By Shongedzai Mugwagwa
Zimbabwe’s largest, fastest growing and bullish petroleum group, Petrotrade staged a major coup in the industry by becoming the first ever Zimbabwean company to get the ISO 9001:2008 certification at a glittering event held in Harare’s Rainbow Towers Hotel today.
The ISO certification of Petrotrade comes barely a week after the National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zimbabwe (NOICZ) was handed over their ISO certificate as well.
Officiating at the glittering event, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Dr Gloria Magombo applauded and commended great efforts and professionalism displayed by the petroleum company.
She paid tribute to the management and staff at Petrotrade for meeting the requirements for certification.
“It is truly a commendable achievement by Petrotrade. I think in Zimbabwe, you will agree, that this is the time for us to restore confidence in our country and this can be achieved through a commitment to excellence culture,” she said.
Dr Magombo who is the former Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority Chief Executive, said that the ISO certification of Petrotrade was not only a testimony of the commitment but an indication of what Zimbabwe is capable of doing.
Receiving the certificate, Petrotrade Acting CEO, Godfrey Ncube said the ISO certification affirmed that their organisation was on the market not as pretenders but real contenders.
“The certification will no doubt energise us, now that we know we have the necessary capabilities and competences to deliver quality services to our customers. Attaining the ISO certification is one of the projects we embarked on to strengthen our brand,” he said.
ISO 9001:2008 specifies requirements for a quality management system where an organisation has to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
It also aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is an independent, non-Governmental international organisation with a membership of 163 national standards bodies.
Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant international standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.
The ISO certification of Petrotrade comes on the heels of an overdrive by President Emmerson Mnangagwa of revamping the Zimbabwean economy and raising the living standards to a middle income economy by 2030. This development comes as a confirmation to the sustainability factor of Zimbabwe by providing ISO certified services which match the region and international standards.
