Zambian Breweries provides locally produced face masks to staff

SUN BUSINESS writes ZAMBIA’S largest brewery firm has further enhanced its contribution towards the Covid-19 fight by providing facemasks to staff members and their families. Zambian Breweries acquired the facemasks from the Zambia Federation of Associations of Women in Business (ZFAWIB) and is providing them for free to its 1,000-plus employees and their families. “We have been undertaking a comprehensive assessment on the effects of the current situation on our employees, mainly related to the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact in our nation,” said Zambian Breweries Country Director Jose Moran. In a statement, the country’s largest brewing company is also providing mealie meal packs to unionised staff, along with members of its two women-led micro-small enterprises linked to its business supply chain. The brewing company embarked on a three-pillar strategy to contribute towards combating the respiratory disease in collaboration with the Zambian government and the provision of face masks is in light of the directive for mandatory wearing facemasks in public. Mr Moran explained that the move is aimed at keeping employees, together with their families, healthy and safe during the coronavirus outbreak. “This gesture will not only help protect our employees when they are out in society. It will also help ensure their family members are protected too,” he said. The brewing company is giving six masks to married employees, while singles are receiving three. “Married employees are getting one facemask for themselves, one for their spouse, and four for their dependents. Singles, on the other hand, are getting one facemask for themselves, and two for dependents,” he said. “We cannot be a thunderous team without our employees. Equally, our employees cannot be ‘thunderous’ without their families. Therefore, together we thunder and beat COVID-19.” And, Mr Moran explained that the brewing company is giving out mealie-meal to support and further appreciate the employees for their sacrifice in tough times. “We understand that staying home is not easy. More so, we do not wish our employees to stay home without their staple food. This is our way of appreciating our staff for their unwavering commitment and resilience during this time,” he said. Health experts recommend wearing face masks, including homemade cloth masks, in public to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The Sun