By Staff Reporter
A tragedy has struck Zimbabwe’s largest steel project after a driver was left to die without help following a horrific accident at Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO) in Manhize.
According to eyewitness accounts, a tipper truck suffered brake failure and violently crashed into another truck inside the plant. The driver, trapped and gravely injured, cried out for help for more than three hours. Shockingly, the emergency response came too late.
Instead, company officials allegedly claimed that the crane and rescue truck could not be released without “authorization.” By the time authorization was supposedly sought, the driver had already succumbed to his injuries, dying in agony, without the dignity of timely rescue.
This tragedy has sparked outrage among workers and communities surrounding Manhize, who accuse DISCO of putting profits ahead of human life. The Chinese-owned steel giant, which has been hailed by the government as a flagship investment, is being condemned for its failure to establish adequate emergency response systems despite operating heavy industrial machinery that poses daily risks to workers.
“This is not just negligence, it is cruelty,” said one worker who asked not to be named. “We work in dangerous conditions every day. If a fellow worker can be left to die because someone in an office has not signed off on a rescue vehicle, what chance do the rest of us have?”
The deceased, whose name is being withheld, had only been employed by the company on the 20th of August and was assigned the faulty truck that had already been involved in three previous accidents at the mine.
Community members are equally alarmed and up in arms as the failure of DISCO to provide a guarantee of rapid and effective responses to emergencies within its own plant is exposing locals to grave risks from accidents.
DISCO’s Manhize operations have long been controversial, from allegations of unsafe working conditions to land disputes and disregard for environmental standards. This latest tragedy reinforces fears that the company’s expansion is being prioritized at the expense of human rights and safety.
The recent spate of accidents at the mine vindicates calls by Centre for Natural Resoruce Governance (CNRG) for an urgent independent investigation into the work-related accidents including those involving community members, and stronger enforcement of occupational safety laws at Manhize.
“This should never have happened,” said Justice Chinhema, general secretary of Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU). “Another man’s life was lost because the company failed to put workers first. Zimbabwe cannot afford to celebrate mega-projects that bury workers under rubble and bureaucracy.”
As the steel giant pushes ahead with its ambition to turn Manhize into Africa’s largest integrated steel plant, the haunting cries of a driver abandoned in his final hours serve as a damning reminder: without accountability and safety, development becomes destrution.