DEPUTY Prime Minister Dr Doto Biteko has told Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA), National Environment Management Council (NEMC) and Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) to provide better services to the people instead of threatening them.

Dr Biteko said this here yesterday when speaking at the ongoing exhibition organised by OSHA, which is part of commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

“In the past, OSHA was busy charging a fine of 500m/- or 50m/- and I say this is not only for OSHA but other public institutions such as NEMC and TBS. We must build a good relationship to make people see that our work is not police work but to provide services and education, abandon threats,” said.

“Your job is to make factories produce, create jobs and when workers get home they return safe; that's your job, so don’t terrorise people.”

 He lauded mining companies in the country for controlling fatalities and injuries in their mining operations and urged other employers to ensure that they always prioritize the safety of their employees.

He expressed his satisfaction with the health and safety education provided by mining companies.

 "Let me congratulate those who are exhibiting here, you have given me a big education and those who have visited but we have learnt that there is still work to be done," he said.

 He urged workers to focus on safety and health at work because death of one person statistically represents 100 percent of their dependents, who are their spouse, children, siblings and even neighbours.

"The death of one person is a big thing that should not happen. A call to all employers at all times: I want you to make sure that you have zero death at workplace,” he said.

 "To the workers: my call to you is that the first person to protect safety is you yourself, if you see a machine that you are supposed to operate is defective and your employer forces you to operate it, be the first to say that this machine is not safe and you should not be considered as a person who went on strike because you also have a duty to protect your safety." 

 Khadija Mwenda, OSHA chief executive officer said: “We will continue to discharge our responsibilities for the future development of the country.” 

"We will continue to mobilise and advocate for safe workplaces. The issue of safety and health is a matter of character building and character building comes from education." 

 Isack Senya, safety manager at Geita Gold Mining Limited, said that for more than 15 years, there had never been a fatality at its workplace.

"For more than six years, no one has been injured and not returned to work the next day. The fundamental goal is that we are striving to learn from our colleagues and continue to improve health and safety at our workplace," he said.