By Sicelo Mhlanga

MBABANE:The Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC)has received a seal of approval for being one of the internationally recognised companies which adheres to international standards, developed and published by the International Organisation of Standardization (ISO). 

The local utility has been officially accredited with three ISO Certifications: ISO 9001 – Quality Management System, ISO 14001 – Environmental Management System and ISO 45001 – Occupational Health & Safety; which are all fundamental standards that form the foundation of EEC’s operations. 

This certification handover took place on Thursday at the company’s head office in Mbabane, in the presence of international accreditation system body - DQS, EEC Chairman - Dr Phil Mnisi, Board members, Executive and Management. EEC was accredited following extensive ISO audits which were successfully carried out in 2022. This recognition means EEC is a well-run business that has structure, is stable and ready for growth. 

According to DQS’ Executive Director Vusi Bongwe, EEC achieved this milestone despite challenging times of COVID-19. 

“Attaining the ISO standards is the highest achievement, and the company should be proud of itself. EEC has really made Eswatini very proud. Thank you for partnering with DQS and I can assure you that your name is within the industry’s international register,” Bongwe said. 

He stated that being accredited by DQS is not easily achieved, but requires strong will and commitment from the top management, all the way to the employees working on the ground.

EEC Managing Director, Ernest Mkhonta stated that the road towards the ISO accreditation was implemented during a very challenging and gruesome time, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

“Through development of a COVID-19 Management Plan, management fast tracked virtual implementation of key milestones such trainings, process mapping, documentation reviews and operational meetings,” Mkhonta said.

EEC Chairman Dr. Phil Mnisi congratulated the EEC team for working hard and putting the company on the international standards map. 

“The systems benefits are coherent through better performance indices, less environmental incidents, lower workplace injuries, lower life threatening near misses and zero product/service linked fatalities. We congratulate EEC on this achievement and encourage management to embrace the principles of the systems as a way of realizing more value out of the investment,” Mnisi said.