciating that the built environment is at the centre of many social and environmental challenges. Therefore expertise is required to effect the required social and other change. Societal issues therefore become integrated into our strategies and operations.

Allow me take the opportunity to highlight some key participants of the Partnership in Building programme notably Msasa Industrial Training Centre as the technical partner in the “Partnership in Building Programme.” Qualified lecturers were selected to provide training to the masons and the curriculum ensures participants are equipped with skills relevant to the growth of the industry.

The programme also drew significant participation from women in construction. The Zimbabwe Women in Construction (ZWICA) which is an association of women was established in February 2004 with the primary objective of supporting women in the construction industry in Zimbabwe and offering a concrete platform to enable women to speak with a collective voice and lobby for recognition in the industry. This association of women has members who are involved in brick-making, brick-laying, production of roof tiles and window seal moulding whilst others are builders. And today we are proud or our partnership.

This programme is not a once off event but will continue to run in the future and I am happy that we are already working on improving it, learning from our experiences in 2012 and the feedback we have received from other stakeholders.

To the graduands today, I would like to leave you all with some important points to remember:

1.      The first point I would like to make is that this graduation should not mark the end of the road for you in terms of your development. Your ability to complete this programme should give you adequate confidence that achievement is not the destination to your journey but simply another milestone achieved.

2.      As we go back into society today, the challenge lies with you to ensure that you are in a position to make a difference. With the skills that we continue to develop, let us take a second to consider how we can guide our youth into make the right decisions and leading by example.

3.      As someone once remarked, “We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sake and for our own.”

Therefore with what we have achieved today, let us go out there and make a difference.

To all of you graduating, congratulations, makorokoto, amhlope!!