tawandamusarurwa
Online Reporter
THE South African organisation facilitating pay-outs for Zimbabweans who contracted respiratory diseases working for South African mines between 1965 and 2019 is sending a delegation to discuss a roadmap on how the funds will be released.
Tshiamiso Trust, which was created after ex-Wenela workers won a class-action lawsuit at the South African High Court in July 2019, is expected to send a team to Zimbabwe soon to engage with stakeholders.
Stakeholders set to meet with the delegation include Government, medical experts and associations representing the ex-mine workers.
The Sunday Mail Online saw correspondence between Tshiamiso Trust and the Zimbabwe Embassy in South Africa, in which the organisation was asking for assistance in scheduling meetings.
Tshiamiso Trust stakeholder relations and communications executive, Ms Lusanda Jiya, confirmed the impending trip.
“I can confirm that Tshiamiso Trust is indeed set to travel to Zimbabwe to meet Government and ex-miners’ associations to plan the Trust’s operationalisation in Zimbabwe.
“The visit would seek counsel on location of lodgement and Benefit Medical Examinations sites, local service providers and mobilisation of ex-miners to access these services,” said Ms Jiya.
She, however, could not give definite dates on when they are likely to make the journey.
“We had initially targeted a date at the end of April or the beginning of May, but have not as yet confirmed dates. We will need to discuss this with the appropriate Government representative in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Other countries like Malawi and Lesotho have already started receiving their dues from the R5 billion kitty that Tshiamiso is currently managing.
Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Professor Paul Mavima said the progress being seen now is a culmination of bilateral engagements between Harare and Pretoria.
“We have a cooperation framework with South Africa, which was born through the Bi-national Commission that exists between us. The compensation of ex-Wenela workers was raised as an area of concern. This saw the establishment of a joint technical committee. The joint committee had a meeting in Johannesburg, where we presented our requests for the speedy facilitation of the payments,” said Minister Mavima.
Government, through the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), had started vetting potential beneficiaries and screening them.
“We have done chest examinations and screenings of potential beneficiaries. We had done four provinces, but we had to halt temporarily so that we ascertain with Tshiamiso Trust that the format we have been using is aligned to their expectations. So their visit will allow us to go through these modalities in place together to ensure there are no further delays.”
Minister Mavima explained that there are two classes of funds that are set to be received from South Africa: Compensation for workers who contracted TB and Silicosis working at African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye Stillwater and Gold Fields.
There are also pensions that accumulated when people who were working in South African mines had left their jobs abruptly at Independence.
“We want to reach even those in rural Zimbabwe. We are considering a number of ways to ensure there are seamless processes. For the pension component, we are considering twinning the South African and local pension system at NSSA. We will talk with our counterparts and find the best way forward,” he said.
Ex-Wenela Miners Association chairperson Mr Rodgers Munakamwe said they hope the meetings will result in Tshiamiso Trust setting base in Zimbabwe.
“In other countries where there are claimants, the Trust has offices and we believe that Zimbabwe should not be different. This will allow for easy channels of communication and administering of funds,” he said.
He called for speeding up of preliminary engagements as some of their members are dying before they can access their dues.
“There is also an issue with the documentation in South Africa, some of our members were using nicknames as they worked at mines. Their details are a bit difficult to authenticate and we are hoping that when we engage with Tshiamiso Trust to see how we can work around that and access records they hold.”
Munakamwe said they stand ready to participate in any prescribed process, as they have a database of their members who have been awaiting compensation since the news of the windfall broke.
Other countries whose citizens are set to receive funds are South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Malawi.
Online Reporter