Hippo Valley Estates has released its financial statements for the year ending March 2024, highlighting significant strides in workplace safety, environmental responsibility, and business sustainability amidst a challenging economic environment.
During the period under review, the company reported three Lost Time Injuries (LTIs), a slight increase from the two recorded in the previous year.
“A total of 3 Lost Time Injuries (LTIs) were recorded during the period under review, compared to 2 LTIs recorded during the prior year. This resulted in a Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) of 0,028 (2023: 0,018). Fortunately, there were no fatal incidents recorded during the year,” read the financial report.
The company attributed these improvements to enhanced safety measures focusing on behavioral changes and heightened vigilance among peers, aimed at curtailing incident trends and preventing a recurrence of the fatality experienced in the previous year.
To further improve its Safety, Health, and Environmental (SHE) performance, Hippo Valley Estates plans to implement several initiatives in the coming year.
These include reviewing controls over fatality risk areas, assessing contractor compliance with SHE protocols, and enforcing change management procedures on all new changes.
Additionally, the company successfully retained its certification for the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (ISO 45001:2018) and Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001:2015).
“For the ensuing year, a number of initiatives, including review of controls over fatality risk areas, assessment of compliance of contractors to SHE protocols, enforcement of change management procedures on all new changes, will be implemented to further improve the Company’s SHE performance,” the statement read.
The company highlighted its ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability, highlighting investments in clean renewable energy sources, reforestation, tree planting programs, sustainable waste management systems, and proactive emission monitoring and control systems.
“This reaffirms its commitment to act responsibly and to impact the environment positively in order to protect communities whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, and for the benefit of future generations,” the report noted.
The company acknowledges the potential economic challenges posed by the El Niño weather phenomenon, which is expected to slow economic growth in sectors dependent on water for irrigation.
“Looking ahead, Directors and Management remain focused on preserving business sustainability through designing plans to maximize on business opportunities and contingencies to mitigate the negative impact of the business environment and entrenching operational agility and flexibility,” the statement emphasized.
Despite these concerns, the company says its major dams are currently holding sufficient water to support optimal irrigation for the upcoming season.
“The Company’s major dams are holding sufficient water to support optimal irrigation regimes for the coming season. With low water levels at Manjirenji and Siya Dams at 39.8% and 59.3% respectively as of 6 May 2024, the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) plans to rationalize water supplies from these dams in order to mitigate impacts on the crop until such time the water stocks improve,” the statement concluded.
