The trustees of the Tshiamiso Trust have appointed Daniel Kotton as CEO.

This marks the organisation’s first appointment of permanent, full-time staff members, representing a milestone in the establishment of systems and processes that will enable the trust to carry out its mandate.

As CEO, Kotton, who was selected from among 209 applicants, will report to the board of trustees and will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of the trust’s mandate.

The trust was founded in terms of a class action settlement agreement concluded in May 2018 between six gold mining companies and claimants who were exposed to silica dust and contracted silicosis or tuberculosis.

The settlement would result in billions of rands being paid over to an expected tens of thousands of former and current mineworkers who contracted silicosis and/or tuberculosis between March 12, 1965, and December 10, 2019, over the next 12 years. 

The trust and seven trustees, including chairperson May Hermanus, were registered by the Masters’ office of the High Court in February.

The trust will use the databases of the participating mining companies to start identifying eligible claimants.

Meanwhile, Kotton had spent the last 15 years of his professional life in the financial services sector, including the health benefits sector.

He has experience in delivering, integrating and implementing complex strategic business management processes in various organisations, including Standard Bank Africa, Absa, EOH Health and Liberty Health Holdings.

Kotton was also co-head of government’s Operation Phakisa workstream to scale up and sustainably plan about 3 200 primary healthcare clinics across South Africa, with the plans having been adopted by Cabinet in 2014.

His working experience has afforded him knowledge in developing funding mechanisms and systems for servicing claims, which suits the trust’s upcoming requirements of having set up complex claim and payment systems in several Southern African countries.