More than R42 million has been disbursed to former mineworkers and surviving beneficiaries across the Eastern Cape through a 41-day outreach drive, provincial and national officials said on Monday.
Programme brought to communities
The outreach, which began on 13 July 2026 in Port St Johns, formed part of Project Ithubalethu — an initiative aimed at fast-tracking long-overdue compensation, unpaid benefits and access to social security for ex-mineworkers. Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth and Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane welcomed the disbursements.
Officials said the exercise combined mobile units from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Compensation Fund with on-site services to reduce bureaucratic delays and ensure claimants could be assisted where they live.
Services on offer
The outreach teams visited towns and community hubs across the province, including a roundtable session at the Mthatha Health Resource Centre at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital. According to the Department of Employment and Labour, partners involved included the Eastern Cape provincial government, the Department of Health, the Ithubalethu Ex‑Mine Workers' Programme, the South African Ex‑Mineworkers Council, Rand Mutual Assurance and the South African Medical Association.
- Compensation Fund and UIF processing via mobile units
- Health screening and medical referrals
- Work‑seeker registration and social security advice
- Identity document services to support claims
Representatives from the SADC region also took part: Sihle Mlangeni, representing the Embassy of eSwatini, attended as part of a SADC delegation focused on labour matters, the Department reported.
Political and social context
Premier Mabuyane, who worked as a mineworker in his youth, has been a visible champion of the Ex‑Mineworkers' Programme. The cash injections seek to address decades of delayed compensation stemming from historical labour practices, occupational injury and disease claims, and administrative backlogs.
Officials said the dual focus was to clear outstanding statutory claims while also bringing other services to ex‑mineworkers and families who face both health and documentation barriers when pursuing benefits.
“The outreach provided a platform to exchange information, share experiences and report on progress made across the province,” the Department of Employment and Labour reported of the Mthatha engagements.
Operational detail and immediate impact
The Department of Employment and Labour reported that mobile UIF and Compensation Fund units operated on site to assist with claim lodgement and processing. Health screen‑and‑refer services were offered to complement compensation claims linked to occupational health conditions.
| Service | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Compensation Fund processing | Advance and finalise statutory claims for workplace injuries and occupational disease |
| UIF assistance | Process outstanding unemployment and benefit claims |
| Health screening | Identify occupational illnesses and make referrals |
| ID services | Resolve documentation barriers that delay payments |
Officials did not supply a breakdown by district or the number of individual beneficiaries reached in the provincial release. The Department reported the exercise formed part of a broader plan to ensure “streamlined access” to social security and compensation services for former mineworkers and their families.
What beneficiaries should know
Former mineworkers and families seeking assistance are advised to contact provincial Department of Employment and Labour offices or the Ithubalethu programme for locations of ongoing mobile units and follow‑up appointments. Claimants should ensure their identity documentation is in order to avoid delays.
While the R42 million disbursement represents a meaningful injection for affected households, the scale of historical claims and the prevalence of occupational lung disease and injury among mineworker populations means follow‑up interventions and continued outreach are likely to remain necessary.
The Department has positioned the outreach as a corrective administrative intervention; implementation and ongoing reporting will determine whether overdue claims are cleared and whether beneficiaries receive sustained access to health and social services tied to their claims.
