Africa-Press – Lesotho. In a bid to ensure ex-mineworkers who were affected by occupational diseases receive their compensations, relevant stakeholders have agreed to establish a central coordination mechanism in Lesotho to FasTrack documentation and claims verification.
This was revealed by Parliamentary Chair of Chairs Mr. Mokhothu Makhalanyane at the press conference held in Maseru on Friday, following a two-day joint stakeholders technical workshop which brought together the Social Cluster Committee, Inter-Ministerial Task Team, Council of Mine Workers, Tshiamo Trust, Rand Mutual Assurance and Mine Workers Provident Fund amongst others.
The workshop focused on progress and challenges in processing compensation claims for Basotho ex-mineworkers affected by occupational diseases, including silicosis, TB, hearing loss, and related injuries, especially those employed in gold mines from the 1960s onward.
Mr. Makhalanyane said the central coordination mechanism includes the steering committee which will address these issues and will meet on quarterly basis, saying there will be an oversight by Parliament every four months to be combined with a coordination forum.
He added that a 2026 activity schedule was adopted to ensure transparency and accelerate outreach to communities with unclaimed funds.
He also said they discussed fraudulent claims and touts who extort money from claimants, saying this is under investigation by the Lesotho Mounted Police Service.
” The joint team reaffirmed its commitment to leave no ex-miner or family behind and to ensure that long-overdue compensations are paid with dignity and speed” he stressed.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that stakeholders already have the list of beneficiaries per district and the amount of money they will each get.
