NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO. 1848
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: 29 July 2011
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO. 20)
Ms E More (DA) to ask the Minister of Health:
(1) Whether there is a backlog in the processing of applications at the
Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD); if so, (a)
what is the size of the backlog, (b) how many applications have been
finalised in each of the past three financial years and (c) how many
applicants have died while waiting for their applications to be
finalised;
(2) how many of these applications have been submitted (a) 0 â 6 months,
(b) 6 â 12 months, (c) 12 â 24 months, (d)) 24 â 36 months and (e)
more than 36 months ago;
(3) when is it envisaged that this backlog will be eradicated?
NW2085E
REPLY:
1) Yes there is still backlog, which is mainly attributable to vacancies
and inadequate systems.
a) The backlog is estimated to be 44,825 as per our provisional
calculation.
b) The payments were as follows:
2008/9 1,952
2009/10 6,668
2010/11 628
c) The CCOD is not in a position to determine this number due to
the fact that the payment is effected to either the miner or the
beneficiary in the case where the miner has passed on.
(2) These can be provided on an annual basis as follows:
2004 â 2005 6 021
2005 â 2006 4 831
2006 â 2007 4 342
2007 â 2008 6 453
2008 â 2009 10 209
2009 â 2010 7 854
2010 â 2011 5Â 115
Total 44 825
(3) Compensation Commissioner for Occupational Diseases (CCOD) receives
certificates from the Medical Bureau for Occupational Diseases (MBOD)
with the forwarding address of the claimant. CCOD then sends the
application forms to the claimant. The claimant must send the
completed application form together with the supporting documentation
such as the labour history, id copy, marriage certificate, appointment
letter, banking details and any other documents deemed necessary by
the Commissioner depending on the nature of the case. Once these have
been received, the payment will be processed. However we acknowledge
the fact that we have challenges that may delay the processing of the
payment such as:
⢠Wrong forwarding address on the certificate
⢠Incomplete supporting documentation
⢠Verification of the authenticity of the beneficiaries
⢠Verification of the authenticity of the foreign documents
⢠Manual verification of fingerprints
⢠IT systems deficiencies
⢠Resource constraints
The clearing of this backlog is not entirely dependent on CCOD. In the
case where all the documents are in order and verifiable, the backlog
will be eradicated within three years.
END.