As part of its skills develop- ment and corporate social responsibility programme, multiservices solutions provider Servest Group, in partnership with diamond mining company Debswana, held its third yearly Chefs of Excellence cooking competition in August.

Competition winners Mosigi Omphitletse and Joyce Mangundu received a one-year internship at the US-based Frenchman’s Creek Beach & Country Club, each valued at $120 000.

Servest Group, through its subsidiary, Camp Management Services Botswana, is providing camp and facilities management services to Debswana’s Jwaneng mine contractors camp. Jwaneng is located in the Kweneng districtof Botswana, about 150 km west of the capital, Gaborone. Earlier this year, the Servest team at Jwaneng achieved two-million lost-time injury-free hours at the mine.

Meanwhile, Servest Catering & Camp Management MD Michael Miskin notes that the skills shortage in Southern Africa remains a challenge for catering and camp management companies. “This is often exacerbated by capital projects in remote rural areas, which the local population justifiably expects to benefit from economically but often do not have the requisite skills to participate in the project. “Skills should be transferred to employees and local entrepreneurs to tackle this challenge.”

Another issue facing companies working in remote areas is the supply chain and logistics. “It is challenging to plan around a country’s border regulations, as loads can be delayed at a border for unnecessarily long periods,” he says.

Miskin notes that the areas where Servest provides its services are typically sited adjacent to project construction areas, owing to the strict security regulations that allow only authorised personnel access to mines.

Servest CEO for Southern Africa and Africa Kevin Derrick adds that, even though Servest does not operate within the mine, it still has to comply with the mine’s exacting health and safety regulations.

“Servest employees have to adhere to site-specific safety imperatives,” says Derrick, highlighting that Servest employees’ health and safety requirements are driven by the requirements of the services industry and are different from those of the mining industry and, therefore, different training and regulations are required.

He notes that the group has an established footprint in Africa, providing mining projects with intelligent turnkey camp-management systems, which include the design, construction and operation of accommodation camps.