(MENAFN- The Post)
Lesotho's Natural Resources Minister Mohlomi Moleko says South Africa should pay M12 billion worth of terminal benefits to Basotho who worked in the mines.
Moleko was speaking a week after he was involved in a nasty public spat with his South African counterpart Gwede Mantashe.
The two clashed after Lesotho sought to retrieve the bodies of 31 illegal miners who died at a disused shaft at Harmony Gold Mine in Welkom, Free State.
Mantashe then issued a statement last week blaming the Lesotho government, saying it was sabotaging the South African economy through its support of illegal mining.
Yesterday, Moleko fired back telling the South African government that it owed Basotho mine workers M12 billion in terminal benefits, money which he said could be used“to set up projects to reduce unemployment”.
Moleko said he wants to bring to the attention of the South Africans that“there is M42 billion worth of unclaimed terminal benefits of the miners”.
“Lesotho has about M12 billion from there. If they give us that money we will set up projects to reduce the illegal mining,” Moleko said.
“I met (President Cyril) Ramaphosa in a special meeting, I told him about the terminal benefits,” he said.
Moleko said he needs to set up a task team to help retrieve the M12 billion from the South African mines.
“That money is my reason for joining politics,” he said.
He said the Lesotho government is“sympathising with the families of the illegal miners and not the illegal miners”.
He said he has good relations with Mantashe adding that he would not want to be drawn to comment following the scathing statement he had made to the media last week.
Last week, Mantashe said if Basotho want to mine in South Africa“they should come through the front doors, just like we did with their water, we had bilateral (talks) and made our promises”.
He said it is not right for Lesotho to have a strange relationship with the illegal miners who are active in South Africa, a statement that riled the government in Maseru.
Moleko said he recently attended a mining indaba in South Africa where Mantashe accused him of not having an interest in solving the illegal mining issue.
“I told him and his advisers that the purpose of the meeting was to reinforce the relations between the two countries,” he said.
He said he told them that Lesotho has always played a role in enhancing relations between the two countries, citing the case of the University of BOLESWA (now the National University of Lesotho) that educated Tito Mboweni and other South Africans.
He also recalled the 1982 massacre that happened in Maseru when the South African Defence Force invaded the country.
Moleko said Basotho sacrificed their lives by harbouring and protecting South African freedom fighters like Chris Hani.
He added that Lesotho had also provided its 400 000 citizens to the South African mines where they are helping enhance its economy.
He said the two countries have recently entered a deal to build a dam in Lesotho to benefit both countries.
“We give water to seven million people in Gauteng, that is our contribution,” he said.
Nkheli Liphoto