adminPaidamoyo Chipunza Senior Reporter
Over 150 Zimbabweans who worked in South African mines in the 1970s under the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (Wenela) have so far undergone medical tests for tuberculosis and silicosis, a process that is expected to lead to individual compensation.
In an interview with The Herald, ex-Wenela Miners of Zimbabwe president Mr Lungelwe Mkwananzi said they had a database of over 5 000 Zimbabweans who worked in the South African mines during the colonial era.
He said of these, over 150 had so far been tested for tuberculosis and silicosis at Kadoma Occupational Health Centre since September last year, the results of which are being forwarded to the Medical Bureau of Occupational Diseases in South Africa for possible compensation.
“We are sending at least 10 people every week for diagnosis to the occupational health centre in Kadoma from different districts in the country,” said Mr Mkwananzi.
“We could be sending more, but we were told that the doctor was getting overwhelmed, hence we reduced the numbers to 10 every week.”
Mr Mkwananzi said although over 60 000 people provided labour to South African mines in the 1970s, the majority of whom have since passed on, an estimated 23 000 Zimbabweans could still be alive, with some of them suffering from tuberculosis or silicosis.
“We have so far managed to capture about 5 000 ex-Wenela workers in our records, but we suspect that there might actually be more out there, some of whom are suffering from this disease,” he said.
Mr Mkwananzi said while their South African lawyers — working under instruction from their mother body, the Southern African Mines Association (SANAS), of which he is a committee member — had facilitated for compensation for exposure and infection of tuberculosis and silicosis, they still wanted other benefits which they were deprived of.
“This facility is not helping us in unclaimed benefits, which we didn’t know we were entitled to,” he said.
“It is helping those who contracted diseases from working on the mines.”
Mr Mkwananzi said the South African lawyers had also done much in fighting for the ex-miners’ rights, but they wanted Zimbabwean lawyers to be involved in the negotiation process so that they also represent the interests of Zimbabwean ex-miners.
“Although we are not taking anything from our South African lawyers, our wish is to see our own Zimbabwean lawyers being involved in the negotiations to also represent our interests as Zimbabweans,” he said.
Recently, South African mines reached a conditional settlement to pay compensation of up to R500 000 each to miners who were affected, mainly by tuberculosis and silicosis, by working in the mines in the 1970s.
Six companies — African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American SA, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Harmony, Sibanye-Stillwater — and some of the affiliate mining entities were involved in negotiations of payment of conditional settlements to eligible ex-miners and dependants of those who have passed on.
Thousands of ex-miners from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and Mozambique are set to benefit from this facility upon approval by the South African High Court in May this year.
Workers who worked in both opencast and underground operations suffered from diseases such as silicosis and tuberculosis.
Online Reporter