Some ex-miners deceived families - commissioner of compensation

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M- Some ex-miners who once worked for South African (SA) mining companies, are said to have deceived their families concerning their gratuity payments at the time they reached retirement age.

This was said by the Commissioner of Compensation, Magwabane Mdluli, this week, in an interview with this publication whereby he alleged that most of the ex-miners had actually spent their whole packages with their new partners at the time they were still under the employ in SA.

“There were findings that some miners chose to deceive their families at the time they reached retirement. The ministry discovered that they had been actually paid their gratuity and eventually blew it up before returning to the country,” explained Mdluli.

It was gathered that some of these ex-miners when they returned deceived their families that government would eventually release their gratuity payments.

Independent investigations revealed that some of these ex-miners passed away, leaving their families with a hope that government owed them.

“Because of the dishonesty on the part of the ex-miners, after they passed away, their families have been troubling government, demanding gratuity payments and even funeral expenses.”

SUccUMbeD

Meanwhile, one of the ex-miners, Simon Nhlengetfwa, said that most of their colleagues had already succumbed to death while waiting for their pension, provident funds and the compensation from the Eswatini Government.

“No money, either provident fund, pension and compensation from the Tiyamiso Trust Fund, which is a compensation fund for most of us who were suffering from Tuberculosis’ (TB) and silicosis.”

Nhlengetfwa, who retired in 1980, is 74 years old now and has said that since then he has been waiting for the payment of pension, provident fund and also the compensation as he is currently suffering from silicosis.

Nhlengetfwa claimed that their former employer, Vaal Reef Anglo-Goldmine company, met with other gold mine companies in SA and collectively paid a sum of over E5 billion to benefit every miner who was suffering from the silicosis disease.

“We are confused and lost as no one among us has ever received any payment and now most of the farmers have passed away,” clarified Nhlengetfwa.

In the past year, it announced that about 1 700 ex-miners would benefit from the E91 million which would be disbursed by the Ex-Mine Workers Provident Fund in conjunction with the ministry of labour and social security.

The ministry, together with the fund based in South Africa, is in the process of locating the 1 700 ex-miners who are beneficiaries to the E91 million fund that have been unclaimed in the past years.

The then Principal Secretary (PS) Thulani

Mkhaliphi disclosed to the media that they had already identified the 1 700 beneficiaries and all that was left now was to locate them.

“We have identified the beneficiaries of the E91 million that has been unclaimed.

“We have compiled a list and we would like to urge people that worked in South African mines between 1989 and today but quit for whatever reason and people who have relatives that worked as miners during this period to check our regional offices for the list as of today,” he said in an interview last year.

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The PS had said that the list was available by last Friday and was sent to the regional offices.

“While we had wanted to have the list ready by last Thursday, due to many reasons, we could only avail it on Friday.

“We quickly sent it to our regional offices where the ex-miners or their relatives can check. They must bring proof such as identity cards (ID) and their TEBA numbers for verification,” he said.

The PS further stated that the ministry, together with officials from the Pension Fund, will visit the four regions.