OWN CORRESPONDENT, Mbabane | Thursday
A CLAIM for compensation by South African miners suffering from asbestosis may have pushed Swazilands asbestos export earnings down, the Central Bank of Swaziland said on Wednesday. The countrys asbestos export earnings declined by 37.9% in the first six months of 2000 compared to the corresponding period in 1999, possibly in response to market concerns over the miners’ action against their former employer, the bank said in a statement.
“The decline could be attributed to the decision by the House of Lords in the United Kingdom to allow 3_000 asbestosis sufferers from South Africa to sue Cape Plc in British courts. “This might have thrown a cloud of uncertainty over the industry.”
Cape Plc is a British company with interests in South Africa. Its former workers in South Africa who contracted asbestosis have led a long campaign for compensation from the firm. The campaign was given impetus last year when the House of Lords ruled that a British court could hear their case.
Several hundred Swazi former miners subsequently decided to take similar action against the former owners of Bulemu Mine, Swazilands main asbestos producer. Bulemu has been faced with severe operational problems in recent years.
The closure of its underground operation early last year saw its output dropping by 57.5% to 5_130 tonnes in the first six months, from over 12 000 tonnes in the corresponding 1999 period.
Meanwhile, the closure of the local brake manufacturing plant, Ferodo, robbed the mine of its only local buyer.
It exports to, among other countries, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Africa. – AFP
ZA*BUSINESS:
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