The Southern African Development Community (SADC) through its 2023 Quality Awards competition has awarded companies and individuals in the region for applying and complying with international standards in their day-to-day operations.
The SADC Quality Awards were approved in 2009 by the SADC Committee of Ministers of Trade with the aim of encouraging entities in the region, both public and private, to apply and comply with international standards in their operations.
The regional adjudication meeting for the 2023 SADC Quality Awards which was conducted from 22 February to 1 March 2023 and the following are the winners.
Company of the Year (Large Enterprise)
Mbabane Municipality Council of the Kingdom of Eswatini is the winner of the SADC Quality Awards in the Company of the Year, Large Enterprise category. Mbabane Municipality Council provides all municipal services such as waste removal, roads maintenance, environmental health inspection, landfill provision and management, wellness and disease management, quality and risk management, streetlights maintenance, health and safety, rates collection, local economic development and City planning in the City of Mbabane.
Company of the Year (Small and Medium Enterprise -SME)
Speed Link Cargo of the Republic of Zimbabwe is the winner of the Awards in the Company of the Year, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) category. With over 30 years of experience, Speed link Cargo, a Zimbabwean owned company, provides clearing, forwarding and warehousing services. Speed link cargo is a member of the World Cargo Alliance (WCA and is the first and only Approved Economic Operator (AEO) accredited clearing agent in Zimbabwe.
Product of the Year (Large Enterprise)
IRVINE’S Zimbabwe Feed Mill of the Republic of Zimbabwe is the winner of the Awards in the category of Product of the Year, Large Enterprise. IRVINE’S Zimbabwe Feed Mill it is company dedicated to Production of poultry feed for breeders, layers and broilers for Irvine’s Zimbabwe internal departments and contract growers. Founded in 1957, the company produces over 50 million chicks per year, over 18 million dozens of table eggs per year and over 15,000 tonnes of frozen chickens per year.
Product of the Year (Small and Medium Enterprises (SME)
WellPure Water, a prufied water product by Mukati Investments (Pvt) Ltd in the Republic of Zimbabwe was awarded as the winner of the Product of the Year in the SME category. WellPure Water is produced from the state-of-the-art factory situated in the heart of Ardbennie, Harare, in Zimbabwe.
Service of the Year (Large Enterprises)
Stefanutti Stocks Swaziland (PTY) Ltd of the Kingdom of Eswatini was awarded as the winner in the category of Service of the Year, Large Enterprises. Stefanutti Stocks (PTY) Ltd is engaged in infrastructure contracts operating in Eswatini.
NICO Insurance Zambia Limited from Zambia, a short-term insurance company, is the runner-up in the Service of the Year (SME) category.
The company provides a wide range of insurance products in the classes of motor, fire, accident, marine, engineering as well as providing bonds.
Service of the Year (Small and Medium Enterprises)
MA Dlamini Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd of the Kingdom of Eswatini is the winner in the Service of the Year, SME category. The company is a building services consultancy that provides high quality engineering consultancy services in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Fire Engineering, Energy Management and Project Management. Speed Link Cargo from Zimbabwe is the runner-up in the category of Service of the Year, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Exporter of the Year (Large Enterprises)
Eswatini Meat Industries Limited (EMI) of the Kingdom of Eswatini is the winner in the category of Exporter of the Year, Large Enterprises. Eswatini Meat Industries Ltd is a public company owned by 11 shareholders and its main markets are in Eswatini and southern Mozambique where it supplies Simunye Beef, Simunye Pork and Embiveni Meats brands.
Outside of Africa, EMI exports beef into some countries within the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) and the European Union (EU).
Exporter of the Year (Small and Medium Enterprises)
Dangote Cement Zambia Limited from the Republic of Zambia is the winner in the category of Exporter of the Year 9SME). a manufacturer of quality Portland limestone cement. The company has quality assurance processes and quality management systems that assure customers of high-end products that meet customer requirements.
Individual of the YearSafari Fungo from the United Republic of Tanzania was the Individual of the Year award. Safari is an International Expert in International Standardization Management with practical training knowledge and a breadth of experience in (a) assessing national standardization priorities; (b) managing national participation in international standardization; and (c) adopting and implementing International Standards.
Throughout his career which dates back to 2010 when he joined the Tanzania Bureau of Standards as Standards Officer, he has supported several institutions to adopt management systems and he had conducted several industrial audits of the business operations of a number of firms.
Khombisile Dlamini from the Kingdom of Eswatini was awarded Certificate of Recognition in the 2023 SADC Quality Awards, Miss Khombisile Dlamini is the Quality and Risk Manager for the Municipal Council of Manzini.
She has been practising management systems for over 15 years in which she has established, implemented, maintained and audited management systems including the construction sector where her career begun.Paidamoyo Munhenga-Jakachira from the Republic of Zimbabwe was awarded a Certificate of Recognition in the category for Individual of the Year.
He is a Chartered Human Resources Practitioner, Certified Organization Leadership and Development Practitioner, Quality and Systems Coach, Youth Empowerment Coach, and Entrepreneurship Coach with considerable experience in people management, management system audit, ISO standard development, transformational change and development.
