Chronicle Editor
Siphamehlo Nyathi, Sunday News Reporter
FORMER Zimbabwean mine workers who toiled under the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association also known as Wenela, are growing impatient over delays in the processing of their compensation.
The payments range from R100 000 to R500 000 per individual for miners having contracted respiratory diseases (tuberculosis and silicosis) but a number of the miners fear that the process may exclude them because they no longer have the necessary paperwork that is required by administrators, Tshiamiso Trust, as proof.
The Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Professor Paul Mavima, however, expressed faith in the processes and in Tshiamiso Trust saying they have been engaging the South African government to speed up the processing of the compensation.
“So far, we have created a database of all potential beneficiaries and we call upon any other potential beneficiaries to register their details. We continue to engage our counterparts in South Africa over this issue and I do not doubt the sincerity of the Tshiamiso Trust. I would like to believe that sooner, rather than later, payments will start rolling out,” said Prof Mavima.
President of the Ex-Wenela Miners Association of Zimbabwe, Mr Lungelwe Mkhwananzi, however, expressed concern over the pace that the process was moving.
He said the conditions where paperwork was needed were too stiff for ordinary miners most of whom had their contracts terminated abruptly.
“The conditions seem to be too stiff for ordinary miners whose contracts were terminated abruptly and left without the proper documentation. Affidavits are not considered as evidence in processing claims but contractual documents are and most of the miners no longer have them.
“Some of them left the mines 43 years ago and by now, the papers are either lost or damaged. It is easy to deal with issues of someone who would have left the mine two or three years ago because that information is already captured in the computers but my colleagues and I worked in South African mines before the advent of computers hence, our records of service are not easily traceable,” he said.
Mr Mkhwananzi suggested that the mines that were party to the settlement could help retrieve the miners’ details from their databases.
“The Rud Mutual Association (RMA) may have the details of all these ex-miners. They should hand them over to the Tshiamiso Trust to expedite the process. It is also sad that a number of workers have died before they could get their dues. What is more disconcerting is that many among the ex-miners are dying before they get their compensation,” Mr Mkhwananzi said.
According to information provided by Tshiamiso Trust, for deceased mineworkers there must be evidence that they died of TB within a year of leaving the mine, the mine worker died before 10 December 2019, or evidence that they had silicosis or died from silicosis if it is a silicosis claim.
As for living mineworkers, they must have permanent lung damage from silicosis or TB that they contracted from doing risk work at those mines. The amount of compensation depends on the nature of the eligible claimant’s illness. Each beneficiary will be paid depending on the level at which he or she had suffered from respiratory diseases.
“Ex-mineworkers who claim from the Tshiamiso Trust need to undergo a Benefit Medical Examination (BME) for their claim to be processed. The examination must be done by an accredited service provider to the Trust, and includes a general check-up, a lung function test and an x-ray of the lungs,” reads a clause from the Tshiamiso Trust’s Facebook page.
Zimbabwe’s National Social Security Agency (NSSA) has already carried out medical examination on ex-miners in three cities, Bulawayo, Harare and Masvingo, to determine the degree of injuries sustained by workers during their tenure in South Africa but that does not meet the requirements of the Tshiamiso Trust.
A Facebook user, Marvin Mac-genius Makgotla, took to the Tshiamiso Trust Facebook page to vent out his frustrations:
“It’s been years of stories. All we see is change of CEOs. We are stuck at one place. . . tell me what do you do when stakeholders are not taking any action? What if it takes them 20 years to respond…you not serious with us (sic).”
Tshiamiso Trust was set up after ex-Wenela workers won a class-action lawsuit in the South African High Court in July 2019 to handle the compensation process. It was established to give effect to the settlement reached between six mining companies and claimant attorneys in the historic silicosis and tuberculosis class action.
The Tshiamiso Trust manages thousands of claims for mineworkers eligible for compensation due to contracting TB or silicosis from working in certain gold mines during specific periods between 12 March 1965 and 10 December 2019.
In May 2018, landmark settlement was reached where R5 billion is to be paid out over 13 years.
Six mining companies are part to the agreement: African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo-American, Anglo-Gold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony and Sibanye – Stillwater.
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