Mozambique: Over 1,200 Former Miners Identified to Receive Around 148 Million Rands

For decades, tens of thousands of Mozambicans migrated to South African mines (gold, coal, platinum) via historical cross-border recruitment systems like TEBA, often leaving behind pension contributions that were difficult to claim upon returning home. This unpaid mining pensions issue affects several labor-supplying countries -- Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique -- and periodically resurfaces as South African funds identify their beneficiaries. According to the Mozambican agency AIM (Maputo), relayed by AllAfrica on July 28, 2026, more than 1,200 Mozambicans have been identified to receive pensions from contributions paid during their employment in South African mining companies, totaling approximately 148 million rands. The very brief dispatch does not specify the paying institution, the disbursement schedule, or the average amount per beneficiary. For the families concerned, often from rural regions that long supplied labor to South African mines, these sums represent potentially significant income after years of administrative uncertainty. For Maputo, resolving these cross-border social rights remains a challenge of social protection and bilateral relations with Pretoria. This announcement is part of a regional dynamic of campaigns to identify dormant mining pensions in Southern Africa.