Tshiamiso trustees decry low impact
- Lesotho mineworkers’ pay tops region
- But Council demands deeper outreach
MOSA MAOENG
MASERU – Lerato Nkhetše, chairman of the Mineworkers Council of Lesotho, has acknowledged that while Basotho ex-miners receive the highest compensation among claimants in the seven countries served by the Tshiamiso Trust, significantly improved information dissemination is urgently needed.
Nkhetše emphasized that a house-to-house induction campaign is essential to ensure all eligible former miners understand their rights and the claims process.
He made these remarks during an exclusive interview following Tuesday’s launch of the Tshiamiso Trust’s new outreach initiative targeting Basotho ex-gold miners suffering from Silicosis and Tuberculosis (TB).
“Though we lead in compensation levels, many potential claimants remain uninformed or face barriers accessing the system,” stated Nkhetše.
“Direct, personalized outreach is critical to reach every affected miner.”
The Trust’s expanded campaign aims to streamline support for miners afflicted by these occupational diseases across Lesotho.
Tshiamiso Trust was established to give effect to the settlement agreement reached between six mining companies and claimant attorneys in the historic silicosis and TB class action, on the terms set out in the Trust Deed, which was attached to the settlement agreement and made an order of court.
The Trust is responsible for compensating all eligible current and former mineworkers across Southern Africa with permanent impairment due to silicosis or work-related TB, or their dependents where the mineworker has passed away, in terms of the Trust Deed.
Nkhetše added that there are many logistical issues that need to be solved, noting that due to the geographic of the country, they assume that all people receive information shared through radios and other platforms but there has never been a house to house induction.
He said each and every household in the country if not 90 percent has someone who has worked in the mines or a beneficiary; therefore, that says people need thorough information dissemination regarding these issues.
He mentioned that there are people who have worked in coals mines and asbestos mine do not have the general information that Tshiamiso only compensate ex-miners who worked in gold mines.
He said the information need to be disseminated through ongoing outreaches such as community gatherings through chiefs because peer learning is much easier than when a person gathers information from a random person.
“We are not convinced that the outreach will touch in all corners of the country especially due to the date that are given for the outreach in all the districts. Given districts such as Quthing, giving only two days for the outreach is a challenge.
The other thing that we need to see resolved as the Council is the need for women to be educated on the kind of documentation needed when claiming because most of them have lost their spouses, some of them do not know the names of the mines their spouses worked at,” he said.
Nkhetše added that financial literacy is also an important part in this issue following government announcing unemployment as a disaster.
He said they see this as an opportunity if they are educated on financial literacy because many households will have the right way to use the money therefore leveraging unemployment.
He said although the Trust has paid M848 million, in essence, they do not see its impact.
He emphasised information as power, saying there is need to give people information.
He concluded by explaining that the Mineworkers Council of Lesotho was established after the realisation that there are too many mushrooming associations claiming to assist ex-miners get their compensations from the Trust, however, they decided to collaborate as the core ex-miners with over 20 associations and sought it important to form one body that will regulate ex-miners’ compensations.
Tshiamiso Trust has announced the rollout of claim lodgement and medical examination services to Lesotho during July and August this year aimed at extending compensation services to former mineworkers who have suffered permanent lung damage as a result of occupational diseases, silicosis and work related TB.
As per their press release dated July 15, Tshiamiso has noted that while 9, 271 former Basotho mineworkers and their families have been paid out to the tune over M848 million, many more claimants are set to benefit.
The outreach activity will bring services to 2 647 Basotho claimants waiting to undergo their Benefit Medical Examinations (BMEs), encourage more claims to be lodged and attract claimants who need to update their contact details or submit outstanding documentation.
The release further added that the first phase of these services will concentrate on the lowlands, starting at the TEBA offices in Botha-Bothe on July 21 to 22, followed by Leribe on 23 to 24, Teyateyaneng on 25 to 26 and Maseru from 28 to 31.
“From there, services will go to Mafeteng on August 1-2 and 4-7, followed by Mohale’s Hoek on 8 to 9, and finishing in Quthing on 11 to 12. However, taking the highland winter into account, dates will be announced for the second phase of the outreach, which will include Mokhotlong, Qacha’s Nek and Thaba-Tseka,” reads the statement.
During the launch, Tshiamiso Trust Chief Executive Officer Munyadziwa Kwinda highlighted the following sentiments ahead of the planned outreaches in Lesotho that the Trust looks forward to assisting as many claimants in Lesotho as possible.
He said their services will allow new claim lodgements and BMEs to be done on the same day at the various locations, enhancing claimants’ accessibility.
He mentioned that “to prevent queues, the first days at each location will be reserved for those who left South African gold mines before 1995, followed by those who worked after 1996. The BMEs are a crucial step in the claims process.
They provide the necessary evidence of lung damage resulting from silicosis or TB, the two occupational diseases that the Trust compensates under specific conditions.”
Kwinda emphasised the importance to note that the Trust’s BMEs do not include TB tests, stating that if active TB is suspected, claimants will not be able to complete their BME but will be referred for testing and will need to be scheduled for BME after they are cleared of TB.
He said the Tshiamiso Trust does not compensate for mineworker having TB or silicosis, but rather for permanent lung damage as a result of the disease, according to the specific medical eligibility criteria outlined in Schedule H of the Trust Deed.
Schedule H of the Tshiamiso Trust Deed outlines the specific medical criteria for determining whether a mineworker or their dependents are eligible for compensation due to silicosis or tuberculosis contracted during employment at qualifying gold mines.
This schedule details the criteria for diagnosis, severity and qualifying diseases related to silicosis and TB, it also specifies the process for medical assessments and certification.
Kwinda added that following the BMEs, the Trust’s Medical Certification Panel (MCP) carefully analyses the findings to ascertain the appropriate for each claim, thereby determining whether a claim is certified as eligible or ineligible for compensation.
He said data shows that 70 percent of claims for living or deceased mineworkers are certified as ineligible, because they do not meet the criteria of a qualifying disease in terms of the Trust Deed.
Outlining the broad eligibility criteria, he said mineworkers must have carried out risk work at one of the qualifying gold mines owned by African Rainbow Minerals, Anglo American South Africa, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, Sibanye Stillwater or Gold Fields during the qualifying periods between March 12, 1965 and December 10, 2019, living mineworkers must have permanent lung impairment from silicosis or TB that they contracted while doing risk work at these mines.
“For deceased mineworkers, there must either be evidence that TB was the primary cause of death within a year of leaving the mine (if the mineworker died before December 10, 2019), or evidence that they had silicosis (applicable if they died after January 1, 2008), or died from silicosis. Claims are assessed thoroughly following what is prescribed by the Trust and specific criteria apply to each of the 10 categories available for compensation,” said Kwinda.
He noted that while several challenges stall their progress in finalizing claims, and many claimants are frustrated that they did not meet the eligibility criteria, over 2.2 billion has been paid across the Trust’s footprint, marking the largest payout ever made by a compensation organisation in this sector.
He concluded by stating that in addition to providing the crucial BMEs for claimants who need them, the outreach campaign is targeting claimants who are not contactable on the number provided, the dependents of deceased miners who need to submit a medical certificate of cause of death especially if the Death Certificate that they submitted initially did not indicate silicosis or pulmonary/cardio-respiratory TB as the cause of death, as well as those who need to take over claims for claimants who have passed away.
Chairperson of the Parliament’s Portfolio Committees Mokothu Makhalanyane said this time around they will be going where they have always needed to be all this time, which is to the people. He said they have agreed with Tshiamiso that every month they will give them a report which will also be shared with the Council showing the progress they have done.
He said they need to cover the 50 000 people of Basotho and that they have processed fully their compensations this year.
