Beitbridge Business Expo

Bitumen World was represented at the Beitbridge Business Expo, held from Thursday 7th to Saturday 9th of July 2022.

The stand was manned by Xavier Chidewe (Site Engineer), Mondli Sibanda (Student Quantity Surveyor) and Tatenda Raura (Civil Engineering Technician). (Reps)

Most of Thursday was spent setting up the stand and chatting to people who were already there.

On Friday, eager students from different high schools came to the Bitumen World stand as part of their career guidance programme.

The students were given information about the subjects required at O and at A ‘level if they wanted to study towards a career in construction, engineering, and surveying. The “Reps” explained the different pathways that could be taken and gave the students insights to the job roles of people in the industry in Zimbabwe. Based on their experience at Bitumen World they were able to give the students a wealth of information on civil engineering as a career.

The Minister of the Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, toured the expo on Saturday enjoying the entertainment and visiting the companies represented there.

With the samples, our “Reps” were able to illustrate how roads were built and introduce students to some of the language used in road construction. For example-

The gravel was used to represent the gravel pavement layers in the road, namely the roadbed, subgrade, and cement stabilized subbase, the G1 crushed stone was used to represent the base layer and the compacted asphalt was used to represent the asphalt layer.

Using the samples, it was possible to demonstrate a cross sectional view of a finished road.

VIPs were the lucky recipients of Bitumen World caps and copies of the comprehensive company profile; they were briefed about projects and contracts undertaken by the company. Other visitors received the excellent in-house production of the monthly bulletin.

Visitors Analysis: The stand received approximately 142 visitors who consisted of top officials from government organizations, such as the Gender Commission, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry. Job seekers from the local community and the public, as well as students seeking career guidance.

High praise was received from visitors, remarking about work being done on the road outside of the stadium where the expo was being held. They were impressed by the speed of construction, the excellent housekeeping on the work sections, the PPE provided by Bitumen World for its workers, and the impressive condition of the company’s machinery and equipment. Many asked where the company originated, thinking that Bitumen World was a foreign, multinational company. Often, they were surprised that it was 100% Zimbabwean, a fact reinforced by the branding on all the plant.

Notable Figures:

The Matabeleland, Regional Coordinator of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission, Mr. D. Sibanda visited the stand accompanied by two officials.

Answering their queries about the way in which Bitumen World was helping the community, they were told of the variety of donations that the company had made including, the donation of breeding goats: bricks to the Lutumba community: donations of roofing timber and aggregate to various schools within the Beitbridge town, namely- Joko, Lesanth, Bubi and Muuyu communities. The “Reps” were keen to mention the soccer pitch built next to the MOBE Phase 1 site yard. Because of the soccer matches played there, they identified more ways to help the disadvantaged within these communities. Mr. Sibanda was impressed by the positive mark left in the community, but he remarked that female representation on our sites was lacking.

The Minister of the Environment, Climate Change, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Hon. N. M. Ndlovu and his delegation visited the stand on Saturday 9 July 2022.

The minister was pleased with the presentation and admired the dedication of the Bitumen World team. He made special mention of the recently produced video (The Road Home), noting its contribution to tourism. The Bitumen World “Reps” received a certificate of participation from the minister who thanked them for their support of the local community.

The Expo was a success in showcasing the work of Bitumen World, and thanks go to B. Sibindi, C. Chiukira, A. Tigere, and L. Msindo for facilitating the event.