‘Mantṧali Phakoana
The minister of natural resources, Mohlomi Moleko, says he has pleaded with the South Africa (SA) government to release M12 billion in unclaimed terminal benefits by Basotho ex-mine workers and plans are afoot to expedite the process.
According to Moleko, the money is part of the M42 billion worth of unclaimed terminal benefits of miners who used to work in South African mines.
Moleko said if released, the money would help Lesotho in creating jobs and youth development projects thereby deterring illegal Basotho miners from occupying disused shafts of closed mines in the neighbouring country.
Moleko made these remarks at a press conference on Monday in response to last week’s claims by his SA counterpart, Gwede Mantashe, who accused the Lesotho government of economic sabotage.
Mantashe’s utterances, which have since attracted widespread condemnation from Basotho in the country and those staying and working in South Africa, follow the death of 32 Basotho suspected illegal miners who were trapped at a closed mine in Welkom, Free State.
The illegal miners are believed to have died on 18 May 2023 in a gas explosion in a shuttered gold mine. The mine was previously operated by South Africa’s largest gold-mining company, Harmony, but had been shut down in the 1990s, the SA department of Minerals and Energy Resources said in a statement.
“This incident, more than any other incident, has confirmed our view that this thing of illegal miners is actually economic sabotage and war on our economy, and therefore those who died there are almost like soldiers dying in combat.
“I think it’s a dangerous issue for neighbours to do that to one another,” Mantashe told SA media.
He further accused the government of Lesotho of effectively condoning illegal mining in South Africa and its citizens by turning a blind eye to the problem.
But, Moleko on Monday retorted that Lesotho does not condone illegal activities done by its people in South Africa, but rather sympathizes with the deceased’s families and not illegal miners themselves.
The minister further indicated that as soon as the government learned of the incident through family members, he had initiated a meeting with Mantashe to discuss and seek SA’s assistance to find a way to retrieve the deceased’s bodies.
Moleko emphasised that even though there was a need for clarity on the phrase minister Mantashe used in his accusation; ‘economic sabotage’, the relationship between Lesotho and its neighboring South Africa was still strong.
Moleko said one of the issues highlighted in their meeting at the recent Mining Indaba in South Africa, was making Mantashe aware of the M42 billion worth of unclaimed terminal benefits of the miners and requesting that the government of South Africa releases Lesotho’s share.
He also noted that he had told Mantashe that it would be easy to address the issue of illegal miners if Lesotho had resources to create jobs for Basotho to come back home.
“But for them to come back when we do not know how they are going to survive, it’s a problem to us, so the simple solution is for them (SA government) to release the money so that we can create jobs.”
Moleko further indicated that in April this year, he had brought up the matter with SA President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa had agreed that there was need to establish a task team of ministers to coordinate the transfer of the M12 billion, he said.
“In his statement on SABC, Ntate Mantashe talked about our meeting at the mining indaba, where he said I didn’t really show much interest in addressing the issue of the trapped illegal miners. That is not true. I am actually the one who initiated the meeting. One of the reasons I requested the meeting was to discuss mining and energy issues, and that led us to the issue of illegal mining,” Moleko pointed out.
Speaking at the same press conference, foreign affairs and international relations minister Mpotjoane Lejone said both the Lesotho and South African governments were working closely in search of the bodies.
Lejone said it was suspected that one of the illegal miners had tried to light a cigarette when the fire started due to high methane gas underground.
He revealed they had information that three bodies had been brought to the surface by other two illegal miners who survived the incident while about 27 were trapped inside.
Lejone indicated that a search of the mine was being delayed because the levels of methane gas were still dangerously high in the ventilation shaft where the miners are believed to have died.
However, he made an assurance that with SA’s assistance, the bodies would be recovered eventually and brought to their families for dignified burial.
Lejone further announced the tragic death of two Basotho nationals who were involved in a recent fire mishap at a factory in New Castle, Durban.
“Of the 17 Basotho nationals who were injured during the fire, eight were discharged from hospital, four were still hospitalised but recovering, three were critical while two died and their bodies are still at a mortuary in Durban,” Lejone told the media.
In an interview with theReporter on Tuesday this week, economic analyst, Thabo Qhesi dismissed Mantashe’s accusation as a ploy to shift the blame.
Qhesi said Mantashe and his government were well aware of the masterminds behind illegal mining in South Africa.
“I do not think it is accurate for Mr Mantashe to accuse Lesotho of sabotaging SA’s economy. There is evidence showing that there are SA officials behind the illegal mining and, unfortunately, Basotho happen to be victims.
“South Africa and its intelligence service know the masterminds behind these incidences; they know that whatever is recovered from the illegal mines is being sold overseas not here,” he noted.
Qhesi pointed out that the government of Lesotho should rather be accused of lack of commitment to create jobs for its citizens.
“I believe that by virtue of being a least developed country with a lot of support from development partners and international organisations like the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and the US Embassy, Lesotho could be creating jobs had it not been for lack of political will or commitment to do so,” he added.
Meanwhile, the department of labour and employment’s public relations officer, Tumisang Mokoai yesterday said that the M12 billion falls under the South African Mineworkers Provident Fund, one of several funds still retaining money that is due to Basotho ex-minors dating back as far as 1965.
“The money has not been released because Lesotho does not have the capacity to vigorously claim it. It’s not that the government is not committed to this cause. It is, but it is just not doing enough for lack of resources.
“I must emphasize that the money is being demanded from the SA government because it is the one that regulates such funds even though it is not itself a former employer of these ex-miners.
“It is also worth noting that the Lesotho government is not claiming these funds for itself, but is acting on behalf of the Basotho ex-miners who are the rightful owners of the money. Government’s role is just to facilitate the process through our ministry,” Mokoai noted.
