promise
16 February 2007
The Department of Labour's Compensation Fund will today (Friday) wrap up its
week-long service Imbizo in Kimberley aimed at processing all outstanding
claims.
The Imbizo urged all medical providers, injured employees and dependants of
deceased employees to approach the provincial office of the department to
facilitate the processing of claims for injuries on duty.
The focus was on claims that have been accepted and were outstanding for
more than 90 days.
Department of Labour spokesperson Zolisa Sigabi said from 1 044 accounts
received between Monday and Wednesday, 672 were paid to the tune of R1
million.
"The turnaround time of processing claims has been reduced to three days
instead of 90 days or two years," she said.
While welcoming the service Imbizo, many employees spoke about the anguish
of having to wait for months to have their claims processed.
Others said the delays sometimes were due to the unavailability of medical
certificates and other supporting documents.
Sigabi said the Imbizo gave the officials an ideal opportunity to interact
with clients. "Being here is advantageous in that it enables us to deal with
frustrated employees face-to-face. It is good because somebody takes personal
responsibility for the claim and sees to it that it is processed within three
days, hence these phenomenal results," she said.
The Imbizo train will proceed to De Aar, also in the Northern Cape on
Monday, 19 February as part of the department's drive to bring services closer
to the people.
Enquiries:
Zolisa Sigabi
Cell: 082 906 3878
E-Mail: Zolisa.sigabi@labour.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Labour
16 February 2007
