AEDC Reads Riot Act For Field Officers, Declares Zero Tolerance For Avoidable Accidents, Deaths

AEDC Managing Director, Ernest Mupwaya at the driver’s seat while the Director, Risk and Compliance, Mr. Collins Chabuka cheers him

The Managing Director/CEO of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Engr. Ernest Mupwaya has warned that the company would no longer tolerate any form of fatality to the workers or public.

Instead, Mupwaya said he prefers that the work is not done than in course of doing the work, accident or death is recorded.

Mupwaya declared these while formally announcing the creation of an Inspectorate Division of the Company and the handover to the Director of Risk & Compliance, Mr. Collins Chabuka whose directorate will oversee the activities of the Division, the three brand new vehicles to assist the inspectors in the discharge of their duties.

Ernest Mupwaya (6th from right) in a group photograph with the inspectors and the Director, Risk and Compliance, Mr. Collins Chabuka (4th from left)

Further, he promised that the activities of the Inspectorate Division, which covers the entire franchise area of the company will be adequately funded from the Head Office.

Ernest Mupwaya explained that any staff found culpable of causing any electrical accident or electrocution will be treated the same way as the staff found guilty of the actual act, adding the sanction that will be imposed on such employees may include the loss of employment.

A statement by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Oyebode Babs Fadipe, quoted the Managing Director as saying the Company has carefully structured its operation to ensure that in pursuit of service delivery and profitability, it does not do any act that can damage the business environment.

Some of the avoidable damages he listed include: damage within the workers, damage to the community at large and such other damage that can create negative environmental impact.

According to him, “It is not by accident that the issue of Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) is a Board level matter”, adding that such recognition demonstrates in very clear terms the importance attached to HSE by AEDC.

Tracing the transformation journey of AEDC, Engr. Mupwaya noted that the Company has gone through various levels of changes in trying to improve its HSE profile including staff training across board on how to operate the system resulting in some successes.

However, he regretted that there are still certain areas where the Company has not done so well hence the recording of some accidents in the network which are avoidable.

Engr. Mupwaya in declaring that AEDC has reached the enforcement stage listed the mandate of the inspectorate division made up of nine members of staff drawn from the technical and safety departments to include the following:
1. Work to promote the adoption and enforcement of work practices and rules for effectively managing the HSC hazards and risk.

2. Stop any work activity as a result of breach or likelihood of breach of
a. Best practice safety standards
b. Failure to conduct tool box talk.
c. Failure to follow the laid down outage management protocols and practices.

3. Stop any unauthorised work in AEDC network

4. Sanction any staff that is in willful breach of any safety standards regardless of the level/position of the staff.

5. Sanction Line Management for failure to closeout recommended remedial measures for HSE Inspection & Audit reports.

6. Enforce the operational standing instructions and remedial measures/actions contained in the following instruments
a. Executive Orders on HSE
b. Communique/Orders from Regulatory institutions.
c. Recommended remedial measures from incident investigations.