Bleak holiday for former miners
Thousands still wait for overdue Teba payments
EASTERN Cape ex-mineworkers, who had hoped to obtain their overdue pensions, retirement and occupational health diseases funds from former employers, had a bleak festive season.
Three months ago, the Saturday Dispatch published 4 000 names of former workers who were expected to get their money through mining recruitment agent, Teba.
The announcement by Teba was welcomed by many former mineworkers, who had hoped finally to be paid what was due to them which would help solve their financial woes.
The thousands of former mineworkers from the Eastern Cape, who were recruited through Teba, have for years struggled to access their money. Some were retrenched while others were injured while digging for minerals in some of the country’s mines.
Teba released the names of 4 000 ex-miners who were eligible for some form of compensation after the Saturday Dispatch exposed the plight of the former workers, many who left the mines with nothing to show for their decades of hard labour in these multi-national mining companies.
According to the Financial Services Board, currently more than R40-billion remains unclaimed as many former workers were not aware exactly how to claim the money.
Many, like Lungile Qangqa of Mceula village outside Whittlesea, whose name appeared among the beneficiaries, are still waiting to be compensated for their work in the mines. His relative, Nombuyiselo Qangqa, said: “We’ve got nothing from the Teba company, we are struggling. He’s struggling and we had nothing for Christmas as we hoped for a payment.”
Sambava Qavane of Willowvale said they had been promised that they might be paid late next year.
“I went to the Teba Butterworth offices and I was told that my name was not released yet and I must come next year when I might get something,” said Qavane.
Meanwhile, Nosipho Tunzana of Willowvale, who has been fighting for the ex-mineworkers to get their money, said: “I’ve travelled the country to fight for my father’s money and those who are in rural areas and I must confess that I’ve been hitting brick walls.
“No-one seems to know where the R40-billion is and those who appeared on the Teba list are struggling to access the money.”
Yesterday, Teba’s Eastern Cape head, Samuel Moeletsi said many people came in numbers to claim what was due to them. “The partnership we had with the Dispatch really helped us and the poor as they came in numbers to make their claims. Many came carrying the newspaper with their names and that made it easy for us,” said Moeletsi.
However, he said they would only know next month who had been paid and how much had been paid out.
In September Teba said they were doing their best to trace those owed money by the mining companies.
Teba said they had already paid R300-million on different projects in rural “labour sending” communities, ranging from pension and provident fund monies to occupational lung disease benefits. — bonganif@dispatch.