ALL SET FOR RES CORPORATION CANE CRUSHING

SIMUNYE – As cane growers, millers and all stakeholders involved prepare for the beginning of the crushing season, the biggest cane grower and miller in Eswatini is poised that everything is in place.

RES Corporation’s General Manager Operations Patrick Myeni toured the corporation’s factories stationed at Simunye and Mhlume yesterday to ensure that all equipment and the corporation’s biggest asset, employees, are ready for the crushing season commencing today.

“The employees are ready for the big day. We have worked tremendously well as a company to ensure that we meet all targets set for the off-crop season and we are all positive that this crushing season will again be a record breaker,” Myeni said.

Myeni added that RES Corporation has been improving all equipment in both factories to ensure the success of the Simama 20-20 strategy’s success.

Simama 20-20 was the company’s strategy of reducing the unit cost by 20 per cent by the year 2020 which ended on March 31, 2020. Among the improvements highlighted by the General Manager were increasing land under cane for the corporation and out-grower schemes and installation of new tech-equipped evaporators at Mhlume Factory.

“All this improvements fall under the Integrated Growth Plan in-which management and the board seek to improve efficiencies, thus making the corporation sustainable. We are looking forward to yet another year of sustainability and ensuring the growth of the business against all odds in the market environment,”

RES uplift operational standards to prevent the spread of COVID-19

SIMUNYE - As the world navigates the pandemic, the focus for RES at this time is on staying clean and physically distancing of employees for their safety and that of the community. 

Management suspended the biometric access system because of its contact nature, where in its place, the company enforced fixed opening and closing times of certain buildings. Alcohol testing which is connected to the access control system has been deactivated temporarily and replaced with the safest and hygienic random testing with handheld devices.

RES Group Public Affairs Manager Sifiso Nyembe said; “As we begin crushing cane tomorrow (today), all is set for employees to enjoy work in a minimal COVID-19 risk environment. We continuously communicate with employees to ensure that they understand every guideline received from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the country’s authorities as well.”

Nyembe further encouraged all Emaswati to abide by the guidelines provided by the aforementioned because one’s safety is the community’s safety.

“Fighting Corona virus is our responsibility and that of everyone in our community. I encourage you to share information with others so that we can spread the word and ensure that we change our behaviour and win the fight against this virus,” Nyembe said.

Among other steps taken by the company to mitigate the spread of the virus include but not limited to;

• Employees with duties that allow them to work from home will be given that option
• Reduction of the number of people in the workplace by creating more shifts where possible
• Social distancing observed through transporting employees’ in buses with the limit of 20 people spaced out
• The bus is sanitised after each trip
• All drinking bars have been shut
• Churches are under strict instructions and monitoring for adherence to the limit of 20 congregants
• Biometric access system has been suspended because it requires employees to press their thumbs on it
• RES gyms and swimming pools have been closed
• Everyone entering RES premises is sprayed on the hands with sanitizer
• All employees subjected to temperature testing using a non-contact thermometer and anyone showing readings above 37.4C shall be taken for medical advice, and appropriate steps will be taken
• Sanitizers have been rolled out at every entry point and every corner were possible for employees to use
• Communication distributed to employees through all RES communication channels to ensure maximum readership about the facts and prevention mergers of the Coronavirus
• Sinks have been mounted at entrances to buildings for people to wash their hands before entering and leaving the building.