World Bank president Dr Jim Yong Kim, who is currently on an official visit to South Africa, was this week hosted on a visit to an occupational lung disease outreach being carried out by various South African organisations.
Kim was accompanied by Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi; Compensation Commissioner Dr Barry Kistnasamy; the Minerals Council South Africa; and the Occupational Lung Disease Working Group and its six member mining companies – African Rainbow Minerals, AngloGold Ashanti, Anglo American SA, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold and Sibanye-Stillwater.
The purpose of the event was to demonstrate to Kim the outreach work being carried out by the organisations.
The World Bank was instrumental in providing initial investments and analytical work which assisted in more comprehensive and fully integrated occupational health services for former mineworkers in Southern Africa. The purpose of the work is to track and trace former mineworkers, test them for any occupational lung diseases they may be carrying, and assist them to apply for compensation to which they may be entitled.
Their applications are then tracked to ensure they are efficiently processed and compensation is paid out timeously.
In addition to these services, miners without banking accounts into which the compensation is paid are assisted to open such accounts. Miners are also assisted to establish whether they have any retirement fund assets due to them.