Hands-on trainings for Customs Officers on detection of illegal cooling substances and Training of Trainers in refrigeration.
The NOU in conjunction with ZIMRA and with support from GIZ Proklima, successfully conducted nine training workshops for customs officers at stations throughout the country and major ports of entry from May to September 2022.
Training of Customs Officers
Customs Officers play a crucial role in combating illegal trade, controlling and monitorig ODS in line with phase out obligations.
From May until August 2022 nine trainings were conducted in different locations, focusing on causes and effects of ozone layer depletion, causes and impacts of global warming, roles of customs officers in controlling trade, identification of refrigerants and other controlled substances, smuggling schemes, licensing and quota system, roles of customs officers in combating illegal trade and uses of refrigerant identifiers. In total, 222 officers were trained, 110 of which females.
The trainings were successfully held in Zimbabwe’s important trade and customs locations by Trainers George Chaumba, Ozone Officer, and Customs Trainers Lilian Musarandega, Farayi Banda, Desmond Jaka, Ezekiel Ngungu, and Washington Dube, among others.
Training of Trainers
Zimbabwe has seven Vocational training Centres (Polytechnics) that offer courses in refrigeration and air conditioning. These are Bulawayo, Gweru, Harare, J. M. Nkomo (Gwanda), KweKwe, Masvingo and Mutare. A Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop was conducted at Masvingo Polytechnic in Masvingo from the 26th to 30th September 2022.
Seventeen lecturers from the seven institutions attended the workshops which was facilitated by the Ozone Officer, Mr George Chaumba, and lecturers who had attended the ACRA training before, namely Ms Irene Mbedzi, Mr Charles Munatsi and Mr Brian Mpehla. The programme was fully packed with theoretical and practical sessions which saw the participants diligently participating with full enthusiasm. Three days of training were dedicated for theory presentations and demonstrations while the last two days were reserved for practical exercises on electronic circuits, troubleshooting and electrical wiring of star delta and DOL starting methods.
The timing of the training was extra relevant as a week later two of the lecturers travelled to Frankfurt, Germany for a 2-week Cool Training workshop and another group of three lecturers were leaving for South Africa for a 4-week advanced training in refrigeration at the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy (ACRA).
All trainings have contributed widely to the spread of knowledge on importance of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector in many areas of daily life and sustainable development in Zimbabwe. With all relevant and supportive trainings and opportunities provided to the participants, the number of customs officers trained during the eight workshops is the largest number ever achieved in a single year since the start of the HPMP Project. In addition, the Training of Trainers on Advanced Refrigeration and Electronics was the largest gathering of Refrigeration Lecturers in the country since the start of the Project. The lecturers developed mutual understanding and teamwork and expressed willingness to meet more often to share experiences and learn from one another.