Fiona Macleod and Suzan Chala
Businessman Cyril Ramaphosa joins deputy president of the National Union of Mineworkers Chrosby Moni on the board of trustees that will oversee the multimillion-rand payout to victims of Cape plc asbestos mines.
The board, announced this week, includes retiring British lawyer Sarah Leigh OBE, two doctors who cannot be named until their employers have been informed, and Paul Syllis, chairperson of Cape, the British multinational company that has agreed to pay out 21-million over the next 10 years.
Richard Meeran, a lawyer from the British firm Leigh Day that negotiated the Cape legal settlement, visited South Africa this week to meet the trustees and sort out the practical details of the trust.
He said he and the trustees were determined to ensure that the trust money will not be used for anything other than compensating the victims.
The government has still to make known whether it will ratify the terms of the settlement. The deal includes a waiver of any future claims for compensation against Cape, including any claims for environmental rehabilitation of its former asbestos mines in South Africa. The National Union of Mineworkers has objected to these preconditions.
Meeran said his recent discussions with government representatives make him “confident the government will sign. Cabinet ratification is fundamental to the deal.” Originally the government’s decision was expected on February 15, but this has been postponed to February 28.
In terms of the settlement, 11-million will be paid into the trust by the end of June. The rest will be paid in instalments over the next 10 years. Meeran said the bulk of the claims of 7500 victims already registered in the legal action will have been processed by the end of June.
He said the trustees will negotiate with banks to open accounts for the victims for free.
Meanwhile, Ngwako Madjadji reports that a poor community in the Northern Province whose residents are due for a settlement from Cape Plc is being hit by a syndicate of con-artists claiming they can speed up the process if they are given an upfront payment.
In the village of Mafefe the majority of people suffering from asbestos-related disease are alleged to have been approached by the syndicate, which calls itself The Shacks. A large number have paid up.
Police say the amount taken from the village about R250 a claimant is “just the tip of the iceberg”, as The Shacks move from one village to another.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, spokesperson for Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi, has appealed to the community not to pay.
Community leader Shadrack Molokoane says appeals to protect the vulnerable villages have not been succesful: “We raised the issue with the compensation commissioner in Johannesburg with little success.” But a representative of the compensation commissioner, Henry Flimp, says the office is investigating allegations of fraud.
Lung disease is common in Mafefe. Penge Mine began operating literally a stone’s throw from the sprawling village, which is home to more than 10 000 people. The majority of the villagers are unemployed.