Supporting the FreeState’s fight against COVID-19 Sasol donated World Health Organisationapproved equipment to the FreeState Department of Health to support the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines as a further effort to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “In order to deliver on our community health focus area, and solidify our social partner status, we recognise the need to support the provincial government’s vaccination rollout strategy by donating essential equipment and resources,” said Charlotte Mokoena, Sasol Executive Vice President: Human Resources and Stakeholder Relations. The equipment include a Ford Ranger custom built mobile clinic, a Toyota Hi-Ace 14-seater minibus, five -40 o C World Health Organisation-approved vaccine cold storage freezers, 25 vaccine carriers, 25 temperature loggers and 20 laptops. Information pamphlets and posters were also included in the donation. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Sasol contributed vastly to the fight against the coronavirus. It produced and distributed more than 1,6 million litres of alcohol-based sanitiser to frontline workers in hospitals, clinics, communities, as well as local and national government. More than 12 000 masks, 36 000 pairs of gloves and 5 000 safety suits and overalls were donated towards responses in fenceline communities. Mobile science laboratories, usually used for school education programmes were converted into COVID -19 screening and testing units. The company last year also fast-tracked the manufacturing of its own handsanitisers for use at its own operations and immediate fence line communities in the FreeState and Mpumalanga. Sasol furthermore donated a million litres of jet fuel to the Department of International Affairs for the repatriation of South Africans stranded abroad. “Our COVID-19 response has been multilayered, consultative and collaborative to support efforts to flatten the curve with particular focus on our fence line communities within FreeState, Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KwaZulu- Natal,” Mokoena said. The FreeState MEC for Health, Montseng Tsiu (right) received the equipment from Sasol’s Senior Vice President Sasolburg and Ekandustria Operations, Rightwell Laxa (middle) to assist in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The acting HOD for Health, Godfrey Mahlatsi in on the left.
Programme achieves +25% water saving Through an extensive partnership between Sasol, the Metsimaholo Local Municipality, Rand Water and a German development agency (GIZ) a 30% water saving was achieved in the greater Sasolburg area of the FreeState. This was achieved through a water demand managment programme that started in 2016, promoting water conservation and addressing water losses. Interventions followed a baseline study done by WRP engineers that focused on resources engineering, water conservation and water demand management, including lost revenues from water that could otherwise have been sold. Interventions included installation of meters and loggers, repairing of leaks on the main reticulation system, reconfiguration of the Harry Gwala reservoir and advanced pressure management. The baseline assessment further indicated that water leaks at hostels, schools and households should also be addressed. Aquatrips were installed at 28 township schools and permanent loggers, supported by a ZNet monitoring system, now ensures continuous monitoring. All this is supported by an extensive education and awareness programme in local communities that also make use of techniques such as virtual industrial theatre and puppet shows to enhance the learning experience. Basic leak repairs and retrofitting at 10 000 homes in Metsimaholo are done by local plumbers and water warriors – youth who received basic plumbing training. They focus on basic leak repairs such as in piping, taps and cisterns.
