THE National Social Security Authority (NSSA) has revealed that the mining sector is contributing an average 200 deaths at the workplace per year amid concerns the country is losing US$15 million annually due to work-related accidents.
The remarks were made by the NSSA acting chief executive officer Charles Shava at the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference 2024 in Victoria Falls on Monday.
The conference is running under the theme Building Resilience and Driving Economic Transformation under Climate Change.
“Above 5 000 injuries recorded,100 which are fatal exclusively of mining. The mining sector records more than 200 deaths a year,” Shava said.
“The true picture may be up to three-fold. Annually, US$3 trillion is lost globally, which is 4% of global GDP. 2,8 workers die every year of which 330 000 due to instant fatal accidents.”
He further stated that 150 million workers have work-related diseases, saying 270 suffer fatal and non-fatal injuries.
Shava said their investment philosophy focused on four strategic themes, where he underscored the need to target assets that preserve value through providing real growth that surpasses inflation.
“NSSA will invest in any project that supports climate change and climate proofing,” he said.
“It is working on various initiatives aimed at the financial inclusion of SMEs [small and medium enterprises] and other players active in the informal economy.”