Payment of the first £11-million in compensation towards South African asbestos victims would be delayed, as ”complex restructuring” had to be undertaken in order to raise the money, London-based lawyers for the claimants said in a statement on Thursday.
The asbestos mine’s parent company, Cape plc, agreed to a settlement in December 2001 with 7 500 victims of asbestos-related illnesses seeking compensation in the London High Court.
The company agreed to pay £11-million by the end of June this year and the balance at a rate of £1-million a year for the next 10 years.
”… Cape plc’s chairman Paul Sellars … has confirmed that Cape remains fully committed to implementation of the settlement,” legal representative Richard Meeran said in the statement.
Although the restructuring was taking longer than originally expected, there was no cause for concern, and the delay was unlikely to exceed one month, Meeran said.
”The settlement money is to be paid into the Hendrik Afrika Trust, which is to be established in South Africa … payments will be made by the trust to those who satisfy the eligibility criteria,” he said.
Prospective trustees, all of whom had agreed to work on a voluntary basis, had already been nominated. Businessman and former politician Cyril Ramaphosa and occupational health specialist Dr Sophia Kisting were among those nominated, Meeran said.
He also noted, with some concern, that a firm of lawyers in Benoni, on the East Rand, and several other individuals, had been recruiting — for a fee — prospective applicants to the trust.
”The trust will assist applicants for free … it is not necessary for victims to pay others for assistance,” Meeran said.
Victims who wished to have claims processed should either go to the Medical Bureau of Diseases in Johannesburg, or to the former offices of Leigh Day & Co in Prieska and Burgersfort, where they would be helped free of charge, he said.
To secure the payment of money to claimants, Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka signed a letter of undertaking with Cape plc and the claimants in May. Under the agreement, the government would set up the Hendrik Afrika Trust fund to administer the money and to make it available to asbestos victims.
The government acceded to Cape plc’s precondition to settlement that it should not have any liability for environmental damage caused by its former operations.
Asbestos was widely used as a thermal insulator and fireproofer until the mid-1970s, despite the fact that manufacturers and the government were aware of the health risks associated with occupational asbestos exposure.
People who were most exposed to the substance have been increasingly diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses, such as lung fibrosis and mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer. – Sapa