NGO pushes payment for ex-mine workers
MASERU-A non-governmental organisation, Justice for Miners, wants the government of Lesotho to nudge South Africa to pay former and current mineworkers who are suffering from silicosis and tuberculosis.
Justice for Miners is a coalition of interested parties in the mining sector which was launched at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg last year.
The association’s Lesotho secretary general, Booi Mohapi, told a press conference on Monday that after a class action lawsuit against 32 gold mining companies which resulted in a M5 billion settlement, the mineworkers have still not been paid.
This is despite the fact that the Johannesburg High Court had approved the setting up of the Tshiamiso Trust to facilitate payment by the companies to affected miners.