The Eastern Cape provincial government has announced that it will, together with three national departments, embark on an outreach programme to former mineworkers in the OR Tambo and Chris Hani district municipalities from April 18 to 21.
The outreach aims to provide former miners with a one-stop-shop service to claim for their unresolved benefits.
The programme will start at the Ngqeleni Methodist Church on April 18 before moving to the Libode Town Hall on on April 19 and the eNgcobo Indoor Sports Centre on April 20 and 21.
The programme will include screening, verification, medical examination and payment of benefits to eligible former mineworkers, who have contracted tuberculosis or silicosis diseases while working at various mines in the country between March 1965 and October 2019.
The Eastern Cape provincial government says the outreach will be implemented with various mining industry stakeholders to enable eligible former mineworkers or their beneficiaries to submit claims for compensation.
The collaborating departments are those of Health, Employment and Labour, and Mineral Resources and Energy.
Government has urged claimants to bring all relevant documents such as their identity documents, employment cards and service records from their former employers, as well as available medical records, death certificates, if relevant, and an autopsy report, if available.