06 Feb 2018

The Witwatersrand Native Labor Association (WNLA), popularly known as Wenela, was set up by the gold mines in South Africa as a recruiting agency for migrant workers.

The association mainly recruited cheap labor across Southern Africa for South African mines.

Because of poor working conditions many workers ended up suffering from occupational diseases ranging from TB, Peripheral vascular disease,and Silicosis among others.

Some of the diseases take effect even long after retirement making it difficult and a struggle for some of the ex-miners and their families to get their compensation .

Of recent years the association with other organizations like Ditshwanelo has been engaged on a mission to compensate mineworkers who suffer from these occupational diseases, to address the related claims backlog and to ensure that claims are swiftly and efficiently paid.

In an interview, Botswana Labour Migrants association (BoLAMA) project coordinator, Mr Kitso Phiri said it has not been easy to trace ex-miners as there was no readily available information on those who worked outside Botswana.

He said some miners have changed names, died or moved from their last known address whilst some have lost faith in the process due to turn-around periods for compensation.

Mr Phiri said his association is lacking logistical and institutional capacity and financial resources to access hard to reach areas saying the challenges have been key in the successes and failures attended to tracing and registering ex-miners.

He further said before the formation of BoLAMA the voices of ex-miners and their spouses were not audible as there was no policy dialogue among stakeholders on mechanisms to fast track their compensation.

He told this publication that BoLAMA has in the past conducted community outreaches and awareness raising campaigns on issues of miners and believe that since most miners were  not aware of their entitlements, sharing knowledge was the first stage.

“BoLAMA has also been active on policy interventions at national and regional level, In 2016 in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Department of Health of South Africa,  

Through the partnership a mobile clinic was dispatched to Botswana to conduct benefit medical examination to those who had not been previously examined.

Mr Phirisaid  through their intervention together with Rand Mutual Assurance they helped in tracking disability pensioners who would be getting pensions from Barclays Bank.

Quizzed on whether there are any registration points across the nation for easier registration, Mr Phiri said, before BoLAMA/DITSHWANELO’s interventions, The Employment Bureau of Africa (TEBA) was the only entity in Botswana servicing ex-miners with offices in Palapye and Molepolole.

He said they also have focal persons and committees in seven districts across Botswana to ease access and registration of ex-miners.

“From Government standpoint, specifically the Ministry of Health and Wellness and to some extent Ministry of Employment Labour, Productivity and Skills development, under whose responsibility both health and ex-miners compensation fall, have been working with BoLAMA at District level through the DHMTs and District Labour Office,” he said.

He furthermore said only one facility exists to help in screening of miners for various diseases and it is confined to occupational health examination, TB and other lung related diseases.

He said intervention depends on which mine an ex-miner was working for,saying for those who worked in RSA, the diseases they are eligible to be compensated for, are scheduled in their legislation.

Mr Phiri said as DITSHWANELO and BoLAMA they would like to see the compensation acts for both countries extended to include other occupational diseases.

He further said Ex-miners issues require a multi-pronged and multi stakeholder’s approach which starts with the SADC Declaration on TB in the Mining Sector, Code of Conduct on TB in the Mining Sector, harmonized TB framework and Government partnership with ex-miners associations like BoLAMA.

“In the absence of any partnerships among stakeholders, there will always be gaps left un-occupied, where ex-miners are either exploited or made vulnerable, there is a lot that could be done to assist ex-miners, “he said.

He said BoLAMA has a structure called the Widows Forum where widows of ex-miners came together to share experiences, and ways of alleviating their families from poverty, especially where the ex-miner was the sole breadwinner. ENDS