NSSA Engineer Repeats: Osh Is Human Life Protection Via Inspections, Tip-Offs, Medical Checks Gweru

Occupational Safety and Health means protecting human life through workplace inspections, confidential tip-offs, and medical surveillance, not just ticking compliance boxes.

 Speaking to a group of Midlands based, journalists, Eng. Shingle Maruza of the National Social Security Authority, NSSA, during the Journalists Basic Occupational Safety and Health Course, or BOSHC, at The Village Lodge, said that the repetition is intentional because the five points define NSSA’s operational doctrine.

“Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is about preventing injuries (Through Inspections and surveys),” the slide stated. Eng. Maruza said NSSA engineering teams conduct unannounced surveys of mines, farms, and factories to audit guards, extraction systems, and chemical storage before incidents occur.

He said death prevention relies on outside intelligence. “Preventing deaths (Through timely reports and Tip offs)” means workers, community members, and journalists must report hazardous sites to NSSA immediately. “A WhatsApp message can stop a fatality,” he told reporters.

The third function addresses latent harm. “Preventing occupational diseases (Medical surveillance programs)” covers spirometry for silica exposure, audiometry for noise, and biological monitoring for solvents and heavy metals. He said diseases like silicosis and occupational asthma emerge years after exposure.

“Protecting livelihoods” is the economic argument, Eng. Maruza explained. A single disabling injury can end household income. OSH preserves wages and reduces pressure on NSSA’s Workers Compensation Scheme, which settled claims for over 8,200 injuries in 2025.

He returned to the slide’s final line: “It is not just compliance — it is human life protection.” Compliance is a framed certificate. Human life protection is an engineering control that keeps a worker alive, he said.

The reinforcement follows data presented earlier by Dr Benjamin Mutetwa. Zimbabwe logged 75 worker deaths and 8,770 injuries in 2022-2023, and 57 deaths with 8,371 injuries in 2024-2025. The Injury Frequency Rate improved from 2.3 to 2.1.

Eng. Maruza credited the decline to a 40% increase in field inspections and faster tip-off response under the 2021 National OSH Policy. Medical surveillance coverage in key mining districts climbed from 62% to 78% of at-risk workers.

Globally, ILO figures still show 2.7 million worker deaths yearly from occupational accidents and diseases, with 3.3 million non-fatal accidents and 160 million work-related illnesses. “Inspections, tip-offs, and medical checks are our engineering weapons,” he said.

The BOSHC program, 4-5 May, was opened by Midlands Regional Manager Mr Tsungai Jeche. Eng. Maruza distributed NSSA’s tip-off hotline and told journalists to embed it in stories: “Your copy can carry a number that saves a life.

”Tuesday’s sessions include Ethics in Reporting Workplace Accidents with Principal Inspector Eng. Absolom Zengeya and a clause-by-clause review of the new OSH Bill with Legal Officer Ms Memory Mukapa.