MP seeks answers on Teba pensioners
Member of Parliament (MP) for Dowa South East Harry Chipeni (Malawi Congress Party-MCP) has demanded answers on why former miners who worked in South Africa have not been paid their pensions despite providing details, including bank accounts, several years ago.
Temporary Employment Bureau of Africa (or Teba, as it was popularly known) recruited workers from countries like Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique to work in mines in South Africa and are owed millions in pension payments to date.
Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Francis Kasaila, however, denied that the former miners were forced to open bank accounts but that it was a move to avoid paying pension benefits through a third party.
He disclosed that about 17 917 forms of former miners had been matched with records of the recruiting company and were undergoing a verification exercise by the audit firm Alexander Forbes after the miners provided proof of employment and banking details.
“No single tambala has been paid to the former miners but once that is done, the benefits will be deposited directly into the beneficiaries accounts,” he said. n
