WATCH: Heartrending tribute to deceased mine workers
Sinbanye will contribute to the burial costs of the deceased
Family members of the Sibanye-Stillwater miners who perished in the tragic seismic event on Thursday, 3 May, said they have been heavily affected as they have lost their breadwinners.
However, Ayanda Komna, who travelled from Stutterheim in the Eastern Cape, and spoke on behalf of the families said assistance with funeral costs was welcomed by the families.
Komna, whose cousin, Mbulelo Sonqowa, was the last person recovered during the rescue operation on Saturday 5 May, said Sonqowa’s mother was admitted to hospital after hearing the news of her son’s passing.
“It is very painful, we are going through a very painful period. Mbulelo was a breadwinner and the only person in his family who was working. Everyone relied on him,” he said.
Komna said the situation is very difficult because there is an unfinished house that needs money to be completed.
“He was not married, but he left his mother behind in a bad state of health. It has not been easy for her to deal with this.”
CEO of Sibanye Gold Neal Froneman said the families of the deceased will not be forgotten. He said the men belonged to the family of Sibanye Gold, and their deaths are a great loss to the company.
“I can imagine the challenges the families will face without them, and will ensure that the families of the deceased are supported through our Matshidiso programme.
“There are also educational benefits in that programme for the children of the deceased. We are also making counselling programmes available to the families of the deceased and to our employees who have been affected by this disaster,” Froneman said.
Pretty Nomyukela, who spoke on behalf of Nontsindiso Dudlela who lost her husband, Nkosiphendule Dudlela, said: “She lost the person who was the breadwinner, and this is a very difficult time for her because everything is still surreal to her. It is the first time she has lost someone close to her heart.”
When asked how Nontsindiso feels about the benefits offered by the company in compensation, she said, “She understands that it will be a form of relief for her, but she is not coping with knowing that she will never see her husband again.”
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