The petroleum Adept- A Comprehensive Guide For Frontline Staff

Get it on Lulu for just $2.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author- Simbarashe McNorris Hakata

 Cover design by- Wilhelmine Antonette Wachter who blogs on
The write monkey and Le heart and zi mind

 Pages- 155

The Petroleum Adept focuses on the downstream retail sector of the petroleum industry. It is mainly targeted at frontline staff and first-line managers in the petroleum retail sector, however it has sufficient depth of information to assist even entrepreneurs looking at investing in the petroleum industry. It can also be used by anyone seeking to gain knowledge of the petroleum retail sector in Zimbabwe and other African countries.

The book has been written to equip frontline staff and first-line managers in the Petroleum retail sector with the knowledge they need in conducting their duties. This being done in a safe and secure environment and also in a way that positively contributes to the overall customer experience. This will greatly impact on the profitability of the business through efficiency of resources utilisation and the establishment of a broader customer base. 

Key Issues addressed in the book include;

Safety- safety is crucial when handling petroleum products and safety standards need to be upheld all the time by oil companies and individuals in the petroleum industry. This will reduce the number of accidents associated with petroleum products and also ensure a healthier work force which ultimately contributes to economic growth. Safety goes beyond the activities of oil companies and affects the communities in which oil companies operate, for example if a fire breaks out at a facility that retails or store petroleum products, the fire and fumes are going to affect the communities around them.

 Product knowledge- In many cases of petroleum accidents that have been recorded around the country, the accidents were caused by a lack of knowledge of petroleum products and their properties. If one possesses adequate product knowledge such as contained in this book they will be able to handle different petroleum products with the care and caution they deserve. This will also increase service quality at fuel service stations and reduce incidences of vehicle contamination which can be very costly to oil companies.

Environmental protection- there has never been greater urgency such as exists today for economies all over the world to protect their environments especially in the developing world. Natural resources which we direly need for economic growth and development are fast depleting and this book seeks to educate people on the need to handle petroleum products with greater care and avoid spilling these products into the environment where they damage the soil and destroy plant, animal and human life. Oil spilled into the environment will alter the chemical composition of soils and even put our water table at risk in the long run. Protection of our natural environments will also encourage tourism and a healthier work force for industrial development which will also get its raw materials from these natural environments and agriculture.

Air pollution will also be reduced leading to a reduction in greenhouse gasses which will affect power generation, agricultural activity and ultimately all economic activity.

Compliance- the book encourages compliance by oil companies and individuals in the petroleum industry with government regulations and laws that should be observed when Procuring, producing, wholesaling or retailing petroleum products. 

Among other topics in the book such as the work environment, first aid, customer service etc., The Petroleum Adept also has a section for emergency numbers in Zimbabwe and in selected African countries to assist in emergency situations be it a fire, a medical emergency or even a robbery. 

Overall the benefits of this resource will not only be enjoyed by oil companies but also the economy as a whole. The book seeks to conscientize oil companies and the general public on the need to grow sustainable eco-friendly businesses.

  It can be used as a training tool or as a pocket guide for front-line staff in the petroleum industry. 

The questions at the end of each chapter are meant to help one recap on what they would have learnt in the chapters and also help one to think in a critical way about the issues addressed in those chapters. It also includes practical activities in selected chapters as well as case studies to give a more practical approach and emphasis of the lessons one needs to appreciate in the downstream petroleum industry especially those on safety.

The Lion and the Bear- a testimony of grace

"....So McNorris, amazing things happening in your life, You Have defeated the lion and the bear but Goliath is still to come..."- Pastor Tom Deuschle

My Testimony

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Barukh HaShem Eloheinu Melech HaOlam (Blessed be the LORD our God, King of the universe)!

Shalom!

“I would rather lose Knowing God was on my side than win knowing that He wasn’t” these are the words that were playing in my mind repeatedly like a scratched disc as I listened to my cousin brother. His words almost drowning in the clutter of the noise surrounding us but mostly from the words that kept playing in my head, words that had been repeated time and time again by a man (One of the very few) I deeply respect and honour Pastor Tom Deuschle and words often repeated by Dr Strive masiyiwa.

Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle - Celebration Church International

I knew my brother was concerned about my fate but of all the years we had spent around our grandfather a part of me was wondering what had happened to him to treat this Gospel as an outer garment that one can conveniently take off when it suits him. Our late grandfather Norman C.C Hakata was a pastor and he had instilled godly values into us or at least tried to from our childhood.

The late "General" Pastor NCC Hakata- my grandfather and mentor

“Baba munini hakusi kuhotel kwauri kuenda, ndine maface angu mapurisa kuHarare andinoziva vanokwanisa kusorta kutizviite bho. Havamboda mari yakwanda pane kuti unovharirwa nokuti baba culpable u are not looking at less than 2 years ndoitori minimum. Remember Henry akakuenda kuseri akadzoka achifa ndokunge watobuda nokuti ma1 (Young bro, prison is not a hotel. I have my guys in Harare in the police force who can make this case go away. They wouldn’t want a lot of money than for you to go to prison. With culpable homicide you are looking at not less than two years imprisonment which is the minimum sentence. Remember Henry who died soon after he came out of prison, you might not even make it out)” At these words I became greatly afraid and I started praying in my heart, I looked at my cousin and said “thank you bro but I can’t do that”. “Hoo Problem yako ndeyekuti unoda kuwanza chiKristu mfana, iwe you can always repent zvapera (your problem is you are too much of a Christian, you can always repent after it’s done)” he retorted.

This was a conversation taking place barely two weeks after I was involve in a tragic accident on the 13^th of September 2014 around 7pm. I ran over a pedestrian whom i had not noticed crossing the road. I had only felt the impact of my car hitting something and at that point I knew I had hit someone. I kept repeating the words “no no no no God no” as i swerved and stopped at the side of the road. I ran back to look for the person I had hit. The two way, four lane road was very busy yet no one else had noticed him in the road. I found him lying in the middle section of the road between the inner lane of the road due east and the one due west. As he lay in the road motionless I started crying and shaking and lifted up my hands to signal for help. None of the cars stopped until people close to a service station noticed what had happened and came into the road. One person then shouted that the man was still breathing but no one at the scene had a contact for an ambulance and most suggested that an ambulance would take time so I rushed and turned my car around and with help put him in the back seat of the car to rush him to Parirenyatwa hospital. The man I had run over (Neville) was breathing heavily yet stable, I was now mostly worried about him losing too much blood as he was bleeding. As I was about to leave the scene a lady from the crowd came to my window and said “My son Jesus loves you, talk to Jesus”. I didn’t know her and neither did she know me. (In most cases in situations like these in Zimbabwe people at an accident scene gang up and beat up the driver regardless of who was right or wrong but here was a woman who didn’t know whether I am a Christian or not strengthening my faith at a time like this) I left the scene with a desperate prayer in my heart “Please God, don’t let this man die, You are able to heal him and restore him, please don’ let him die”

When we arrived at the hospital the doctor from the emergency room instructed me to put the man on a stretcher and bring him into the emergency room. The man who had come with me who had said he knew Neville was intoxicated and could not help much although he tried. It was the most difficult task. I didn’t know how to handle an injured person and how to lift him from the back seat of a low car onto a stretcher. I asked some paramedics from an ambulance service parked next to my car to assist and they declined sighting contractual restrictions that they had to adhere to. What they could only do was to advise on how to handle the injured man which they did. I then managed to get Neville into the emergency room and the doctor further instructed me to go and make a police report at their in-house police post before they could start treating him. After making the police report, the doctor then said I had to buy a card at the reception and that is when they started attending to him and instructed me to go to their pharmacy and buy medication. I called a friend of mine to bring me any amount of money which he had on him and he arrived just in time to buy the medication. When we returned to the emergency room, the doctor said that Neville was gone. This was now around 8:30pm. My heart sank and I felt the darkest clouds of despair enshrouding my mind like a thick blanket.

Pastor Langton Gatsi- who also taught me much about prayer and being close with God

My family arrived and we went to Harare Central police station and went through all the procedures and reports necessary including returning to the accident scene then returned to the hospital and sat there in the hospital waiting for Neville’s family to get to the hospital. The family arrived around 2am and all I could do was breakdown in tears uncontrollably. The uncle of the deceased comforted me (In some cases like these the relatives of the deceased will beat up the driver or refuse to meet with him completely). We made arrangements with Neville’s family to meet later that same day to make funeral arrangements. When I got home that morning I went into the bathroom, stripped off my clothes and lay postrate on the floor and cried out to God. “Just as I am as I came out of my mother’s womb…” Later on that same day we were at Neville’s family home and the relatives welcomed us and received us well. We assisted in the funeral process through cash and providing some of the food eaten during the funeral until it was over. Neville’s family (God bless them) was a God fearing family and people prayed and sang songs of comfort and worship throughout the whole funeral. It was a painful time to go through because I blamed myself for bringing a family together in the pain of losing their loved one. There were some family members who said they were not alarmed when they received the news of Neville’s death alluding to how Neville lived his life which they said was careless. According to them the man would mostly sleep out drinking strong liquor and cough syrup (Bronko). He had divorced twice and was deeply troubled. His friends at the funeral sung songs about how they used to drink cough syrup with him and get wasted together and were bitter because no liquor was served or allowed at the family funeral. However all these things concerning his life did not comfort me in any way, a life had been lost, a life for which I still prayed for in faith.

After the funeral, we had to continue with police procedures in preparation for court. Because of Neville’s death the state laid a charge against me which amounted to culpable homicide. I was to appear before a Magistrate’s court. During this time the cops handling my case who had so far been so kind to me then took me aside and said my case was not a big issue because they knew how to work the system. They could either make the docket disappear or I could give them money and they would give part of it to the prosecutor who would handle my case in court who in turn would give the magistrate “his cut” in the “deal”. I said thank you for trying to assist and I looked for a lawyer to help me with the legal language of the courts. The cops were outraged at learning that I had chosen to hire a lawyer instead of going the “easier and cheaper way”. “We didn’t want a lot of money” they said “And this lawyer that you have contracted will squeeze your pockets dry”. They then contacted my lawyer to try and cut a deal with him and when my lawyer told me about it, I told him of how there was a reason I had avoided that route and hired him instead and I would not be represented by a corrupt and incompetent lawyer who needed the aid of corrupt cops to handle a case.

Because I had refused to bribe the police officers handling my case, one of them later changed his testimony in court against the facts recorded from the night of the accident and said whatever he had recorded in the beginning was in error. His colleague who had been transferred before they had asked for a bribe came to witness and confirmed the events as they had been initially recorded sighting that his colleague was not telling the truth.  

Before my first court appearance, I dreamt I was walking towards a prison holding some papers in my left hand and when I got there I went to the reception and asked to see the warden. The officers at the reception told me that I would find him at the back of the building and directed me to go through a narrow dark passageway which was a mortuary with shelves to put dead bodies in. I went through the passageway and I came out on the other side and saw the warden, a tall mean looking man coming my way. When I looked into his eyes I saw a vision of two prison guards beating up an inmate on the ground with button sticks. He asked me why I wanted to see him and I told him that I was supposed to be incarcerated there and handed him my papers. He took the papers, scanned through them and looked at me and said “Go back, you don’t belong here” and I turned and started walking away. When I woke up I thanked God for the confirmation though I was afraid and was unsure of my fate. I knew God had spoken and I even shared the dream with members of our cell group and told them what I knew God was telling me.

When I first met my lawyer he had indicated and then spelt out how he intended to win the case by whatever means necessary even by hook and crook. This was even before we had gone for our first court session. I told him again that he would only do the things that would leave me at peace with God because God is the final Judge. I would not bribe anyone and the only money I would fork out was money for fair legal fees which also would not include any “hidden fees” for purposes of greasing any hands. I told my lawyer he would have to work with the facts of the matter and nothing more. To me winning was not being exonerated from the charges but knowing that I am at peace and in fellowship with God through it all regardless of whether I go to prison or not. This is the same time I spoke to my cousin brother who told me that prison was not a holiday inn especially Zimbabwean prisons. During the same period a man I knew whose wife worked at my work place shared his experience with me of how he had run over a little girl and he bribed the prosecutor and magistrate with $600 and he only paid a fine of $200 which he had determined himself since the “court” had asked him how much he was willing to pay. Prior to these events that is the man’s running over the child I had dreamt of the accident he got involved in and sent warning to him through his wife and asked them to pray but at this point what he could share with me was the “wisdom” of man.

[My first court appearance was in November 2014 and my last was in July of 2015. In April of 2015 I lost my job. I got set up by my senior managers who connived with the two supervisors working under me to steal money because I would not take money from sales as my senior managers desired. They then came up with a plan and took $29000 which I discovered after the Passover holidays and dismissed me on the grounds of being the two supervisors manager. One of the supervisors was related to my boss who was handling the issue. I made a police report on behalf of the company against the two supervisors who had admitted to taking the money but the case was withdrawn by my senior managers who immediately suspended me and later fired me without even a hearing.]

Towards the end of my court case my lawyer showed me his call log and he had received a call from the magistrate. The magistrate wanted money so that he could give a favourable verdict. I told my lawyer who had hesitated to tell me about it that I was not going to do such a thing. Whatever the verdict he would come up with would say. The state had clearly lost its case at law because of contradicting witnesses so there should not have been anything possible conviction given the facts of the case. When we returned for another court session which was supposed to be the last, the magistrate postponed the matter without even consulting with my lawyer which he was not supposed to do in the normal proceedings of court affairs.

 [On one of the nights before we returned to court again I met a drunk stranger whilst I was getting sadza from a take away restaurant and he looked at me and said “Hey don’t worry man, God is able, so remember that” and that was our entire conversation.]  

with the beautiful Miss Wilhelmine Wachter- my  love

We waited for the date, praying. My girlfriend Wilhelmine Wachter, my mum Cicci Mtatiwa and her friends fasted with me. Our cell group, Zone leader and our District pastor, Pastor Thandie prayed for me and encouraged me throughout the period and later also told me that a host of pastors were also praying with me including Pastor Taz. On the day, the magistrate pronounced his verdict -“guilty” based on the testimony of the (contradicting) witnesses that had appeared before the court. On the day when I would be sentenced which was the next day, the prosecutor came up to me whilst we stood at the court entrance and said “Hakata, haa wakaoma -literally-(Hakata, you are hard man)”. Then in court the uncle to the late Neville who had been present at all the court appearances requested to speak to the court and spoke on my behalf. He spoke of what we had done for the family and how the family had accepted that what had happened was an accident. I was deeply moved by this to the point of tears and after mitigation the magistrate stood down the matter to 2:15pm which was also unusual. We went back and I was sentenced to 210 hours of community service. My lawyer and my family wanted to appeal but I told them it was not worth it. I said this because an appeal could take another year of court appearances and all that time the relatives of the deceased would have to be present in court. I accepted the community service and told my lawyer and family that the bereaved also needed rest from this and as unfair as the judgement might have seemed- it is well, I was at peace, God had fought for me and I had seen His grace throughout all that happened. It was so much grace that even my girlfriend’s father Michael A. Wachter helped me out financially during the whole ordeal.

 

I served community service at Mabelreign clinic and there I saw the favour of God at work. The clinic staff there was very kind to me and would not let me do things they deemed hard like digging, choosing instead to let me work inside the clinic packing pills or taking inventory. They also arranged for counseling sessions for me concerning which they soon realized there was no need because the Greatest Counsellor of all counselled me. I witnessed to many I came across with. To show how God had been gracious towards me, I met a man whose nephew had run over a child and he was locked up the very same day despite having given one of the cops $50. The man’s nephew was kept in custody, denied bail and was sentenced to three months imprisonment at Chikurubi maximum prison. I have tried to get the man to go with me and visit his nephew but up to this date he has not shown any willingness to do so but I pray for the young man. In a month I was done with my hours. On my last day, all the clinic staff expressed sadness at my leaving and bid me farewell.

I want to thank God our Father through our Lord and King Yahushua for holding my hand and for being there for me through the storm and the fire. I would also like to thank My late mum and best friend Auxillia Tatisa for raising me up to fear God, Neville's family,

The late Honourable, her excellency Auxillia Tatisa- my mum and best friend

Wilhelmine Wachter my best friend and love, My mum and dad Mr and Mrs Mtatiwa,

siblings (Joy, Tino and Ruva), My aunt Gladies Tsopotsa and family, My nephews Zed, Naison and family and Lucas, my Nieces Taffy and Tarisai and family friends particularly auntie Faith, My friends Simbarashe Ralph Shokobishi (God bless you mate), Janielle Beh (praying with me and encouraging me all the way from Australia), Munyaradzi Chinyemba, Sija Mafu who has written about my testimony on his website http://www.motivated2inspire.com/index.php/what-scars-represent-in-our-lives,

Cliffton Mapfumo,  Blessing Mabvuramiti, Leo, Emelda and Precious Vhiriri.

Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle, Pastor Taz, Pastor Thandie, Sister Rufaro and my cell group family (all from Celebration Church international), Pastor Langton Gatsi of One way International Ministries.

My parents (the rents) Bornaparte and Cicci Mtatiwa

I pray that this testimony will encourage all that shall come across it. It is not a testimony of strength but of how God became my Strength when I had no hope. We live in a world where it is “easier” to do the wrong thing than to do the right thing (having been tempted to give in) but by His grace we do overcome. Even if we suffer it is gain for one day we shall share in Christ’s everlasting glories. I do not regret the choices I made even though I have suffered much for them, what I do regret are the moments when I doubted God and feared but This God that we serve, Is a faithful God, an awesome God.

To Him who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb- be praise and honour and glory and power forever and ever Amen.

M c N o r r i s

Disclaimer:

The following creation though created in the image of its Creator is a free moral agent. The choices it shall make in the course of its existence are sorely and entirely its own on condition it has reached the generally accepted age of majority to be determined by the same when it shall multiply and increase in its environment.

This creation comes with the power to create its own reality, shape and influence its own environment. Limitations to what it can achieve shall be set by itself. Technical support from its Creator shall be provided for if so requested and its Creator shall by no means force His will on it or into its life unless in cases of intervention yet even under such special conditions and offers it shall retain its full rights and ability to make a choice.

Obligation falls on it to acquire the right set of knowledge to be used for whatever intended purpose it deems fit and no liability shall fall upon the Creator for the acquirement or non-acquirement of such knowledge even on account of the nature of the knowledge acquired.

Lines of communication between the creation and the Creator shall be kept open at all times and provision has been made for (though not limited to) the necessities for the sustenance of life. These have been verified to be enough for all creation and the Creator is not responsible for the lack of it due to mishandling, mismanagement or failure of the creation to understand its environment neither does the Creator take responsibility for the greed and selfishness of the creation in matters of sharing the same resources.

The third planet from an average yellow star in the milky way has been allocated to and reserved for this creation to rule, to govern, to have dominion on it and to subdue it therefore all matters to do with its productivity have been rightly placed into the creation's hands. This shall be for a limited time until a new world for this creation shall be established having messed up the first one it currently occupies.

Please do take note that wars are a result of the choices this creation has made and makes. Poverty, famine, diseases, death and related woes are a result of this creation's disregard for natural laws that govern the creation's environment, its rejection for technical support from its manufacturer, its lifestyle choices, its choice to disregard the Spiritual laws that pertain to its existence as spiritual beings, its invitation of entities bent on destroying it and mostly its disregard for the manual and instructions provided for by its Creator contained in a well documented library together with a full constitution of an ideal environment for an ideal existence.

This creation is called mankind!!

by McNorris

progressive damage

Photo cred: financialgazett.co.zw

In the morning I was talking to Robert Tapera (not his real name) a man from Mutare in Manicaland Zimbabwe. Robert was relating to me his ordeal and predicament over the government imposed relocations going on in his rural area. Apparently some top government officials and some top executives from a well known diamond mining company in the country approached his community and told them they had to move from the lands they occupied because it was now under the government. The whole marked area was now designated a diamond mining area and as such everyone in the area was being relocated possibly to Gokwe communal lands which are about 567 kilo meters away from Mutare. Gokwe not being a location of choice to the affected families but one imposed on them by the government.

The government officials approached Robert and his family as they were coming from their fields and informed them that they could not go back into their fields ever again indefinitely. Their fields which cover about six hectares of good fertile land in an area that receives average annual rainfall of around 818mm were already green with a variety of crops such as maize, groundnuts, peanuts e.t.c that they had already planted when the rainy season begun in the country. Robert was told that the area was now protected and if any of his family members wandered off into the fields they would be considered trespassers and action would be taken against them and Robert understood exactly what the officials meant by that statement and so he complied.

It wasn't a decision to be challenged and to Robert and his family it was an order coming from an authority that they would dare not challenge for fear for their very own lives. Five other families in the area are also being relocated together with Robert's family under the same conditions and possibly to the same location in Gokwe. The only thing Robert managed to ask in his distress was about his family's grave yard. A total of twenty eight graves occupy the place including that of his daughter who passed away at the age of two just some two months ago. The officials told them they would have to dig up the graves themselves, exhume the remains and the government would assist them in burying them in a new location. "We will even contract Doves Morgan ( a funeral parlour) to assist with the tents and other necessities they usually provide at funerals" so he was told. He was also told that the government will provide the coffins and food for the ceremonies if need be. One thing that was clear as a cut diamond was that the graves had to go. 

According to Robert, the officials have already provided security for the area that is present twenty four -seven and the movements of everyone in the area is now being monitored closely until the relocation is effected. 

Robert has a family of seven, his wife and six children mostly of school going age. He works in a certain town in Mashonaland and goes back to his homestead in Mutare when he is off duty. When he is off from work he tills the land and farms to supplement his meager income that he gets from his menial job. He has no education and so does his wife. He was born in Mutare where his homestead is and took over part of the homestead from generations of Taperas that occupied the land before him where most of them were buried as well. He also told me of another family's homestead in the area where the government set up a water pipe line that draws water from a nearby dam and runs through the front yard of the family's home to the diamond processing plant that is already being established.

 As I spoke to him I could tell that he is a man thoroughly convinced that there is nothing that can be done to turn the situation around. He and five other families were getting orders from very powerful people with very influential positions in the country whose authority can not be questioned. They could also not protest to the decision since they hold no titles to the communal lands they occupy in fact no one holds any titles to "their" land if they occupy communal lands in Zimbabwe. Many at times the rural folk are at the mercy of the final authority in those lands which are usually the chiefs except in special cases such as Robert's case.

 Robert's case is sadly one in thousands of cases of a similar nature where people are disposed of their lands and homes for the sake of "economic progress" in Zimbabwe and Africa. Many families are displaced from their lands without a voice. Their pleas and cries of protest go unheeded if uttered at all and in some situations lives are lost if by any chance the occupants of that land make any attempt to resist. These peasant farmers are forced to relocate without any regard for their community, social values and culture, neither is there any regard for the emotional stress and strain placed upon them as they are forced to exhume their loved ones they have since laid to rest. There is also no consideration made concerning the children in those families and their basic needs such as shelter and education. Normally it takes months for a relocated family to adjust to their new environment and sometimes if the conditions of living have changed drastically they might never fully adjust but rather just make do with the situation. 

The disheartening thing is that after displacing these groups of people from their communities they realize no tangible long term benefit from the "economic activities" carried out on their lands. It doesn't matter whether they are minerals or oil, history has taught us here in Africa that the people that inhabit the areas where these resources are found always face the same predicament.  Their communities remain largely impoverished and remain so whilst the big corporations operating in these places record huge profits in their financials yet these resources are depleting and after they are gone the corporations pack their tools and forsake the barren poisoned lands in search of new "opportunities". 

Any reasonable man would deem it exigent to question the value of our undertakings (not only as governments or corporations but as the whole human race) especially when they do not empower the said owners of the resources exploited in the same undertakings.

by Simbarashe M c N o r r i s Hakata