BOREHOLES PUT EDUCATION BACK ON TRACK FOR PHALABORWA SCHOOLS

Murray & Roberts Cementation, in collaboration with its client Palabora Mining Company (“PMC”), sponsored the drilling and equipping of boreholes at three primary schools in Makhushane village, near Phalaborwa. The St Patrick Mathibela, Makhushane and Bollanoto primary schools had long been without a reliable water supply. According to Fred Durand, senior project manager at Murray & Roberts Cementation, the company approached the client to assist.

“In partnership with our client, we were pleased to support this borehole project,” said Durand. “It has given these schools’ learners safe drinking water, flushing toilets and irrigation for their garden, which supplies vegetables for the school’s feeding scheme.”

At the handover ceremony in mid- June, Durand said Murray & Roberts Cementation appreciated the opportunity to participate in this valuable initiative. He emphasises the importance of education in creating a future for these young learners. “This initiative is part of our alignment with the corporate citizenship commitment of all companies in the Murray & Roberts group,” he says. “We support a socially responsive culture and participate wherever we can in the economic development and sustainable growth of communities in which we operate.”

PMC’s manager for transformation, stakeholder engagement and communications, Abby Ledwaba, applauded Murray & Roberts Cementation’s willingness to contribute to the mine’s efforts to develop local communities.

“As PMC, we always believe in giving back to the community and that is what we have been doing,” said Ledwaba. The borehole installation is expected to work reliably for at least 15 years, keeping the schools well supplied with fresh water.

RECOGNISING EXCELLENCE IN SAFETY PERFORMANCE

The Murray & Roberts Group aspires to deliver its projects with Zero Harm to employees, partners and host communities. People-centric leadership is essential to a connected and collaborative effort towards Zero Harm. The leadership teams are accountable for ensuring a workplace that prioritises health, safety and the environment and for cultivating a culture that drives a Zero Harm mindset.

Says Henry Laas, Murray & Roberts Group CE, “Safety is a managed outcome and we will achieve the level of excellence that we demonstrate that we want. The ultimate responsibility for safe operations therefore rests with leadership.”

The Group’s annual Safety Conference is an opportunity for leaders to share insights and innovations in safety from their project environments, as well as to celebrate and recognise excellence in safety performance.

The awards were held at the Douglas Roberts Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, and it was the first time that safety leaders were gathered in-person since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thokozani Mdluli, Murray & Roberts HSE executive concludes, “Our safety performance compares to the best in our market sectors and this year we had 21 Zero Harm projects, much improved from 13 projects last year, which proves that a zero harm mindset is possible.”