About 10,000 Malawian miners who worked in South Africa want President Mrs. Joyce Banda to intervene in their quest to be paid their pension and benefits.
State House Press Officer Brian Banda confirmed that the miners have requested to meet President Banda.
Chairperson for the ex- miners committee Mr. John Dick told the media that their services were terminated between 1988 and 1989 in various mining companies in South Africa.
“We are supposed to receive our pension and other benefits from South African government through Malawi’s labor ministry,” said Mr. Dick.
In 1997, the examiners claim, former president Dr. Bakili Muluzi pledged to provide 5,000 Rand an equivalent of K 20,000 then to each individual as compensation.
Unfortunately, officials from the labor ministry who were assigned to collect data only provided K1, 000 to them as transport reimbursement.
“We are not happy that the Malawi government is still mum on the stand of their pension and all the benefits although it received millions of kwachas from the mining companies to pay the ex miners” lamented Dick.
In total there are about 35,000 former miners who want to have their benefits paid to them.
