Kabwe Man Loses Arm In Factory Accident

A ZALCO plant worker Bwalya Mucheleka is battling for his life in Kabwe Mine Hospital after he slipped into the roller squeezers that crushed his left arm early Sunday.
Mucheleka’s ordeal has shocked Zinc, Aluminum, Lead and Copper (ZALCO) Ltd management who are still struggling to explain the circumstances that could have led to the tragedy that almost claimed the life of their worker. In an interview from his hospital bed when Central Province minister Davies Chisopa visited him, Mucheleka said he was shocked to wake up from a hospital bed with one of his body parts missing. “I went there to clean up.
A ball pen fell in the water, now I was trying to put my left hand to pick that ball pen and I picked it but when I turned back, that is where I slipped on the stone that was in the water and I felt dizzy,” he narrated. “There is a pipe which takes water where I was holding my right hand but as the rollers were turning, they kept dragging my left hand through the rollers until my hand was crushed to [the] elbow. I managed to call out for Peter who was at a distance but he managed to rush to prevent me from going through the rollers as you can see my left shoulder was almost in but through the grip of my workmate, the hand was cut off and my working suit, my T-shirt and my vest went into the rollers. The incident happened around 03:00 hours.”  Kabwe Mine Hospital surgery nursing officer Linda Muche described Mucheleka’s condition as stable. And Chisopa said the nation’s labour laws have continued to be flouted by numerous investors, exposing Zambian workers to life threatening industrial accidents.
Speaking when he toured Zinc, Aluminum, Lead and Copper (ZALCO) Ltd, Chisopa said any company that would be found not adhering to the labour laws of the country would be penalised. “The safety of every employee is the backbone of every company that desires success in its business venture. Honestly, if an investor wants to maximise on their profits, don’t you think such a one needed to ensure that their human resource are always enjoying good health and are safe from any kind of harm during the course of duty because industrial accidents are a thief of resources?” he asked. “Mr ZALCO, look, these people have no safety attire. How do they work like this? No, no, no! PS [permanent secretary Edwidge Mutale], let us engage the labour office and give ZALCO a penalty. This should be a learning process, please let us look at the provisions of the law and charge these people accordingly.” In responde, Mutale noted that ZALCO management had numerous shortcuts in the manner they managed their human resource, saying the development called for government intervention.
Meanwhile, Chisopa said challenges of the Kabwe Industrial Fabrics Company are born out of the gaps in the management structure. Speaking during a tour of KIFCO plant in Kabwe, Chisopa said there was a noted laissez faire attitude in those tasked to manage the company’s affairs, leading to inefficiencies. He told KIFCO chief executive officer Chabala Mutuna that he was receiving requests for help from the company’s workers. “I receive messages like ‘twafweniko ba mwansa kabinga aba batuchusha (help us these agents of the devil have troubled us).
If they were following and always involved in what is happening, how can they be sending such messages about their management?” Chisopa wondered. He was further incensed when the KIFCO management could not give satisfactory answers on the way forward regarding offsetting the salary arrears owed to workers who had become destitute and vulnerable. Chisopa warned management to “pull up their socks” or risk losing the firm to another investor, saying the government would not allow viable industries to be turned into white elephants. And Mutuna explained that the company had faced challenges to regain its lost market following years of little productivity. He said KIFCO, which employes about 130 workers, had lost its customers over the years of poor performance.
“It’s like we lost our wife to another man and to get her back, it’s quite difficult, but we’re struggling to get them back.
We owe our workers about K1.6 million for over a period of over 12 months and hopefully, we will liquidate what we are owing by June 2015,” said Mutuna.

Posted by Kunda on March 5, 2015. Filed under LATEST NEWS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.